Q & A

D. J. of Victoria B.C. writes:

I have been trying for some time to learn something about this (pewter?) pendant that my Grandmother gave me approximately 55 years ago. It's shaped and opens like a book and has a medical symbol as you can see on each side. I've noticed the 6 sided star on ambulances here as well. My daughter was surprised to observe a woman around her age (35) a few years back wearing one as well and asked her where she got hers. She replied ‘from her Grandmother’.

I missed out on the tickets for your last visit to Victoria and would love to find out about this special gift. I believe my Grandmother who was probably born in the late 1800s could have been raised in a Foundling home. Little is known about her. She was brought to Canada to help raise three little boys when my Grandfather was widowed soon after arriving here from Scotland . I've wondered if the pendant had any connection to her 'quiet' past.

Thank you for any attention you can give to this.

We asked Geoffrey Dominy to respond:

The Pewter Pendant definitely bears a "Medical" symbol on the front and back and it is entirely possible that it was given to her grandmother if she was raised in an ophanage or home for abandoned children (Foundling Home). Date wise, it does look Victorian although I suspect, the chain has been replaced at a later date. Unfortunately, without being able to research her grandmother’s background, it is difficult to know when or why it was given. It would definitely have had something inside it, perhaps a small photograph but again, I cannot be 100% sure.