Dr. Wace and the Queen Alexandra Solarium

Some time after World War 1, Dr. Cyril Wace came to Victoria to work with the Invalid Soldiers Commission, the Department of Soldiers Civil Re- establishment and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Just what he did and achieved through his work with these Government departments is unclear, but his name lives on in relation to the efforts he made on behalf of children.

While he was in Victoria, he introduced Red Cross workshops to Canada and also expressed interest in the health of children. He did a survey to find out how many children in British Columbia required hospital treatment and he used his findings to start raising funds from business people and organizations.

One organization that he found support from was the Women's Institutes. When Mrs. Vangie McLachlan, Secretary of the British Columbia Women's Institutes received a letter from a mother on Vancouver Island who was inquiring how she could get help for her young daughter, Othoa, who was suffering from tubercular spine, she went in to action. She appealed to the 126 branches in the province, and the first to donate was Central Park.

This was the beginning of the: Fund For Crippled Children in BC. In the first year the balance sheet showed donations of $1,309.92. Dr. Wace and Mrs. McLachlan were in touch and cooperating for the fund raising. By March 1,1927 the 10 bed Queen Alexandra Solarium opened, with Dr. Wace as superintendent and the little girl, Othoa, one of the first patients.

Simultaneously, the Women's Institutes were raising money that led to the opening of the Crippled Children's Hospital in Vancouver. It opened in 1928 with a capacity of 16 beds. Over the years this facility underwent a number of name changes – it is known today as the British Columbia Children's Hospital. Dr. Wace, who worked so hard to create the Solarium and give it a healthy start, died in Saanich in 1966. To the end of his days he insisted that he did not deserve credit for the Solarium, always reminding people that it would not have happened without the work of the Women's Institute.

While the Women's Institutes appreciate Dr. Wace's giving the credit to them for the creation of the Queen Alexandra Solarium (now known as the Children's Health Foundation on Vancouver Island) he played a central role in the inception of this  hospital for the province's sick children, and we wish to think of this as a joint venture between Dr. Wace and the members from that time.

Today, these two facilities are in the forefront of the care for children in British Columbia. Many children (now adults) and their families have grateful and fond memories of the care offered to them and value the  much healthier lives they have enjoyed because of that care.

We salute the BC Children's Hospital and the Children's Health Foundation on Vancouver Island for their dedication to helping children to heal. So our thanks to Dr. Wace, and our tributes also to the many doctors, nurses and other health professionals who have cared for our youngest citizens to give them chance for a better life!

 For Home and Country, Ruth Fenner, Provincial Historian