The story of Margaret Brooke and the four leaf clover
By SLt M.X. Déry,
MARPAC PA
“The story is she was given a four leaf clover, I think by a patient, and Margaret Brooke had it in her big Burberry coat that she grabbed and put on before they abandoned ship,” says Cdr Tessier, the future CO of HMCS Margaret Brooke.
Photo: submitted
“Her niece told me that Aunt Margie always said the Burberry coat was one of those things that saved her life; you know it was a big thick coat that she had on, but the four leaf clover was in the coat. So, obviously she considered it to be a good luck charm.
“Her father gave her a locket that she put the four leaf clover in. Their family were avid boaters, so every time there was a new boat in the family the locket went into the boat to protect it. And the family still has that locket.”
In 2016, the Royal Canadian Mint produced a $20 silver coin with a four leaf clover on the face. Only four coins were available for purchase when this story reached the shipyard. The coins were bought, and one was laid in the keel of the ship last year. Another was given to Cdr Michele Tessier. Another was given to the ship’s sponsor, Margaret Brooke, and the final coin to Olivia Strowbridge, the Irving Shipyards employee who laid the coin.
