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Sailor's "death penny" kept off Calgary thrift-shop sales floor

CTV News follows a donated First World War memorial plaque from a Goodwill donation box to the Calgary Military Family Resource Centre.

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CTV News Story of October 30, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of CTV News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 69,023 views.

Death penny found in a thrift-shop donation

The bronze plaque arrived among donations at a Calgary Goodwill, but it was never destined for the sales floor. Staff recognized it as a memorial to someone who had died in military service and arranged to place it in the care of the Calgary Military Family Resource Centre.

In CTV News reporter Alicia Fieldberg's account, the object is a "death penny," one of the memorial plaques issued by the British government to families of service members lost in the First World War. Its inscription names William Edward Why, a sailor who, the report says, died when HMS Strongbow sank in 1917.

The report shows Goodwill representatives formally handing over the plaque. Simone Pohl of Goodwill Industries of Alberta explains the importance of honoring such donations rather than treating them as ordinary merchandise.

For Military Museums curator Major (Ret.) Kent Griffiths, the name on the bronze is especially significant because Why has no known grave.

"His ship was sunk, and he has no grave," Griffiths says. The donated object preserves a tangible memorial to a sailor whose burial place cannot be visited.

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