Wilson was widowed by her husband's death on the "Terra Nova" Expedition in March 1912. Fundraising efforts for families of those who died on the expedition were enormously successful, especially considering that only five men died. The Mansion House raised £75,000 in 1912, . As a widow, Wilson's income included £300 annually in a government pension (); £8,500 as a one-time payment from the Mansion House trust (); and a £636 salary from the British Antarctic Expedition ().