Walkem, William Wymond,
1850-1919
William Walkem fonds. - 1894-1915.
20 cm of textual records.
7 photographs.
William Walkem, physician and brother of B.C. Premier George Walkem, was born in Montreal. He graduated from medical school at McGill University in 1873. While a student, Walkem served as a reporter for Montreal newspapers. Later he sailed as a seaman to Britain where he tried unsuccessfully to join the Carlist forces in Spain. On his return to Canada, he married and moved to British Columbia to serve as secretary to his brother. He was briefly editor of the Victoria Daily Standard, medical officer for Victoria, for Nanaimo, and for various mining and milling companies, and he served as an M.L.A. for Nanaimo South from 1894 to 1898.
The fonds consists of a number of typewritten manuscripts for short articles by Dr. Walkem as well as clippings of published articles. The fonds also includes Walkem's incomplete autobiography, a scrapbook of clippings relating to his experiences as a M.L.A. and photographs.
Inventory available.
Wallich, George Charles,
1815-1899
George Wallich fonds. - 1857-1944.
13 cm of textual records.
George Wallich, son of the Danish biologist Nathaniel Wallich (1786-1854), was a naturalist and physician (M.D. Edinburgh, 1836) who served as an army surgeon in India from 1838 to 1856. He is the author of two works on marine biology, including The North Atlantic Seabed (1862).
The fonds consists of an original copy of Wallich's The North Atlantic Seabed with handwritten notes, a large, handwritten biological note book, personal annotated copies of Wallich's "Original Papers" and "Contributed Papers" (1857-1865), incoming correspondence and clippings. Also included are some records belonging to G. Wallich which relate to the Dooars Planters' Association, an organization of tea growers in India.
Walsh, Anthony
Anthony Walsh fonds. - 1936-1941.
24 items.
Anthony Walsh taught school at the Inkameep Indian Day School at Oliver, B.C. (1936-1941).
The fonds consists of twenty-four incoming letters received by Walsh while at the Inkameep Indian Day School.
Wayman, Tom
Tom Wayman fonds. - 1962-1981.
0.8 m of textual records.
Born in Hawksbury, Ontario, in 1945, but raised mainly in British Columbia, Tom Wayman graduated with a BA from the University of British Columbia in 1966 and an MFA in English and Creative Writing from the University of California at Irvine in 1968. Since that time he has worked as a writer-in-residence and faculty member at a variety of institutions. He worked as a writer-in-residence at the University of Windsor (1975-76), University of Alberta (1978-79), Simon Fraser University (Spring 1983), and University of Toronto (Spring 1996). He has taught at Colorado State University (1968-69), Wayne State University (1976-77), David Thompson University (1980-82), Banff School of Fine Arts (Summers 1980, 1982), Kootenay School of Writing (1984-87), Okanagan College and Okanagan University College (1990-91, 1992-95), Kootenay School of Arts (1991-92, 1995-98), and Kwantlen College and Kwantlen University College, Surrey (Fall 1983, 1988-present). His work career has included a number of blue-collar and white-collar jobs in Canada and the United States. Wayman is also a founder of both the Kootenay School of Writing and the Vancouver Industrial Writers Union. He is widely known as a poet well versed in work writing in North America and has written, compiled and contributed to many books and periodicals.
The fonds consists of correspondence, manuscripts, and documents related to the early career of Tom Wayman, from 1962 to 1981. The records concern his writings as a university student, printed collections of his own poetry, and anthologies that he edited. In addition, there are correspondence files generated in the course of his writing career and files pertaining to work writing material.
Title based on the contents of the fonds.
Inventory available.
Weber, Ephraim, 1870-1956
Ephraim Weber fonds. - [193- - 195-].
1.5 cm of textual records.
Ephraim Weber was born in Bridgeport, Ontario. He later moved to Alberta to homestead with his family. After a few years, Weber returned to his studies in Calgary where he also taught for six months. He then attended Queen's University and the University of Chicago before returning to the Prairies. Weber was the author of articles, short stories, poems and a novel.
The fonds consists of typed and handwritten manuscripts of short stories and poems.
Webster, Arnold Alexander,
1899-1979
Arnold Alexander Webster fonds. - 1926-1966.
1.4 m of textual records.
Arnold Webster was born in Vancouver and raised in Agassiz, B.C. He obtained his M.A. from the University of British Columbia. Webster became a teacher and principal in the Vancouver School Division. He joined the C.C.F. in 1932 and became its B.C. provincial president. He also served on Vancouver Parks Board and as a member of the UBC Senate. In 1953 he succeeded Harold Winch as leader of the provincial C.C.F. and was elected M.L.A. forVancouver East. He served one term as Leader of the Opposition and then retired briefly from politics. On his return after the organization of the N.D.P., he was elected M.P. for Vancouver Kingsway and served from 1962 to 1965.
The fonds consists of biographical material, incoming (1926-1964) and outgoing (1945-1965) correspondence, a typescript and published edition of Webster's textbook Living Together in Canada and subject files. The fonds also includes pamphlets and clippings relating to various subjects.
Inventory available.
Weekly Gazette and Home
News
Weekly Gazette and Home News fonds. - 1918.
2.5 cm of textual records
The Weekly Gazette and Home News was published as a farmers' newspaper in Point Grey and circulated in the municipalities of Richmond, Delta, and other districts in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. Predecessors of the Weekly Gazette date back to 1908. Dorothy Bell became the publisher and editor of the paper in 1918. Leon Ladner was in charge of the paper's editorial policy. The newspaper merged with the Citizen in 1926 to form the Citizen Gazette.
The fonds consists of correspondence of the Weekly Gazette with its clientele for 1918.
Weeks, Kathleen Stubington
Kathleen Weeks fonds. - [19--].
6.5 cm of textual records.
Kathleen Weeks was born in England but spent most of her life in British Columbia. She wrote historical articles on English history but also enjoyed writing about the history of the Pacific Northwest.
The fonds consists of Weeks' writings which primarily relate to British Columbia history and historical figures. These include "Heroes of Victoria's Streets", "Outposts of Empire: Victoria B.C." and several about Captain Vancouver. The fonds also includes pictures of historical figures and of British Columbia scenery.
Inventory available.
Wegener, Alfred, 1880-1930
Alfred Wegener fonds. - 1930-1932.
3 cm of textual records.
10 photographs.
Alfred Wegener was a German geophysicist and meteorologist who worked on the thermodynamics of the atmosphere and originated the theory of continental drift (the Wegener hypothesis), a theory which has won scientific respectability in recent years. He served on and led scientific expeditions to Greenland in 1906-1908, 1912-1917, 1929 and 1930. On the last of these he lost his life.
The fonds consists of transcripts of documents from and pertaining to the Deutsche Groenland (German Greenland) Expedition of 1930-1931 headed by Alfred Wegener and, more specifically, pertaining to his death while attempting to bring desperately needed supplies of petroleum from Weststation to Eismitte.
Wellburn, G. Vernon, collector
G. Vernon Wellburn collection. - 1826, 1871, 1884, 1896.
4 items.
G. Vernon Wellburn, raised in Duncan, B.C., worked for BC Forest Products Ltd. and the Tahsis Co. Ltd. in engineering and logging management at various locations on Vancouver Island and Vancouver. From 1972 to 1975 he lectured in forest harvesting in the Faculty of Forestry at UBC and was the Western Manager of the Forest Engineering Institute of Canada, 1975-1980.
The collection consists of a letter from Sir John Franklin, Great Bear Lake, to Robert McVicar, 1826; a telegram from S.L. Tilley to Hon. Dr. Helmcken, April 1, 1871, referring to the admittance of British Columbia into Confederation, a document signed by Charles Dupont referring to a land transaction to what is now known as Vancouver, and an invitation to the opening of the new Parliament Buildings in Victoria, 1898.
Title source: Title based on the name of the collector
Whaun, Thomas Moore, 1894-1985
Thomas Whaun fonds. - 1914-1984.
26 cm of textual records.
25 photographs.
Thomas Whaun emigrated to Canada from China in 1907 and became a citizen in 1950. He worked in the newspaper industry as an advertising manager for the Canada Morning News and the New Republic Daily. He is known for his nation wide letter writing protest against the Chinese Exclusion Act. Whaun was the first non-white resident of West Vancouver and the first Chinese-Canadian graduate of the University of British Columbia.
The fonds consists primarily of correspondence with accompanying newspaper clippings, diaries and photographs.
Inventory available.
White, Howard, 1945-
Howard White fonds. - 1978-1992.
1.3 m of textual records.
Howard White has spent much of his life on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia and at Madeira Park, B.C. He is the founder and editor of the Raincoast Chronicles series of books on British Columbia coast history and culture. In 1984 he incorporated the Harbour Publishing Company. It maintained the direction of Raincaost Chronicles as well as publishing more diverse works. In 1991 White was awarded the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour for Writing in the Rain. His other books include Ghost in the Gears (poetry), The Men There Were Then (poetry), and Patrick and the Backhoe. In addition, he edited The Accidental Airline, Spilsbury's Coast, and Forgotten Villages of the B.C. Coast, as well as writing Bill White's work history, A Hard Man to Beat.
The fonds consists mainly of his personal manuscripts and his activities relating to his work as published by Harbour Publishing Company. Much of his incoming and outgoing correspondence as well as subject files relate to books he has published or is planning in the future. Major writers and/or correspondence include Anne Cameron, Pat Lane, Margaret Laurence and Tom Wayman. A publication log kept by Hubert Evans is also included.
RESTRICTIONS: Some restrictions apply.
Inventory available.
Whittaker, John William
Jack Whittaker fonds. - 1896-1956.
2 cm of textual records.
Jack Whittaker worked for 48 years in British Columbia sawmills before his retirement in 1959. His last position with British Columbia Forest Products Ltd. (B.C.F.P.) was superintendent of the Youbou Sawmill on Cowichan Lake, Vancouver Island.
The fonds consists of a typescript of Whittaker's reminiscences, "My Sixty (60) Years in the Forest Industry", a poem by Elsie May Whittaker, a typescript and photocopy of "J.W. Whittaker Remembers Friends at Youbou", and selected photocopies from albums created by Whittaker.
Wilkins, Harold T.
Harold Wilkins fonds. - 1925-1954.
13 cm of textual records.
59 photographs.
Harold Wilkins researched and gathered material relating to the history of television in Great Britain.
The fonds consists of photographs, correspondence, printed material and notes gathered and generated by Wilkins pertaining to the early development of television in Great Britain.
Inventory available.
Wilkinson family
Wilkinson family fonds. - 1835-1946.
26 cm of textual records.
129 photographs.
Thomas Edward Wilkinson (d. 1914) was a Bishop of the Church of England who served in Northern and Central Europe and in West Africa. The Wilkinson family (Thomas, Margaret and Kenneth) were pioneers in British Columbia.
The fonds consists of photographs, correspondence, legal documents and personal memorabilia pertaining to the Wilkinson family and to the lumbering industry in British Columbia. It includes the will of Reverend Thomas Edward Wilkinson.
Inventory available.
Williams, Mary Elizabeth, b.
1877
Mary Williams fonds. - 1935-1950.
6.5 cm of textual records.
Mary Williams was born in Westville, Nova Scotia. From childhood she loved music and reading and in her late teens wrote her first two published poems. In 1906 she married A. Hugh Williams and then moved to Winnipeg where she taught music and wrote poetry.
The fonds consists of the unpublished manuscripts of It Seems to Me, Faith and Fancy, and Broken Crystals. These typescripts date from the period 1935-1950 when Williams was travelling across Canada. The fonds also includes printed and published poems (1936-1945).
Wilson, Ethel, 1888-1980
Ethel Wilson fonds. - [193--196-].
2.1 m of textual records.
22 photographs.
Ethel Wilson was born in South Africa. In 1890, after her mother died, she was taken to England; then in 1898, when her father died, she moved to live with her grandmother in Vancouver. Wilson received her teacher's certificate in 1907 and then taught in Vancouver public schools until 1920. In 1921 she married Dr. Wallace Wilson. She began writing in 1937, but she did not produce much work until 1947, when her first novel Hetty Dorval was published. Her most productive period was from 1947 to 1957 when she wrote her four other novels. Mrs. Golightly and Other Stories, Wilson's last published work, appeared in 1961 at the same time that she received a special medal from the Canada Council.
The fonds consists of correspondence (both personal and business), manuscripts of novels, short stories (some untitled), and poetry, as well as reviews of Ethel Wilson's work, contracts, photographs, awards, diaries (1938-1942) and subject files. Files created by MacMillan Company of Canada relating to the publication of some of Wilson's novels are also included in the fonds. These include subject files relating to Hetty Dorval, The Innocent Traveller, The Equations of Love, Love and Salt Water and Mrs. Golightly and Other Stories as well as articles of short works and articles, newsclippings and correspondence relating to Ethel Wilson.
Inventory available.
Wilson, Herbert Emerson,
1881-1969
Herbert Emerson Wilson fonds. - 1935-1982.
12 cm of textual records.
Herbert E. Wilson was born in Ontario and served in the Boer War. He became a Baptist minister but later embarked on a career as a safe cracker. He was imprisoned for twenty years in San Quentin, California. Following his release he worked as a newspaper columnist, artist, Museum of Crime curator, author and literary agent. His brother was Edward Arthur Wilson, known as Brother Twelve, a religious cult leader.
The fonds consists of correspondence and literary typescripts which chronicle Wilson's varied career as a minister, criminal and prisoner.
Inventory available.
Winson, John William, b. 1874
John Winson fonds. - 1912-1967.
6.5 cm of textual records.
John Winson was a Justice of the Peace, Police Magistrate, Chairman of the Fraser Valley Regional Library, amateur botanist and journalist for the Vancouver Province, for which he wrote under the pseudonym "Wildwood".
The fonds consists of Winson's correspondence, a personal reminiscence of Winson by his wife (Ethel Leaf Winson), and another memoir entitled "From Small Beginnings," together with a historical account of Lady Tweedsmuir's visit to Abbotsford in 1939. In addition, there are other brief manuscript memoirs by Mrs. Winson, clippings of J.W. Winson's journalistic articles (some relating to A.W. Findlay), miscellaneous clippings, documents confirming Winson's various appointments and the copyright to Wildwood Trails.
Women's Christian Temperance Union of
British Columbia
Women's Christian Temperance Union of British Columbia fonds.
- 1938-1970.
1.8 m of textual records.
The American National Woman's Christian Temperance Union was formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1874. The Canadian branch of the organization was established in Ontario in 1875 and the World W.C.T.U. in 1883. The organization enjoyed some success in North America with the passage of Prohibition laws in 1918. In Canada there were fewer than 4,000 members in 1985.
The fonds consists of convention reports (1963-1969), some correspondence, a script for a C.B.C. broadcast (1953), two essays, an article and scrapbooks of clippings (1938-1960).
Inventory available.
Women's International League for Peace
and Freedom
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom fonds. -
1947-1988.
42 cm of textual records.
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom was founded in 1915 at The Hague by women active in the suffrage movements in Europe and America who wished to end the First World War and to insure that no further wars occurred. The League began its work in Canada in 1920 in Vancouver, led by Dorothy Steeves and Laura Jamieson, with Lucy Woodsworth, Agnes McPhail and Violet McNaughton among its members. The League's work has been to promote peace education and to campaign for disarmament and anti militarism. During World War II it opposed the introduction of military cadet training in schools and it has investigated textbooks which glorified war. During World War II and its aftermath, however, the movement declined with only the Vancouver branch surviving.
The fonds consists of correspondence (1952-1983), much of it by Sheila Young or addressed to her, concerning various international issues; among the addressees are Prime Minister Trudeau and various cabinet ministers and other politicians, newspapers, commissions and organizations, government departments and agencies, and businesses. The records of the 11th, 13th-18th, and 20th International Congresses of the W.I.L.P.F. are also included, as well as printed material on military expenditures, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, peace, and the polar regions.
Inventory available.
Women's Missionary Society of the
Methodist Church. Japanese Auxiliary
Women's Missionary Society of the Methodist Church, Japanese
Auxiliary fonds. - 1911-1925.
2 cm of textual records.
Administrative history unavailable.
The fonds consists of minutes and membership rolls.
Wong, Foon Sien, d. 1971
Foon Sien Wong fonds. - 1907-1971.
8 m of textual records.
Foon Sien Wong was a spokesman for the Chinese Canadian community in Vancouver. In 1945 he advocated the granting of the franchise to Chinese Canadians after they became subject to the World War II military draft. On many occasions, he travelled to Ottawa to pursue the rights of Chinese Canadians, particularly urging the lifting of the strictures on Chinese immigration which often separated members of families from one another. He also served for a time on the Vancouver Consultative Committee on Redevelopment, and throughout his life, fought unflaggingly to end discrimination against, not just Chinese Canadians, but all minority groups.
The fonds consists primarily of clippings and articles relating to international affairs, Chinese customs preserved in Canada, life in Vancouver's China Town and social and political problems confronted by Chinese Canadians. The fonds also includes correspondence as well as printed and published material.
Inventory available.
Woodward, Eugene Sidney,
1880-1970
Eugene S. Woodward fonds. - 1910-1969.
56 cm of textual records.
Eugene S. Woodward came to Victoria, B.C. from England in 1908. He became president of the Victoria Trades and Labour Council and elected to City Council in 1921. A self-educated economist, he served briefly as an advisor to the Social Credit government in Alberta in 1936 before turning to a career in journalism as an editorial writer and columnist.
The fonds consists of correspondence, articles, speeches, radio scripts, briefs to government commissions, as well as newspaper clippings and printed material, and drafts of his book, Adventures in Free Enterprise: The Shape of Things to Come (1965).
Inventory available.
Woolmer, J. Howard, 1929-
J. Howard Woolmer fonds. - 1967-1969, 1973-1984.
26 cm of textual records.
J. Howard Woolmer was born in Montreal in 1929. As a professional bookseller in New York, he developed an interest in the works of Malcolm Lowry and began a collection of books and periodicals with material by or about Lowry. In 1969, Woolmer published A Malcolm Lowry Catalogue which included two previously unpublished Lowry poems introduced by Earle Birney. In 1983, Woolmer published Malcolm Lowry: A Bibliography.
The fonds consists of correspondence, drafts and research materials arising from the production of his two publications.
Inventory available.
Work, John, 1792-1861
John Work fonds. - 1851.
1 cm of textual records.
John Work (originally "Wark") was born in Cork, Ireland and joined the Hudson's Bay Company in 1814. He served first at York Factory and then in the Severn River district. In 1823 he was sent to the Pacific coast, for which region he became chief trader in 1830, and was stationed at Fort Simpson from 1832-1852. He was appointed chief factor in 1846 and was frequently in charge of trading missions, including one to Sacramento, California. From 1853 until his death he lived in Victoria and was a member of the Vancouver Island House of Assembly.
The fonds consists of Work's handwritten diary of a trip from Fort Simpson to the Queen Charlotte Islands (May 1851) to investigate the reported gold discoveries there.
Wright, Harold Madison, 1908-
Harold Wright fonds. - 1942-1980.
6 m of textual records.
Harold Wright was born in Winnipeg. He received an M.A. in geology from the University of B.C. (1933) and an M.Sc from the University of Utah (1936). He returned to Vancouver, where he established Wright Engineering Ltd., a mining and metallurgy firm. Wright was also very active in athletics. He represented Canada in the 1932 Olympic Games and later, as a businessman, played a major role in Canada's successful bid for the 1976 Summer Games. Wright became president of the Canadian Olympic Association. He also served as director of the Commonwealth Games Association of Canada and the British Columbia Sports Federation.
The fonds consists of professional and personal records (1942-1965) as well as records of the Canadian Olympic Association (1969-1980), the Canadian Field Hockey Association (1963-1972), the Committee Organisateur de les Jeux Olympique (1970-1976), and the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (1952-1976).
Inventory available.
Yamaga, Yasutaro, 1886-1971
Yasutaro Yamaga fonds. - 1906-1969.
1.2 m of textual records.
Born in Japan, Yasutaro Yamaga came to British Columbia in 1908. After working as a labourer, he purchased ten acres of land near Haney, B.C. Yamaga led the Japanese Farmer's Union in the Fraser Valley. After World War II, he moved to Ontario, where at Beamsville he established the first home for Japanese Canadian senior citizens (Nipponia Home) in Canada.
The fonds consists of biographical information, diaries (1962-1966), manuscripts, correspondence and collected historical material pertaining to the Haney Agricultural Association (1906-1962), Fraser Valley Japanese Language School (1920-1953), Nipponia Home (1941-1969) and the Japanese Canadian United Church (1919-1966).
Inventory available.
Yorkshire Trust Company
Yorkshire Trust Company fonds. - 1889-1970.
12.5 m of textual records.
The Yorkshire Trust Company was established in the 1880s and existed until 1988.
The fonds consists of business records of the Yorkshire Guarantee and Securities, Ltd., The Yorkshire and Canadian Trust, Ltd. and The Yorkshire & Pacific Securities, Ltd., Huddersfield, England concerning its B.C. operations. The records consist of those created at Head Office, Huddersfield, in its dealings with its Vancouver and Victoria offices. There are also books of account which appear to have been created in its Vancouver office. The records consist of legal documents (1889-1950) minutes (1906-1950) correspondence (1890-1964) and financial records (1889-1970), including registers, journals and ledgers (1889-1954). There are also records of the Canadian Mining Syndicate and the Vancouver Land & Securities Corporation.
Young, Rodney, 1910-1978
Rodney Young fonds. - 1939-1978.
2 m of textual records.
Rodney Young was born in England and came to Canada in 1926. He joined the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in 1934 and became a spokesman for the left wing of that party. During his years in the C.C.F., he served as national vice-president of the Co-operative Commonwealth Youth Movement and second vice-president of the British Columbia C.C.F.. During World War II, he served in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. From 1948 to 1949, he was M.P. for Vancouver Centre. He later opposed the C.C.F.'s "drift to the right" and resigned from the party.
The fonds consists of correspondence, speeches (including Young's parliamentary addresses), clippings and scrapbooks pertaining to Young's career and political views, as well as publications, constitutions and by-laws, newsletters, notices, and minutes pertaining to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. Also included are university essays on socialism, economics, and international affairs collected, but not written, by Young.
Inventory available.