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The Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) was founded in March 1963 to promote the establishment of an independent Québec. Pierre Vaillières jointed the FLQ in 1965 and provided its philosophical underpinnings. The group used radical tactics, being involved in over 200 bombings between 1963 and 1970. In 1970 the FLQ kidnapped cabinet minister Pierre Laporte and British trade commissioner James Cross. Laporte was later murdered. The FLQ, many of its members in prison, ceased activity in 1971.

The Crombie family, still resident in Brant county, has antecedents in England, the Isle of Man and in Ireland. Some of their earliest ancestors were active in the British military service: Richard Hedges Cradock (married in 1767) served in America, Spain, Portugal, France and the West Indies and his son, Adam Williamson Cradock, established himself in Canada for a time before returning to Dublin. One of the primary unifying links in this collection of family papers covering more than two centuries is Agnes Georgina Cradock (1839-1916) who was born in Dublin and died in Canada, dividing her life between the two countries, first marrying Henry Archdall Wood (1861) and after his death in 1874, marrying George Thomas Atkins in 1877. The Atkins family were neighbours of the Cradocks; George's father, Major Thomas Atkins, served in India before purchasing a property in West Flamborough in 1840. The elder daughter of Agnes and George, Hilda Isabelle Georgina Atkins (1878-1949), married into the Crombie family. Edward Rubidge Crombie (1874-1937), Hilda's husband, was a farmer and writer whose literary efforts form a significant part of this fonds. Their son Edward B. H. Crombie (1909-1994) married Margaret C. Reynolds (1918-2003), daughter of V. Ernest Reynolds and Estella M. Craig.

Alvin Lee was born in Woodville, Ontario. He attended the University of Toronto where he received his Bachelors of Arts, a Master of Arts in English and a Ph.D in English in 1961. Lee began a teaching career at McMaster University as Assistant Professor of English in 1960 and progressed to Associate Professor, Assistant Dean, School of Graduate Studies, Dean of Graduate Studies, Vice-President, Academic and President and Vice-Chancellor from 1980 to 1990. Alvin Lee is the author of several books and articles on Old English literature and is a specialist in Middle English literature. He is currently Professor Emeritus, Department of English, at McMaster University. He served as General Editor of the 30-volume Collected Works of Northrop Frye, published by the University of Toronto Press between 1996 and 2012.

Dr. Lee was elected a Member of the Royal Commonwealth Society (England) in 1962. He was appointed Honorary Professor of English, University of Science and Technology, Beijing and Honorary Professor at Peking University in 1993. He was recognized by the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction in 1996 and achieved the City of Hamilton Award for Lifetime Distinction in Support of the Arts in 2015. He is also the Governor of the Lee Academy (a private elementary school in Lynden, Ontario); and served as Vice-Chair of the McMaster Museum of Art (1998-2005).

Richard Helmuth Fred Manske, organic chemist, was born in Berlin, Germany on 14 September 1901 to John A. and Bertha (née Wruck) Manske. The family immigrated to Canada in 1907. He attended Queen’s University in 1924 where he received both his B.Sc. and M.Sc. Later he attended Manchester University where he did his doctoral degree in 1926. Manske worked with the National Research Council of Canada as Bursar in 1923-1924. Then from 1930 to 1943, he worked as an associate research chemist for the National Research Council. He also did some research with General Motors Corporation and had a fellowship at Yale University. In 1943 he began to work at the Dominion Rubber Company (later Uniroyal Ltd.) in Guelph, Ontario, as Director of Research. After his retirement from Uniroyal, he continued as an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo. McMaster University conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Science on him in 1960.

One of his major publications was Alkaloids: Chemistry and Physiology, a series of volumes which he edited from 1950 to 1977. In addition to his work as a chemist, he was an expert on the cultivation of orchids. He was married twice, first to Bessie Jean (d. 1959) and then to Doris Aileen. He had two daughters. He died in 1977 in Guelph. McMaster University has a scholarship, Manske-MacLean Bursaries in Chemistry, in his name.

David Helwig was born in Toronto in April 1938 and was raised in Niagara-on-the-Lake. He received his BA from the University of Toronto in 1960 and earned his Masters at the University of Liverpool in 1962.

During the mid-1960s, Helwig became established in the Canadian literary scene by co-founding Quarry Magazine with Tom Marshall and Michael Ondaatje. Based in Kingston, Ontario, he became an English professor at Queens University and taught courses at Collins Bay Penitentiary. Using prose interviews with an inmate of the penitentiary, Helwig published a book about his experiences titled A Book About Billie (Oberon Press, 1972).

Between 1974 and 1976, Helwig worked as the literary manager of CBC’s television drama department, and continued to work freelance at CBC in the following decades.

Helwig is the author of 17 books of poetry, 25 books of fiction, and several other books which include translations, collected essays, and his memoir. Among his novels are a collection set in Kingston, Ontario, known as “The Kingston Novels”: The Glass Knight (1976), Jennifer (1979), It’s Always Summer (1982), and A Sound Like Laughter (1983). His autobiography, The Names of Things: A Memoir was published in 2006. His poetry collections have received numerous awards, including the CBC poetry award for Catchpenny Poems (1983), and the Atlantic Poetry Award for The Year One (2004).

In 1996, Helwig relocated to Prince Edward Island. He was appointed the province’s Poet Laureate in 2008 and received the Order of Canada in 2009. He is also a recipient of the Matt Cohen Award from the Writers’ Trust of Canada for lifetime contribution to Canadian literature.
As an essayist, Helwig published regularly in the Globe and Mail’s Facts & Arguments section (1990-1992) and the monthly PEI magazine, The Buzz (2005-2015).

His partner, Judy Gaudet, is an accomplished poet. His daughter, Maggie Helwig, is an Anglican priest, author, and social advocate in Toronto.

Herbert Menges, conductor and composer, was born in Hove on 27 August 1902. He was educated at the Royal College of Music where he studied with Holst and Vaughan Williams. He became the leader of the Brighton Society of Symphonic Players. The group later became the Brighton Philharmonic Society. Menges also composed music and conducted for the Old Vic Theatre where he became music director in 1931. He wrote the music for all of Shakespeare's plays performed at the theatre. He died in London on 20 February 1972.

Farley Mowat was born on May 12, 1921 in Belleville, Ont. and educated at the University of Toronto. In 1952 he published People of the Deer, a book about the Ihalmiut people of the Barrenlands, the first of his many books with a northern theme. Other popular Mowat themes are stories that involve the sea, Newfoundland and the protection of the environment and all living creatures. He was a man of strong opinions who described himself as a "rampant nationalist" and a "story-teller who is more concerned with reaching his audience than with garnering kudos from the arbiters of literary greatness." Among the many honours and awards that he received was an honorary doctorate from McMaster University in 1994. Farley Mowat died on May 6, 2014.

Matt Cohen, writer and translator, was born on 30 December 1942, in Kingston, Ont. He was educated at the University of Toronto, graduating with a BA in Political Economy in 1964, followed by a Master's degree in Political Science in 1965. He taught at McMaster University in the Department of Religion in 1967-1968. Cohen was Writer-in-Residence at Rochdale College (1968), University of Alberta (1975-1976), the University of Western Ontario (1981), the University of Bologna (1985), and Toronto Reference Library (1997). He also taught writing at the University of Victoria in 1979-1980.

In his own writing Cohen employed a variety of literary forms–short story, poetry, song, novella and full-length novel. He also wrote children's books using the pseudonym of "Teddy Jam". Cohen was the recipient of numerous awards and honours and his work has been translated into many languages. He died on 2 December 1999, shortly after winning the Governor General's Award for his novel Elizabeth and After. Cohen was married three times, first to Arden Ford, then to Susan Bricker and finally to Patsy Aldana. After his marriage to Susan Bricker ended, he lived for a time with Katherine Govier. In 1978 he met Patricia Aldana with whom he shared the rest of his life. Patsy had two children, Carlota ("Coca") and Seth McAllister, from an earlier marriage. With Patsy, Cohen had two children, Daniel and Madeleine. Cohen purchased a farm near Bellrock, north of Kingston, Ont. and lived there and also in Toronto until his death. Cohen and his family also lived for extended periods in Spain, France and Italy.

Edward E. Seymour, prominent labour organizer, was born 30 July 1940 in Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. He was raised in Sydney, Nova Scotia and attended Sydney Academy prior to moving to Ontario in 1958. He received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Waterloo in 1974. He is the author of An Illustrated History of Canadian Labour 1800-1974 (1976, 2nd ed. 1980) and Illuminating the Past Brightening the Future: An Illustrated History International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 353 1903-2003 (2003).

Mr. Seymour’s trade union experience dates back to 1962 when he became a member of Lodge 1246, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. From 1970 to 1977, he was the Canadian Education and Publicity Director for the Textile Workers Union of America. In 1977 he was the national representative for the Communications Workers of Canada (CLC). In 1986 he established Solidarity Consulting, a consulting firm for unions. He was also a partner of Resolutions Unlimited (established in 2000), a firm that focuses on the resolution of harassment and discrimination in the work place. Mr. Seymour served many times on arbitration boards for a number of unions.

William Joseph "Bill" Burniston was born in Wentworth County on 28 September 1920. He was hired to work at the Steel Company of Canada 20" Mill, Ontario Works in Hamilton, Ont. on 28 January 1941. One of his earlier jobs was as a mill hand catcher. He received postponements from military training during World War II because of his employment at Stelco. He married Virginia Wells on 20 February 1943 and the couple had one child, a daughter Tracey, in 1958. The Burnistons lived in Dundas, Ont., and also had a cottage at Turkey Point. If he worked until age 65, he would have retired in 1985. It is possible he took early retirement. Mr. Burniston's death date is not known.

Bill Burniston was an active member of Local 1005. His positions with the local included:

Executive Officer; Chairman and Secretary, Compensation, Safety and Health Committee; Chairman, Pensions, Welfare and Insurance Committee; Chairman and Secretary, Unemployment Insurance Committee; Chief Steward, 20" Mill, Ontario Works; Chairman, Div. 2 Grievance Committee; Chairman, Entertainment Committee; Chairman, Labour Day Committee.

He was also the Secretary of the Steelworkers Social Club of Hamilton which was incorporated in letters patent issued by the Government of Ontario in October 1947. The Club's affairs were legally wound up in 1962. Bill Burniston also contributed articles to Steel Shots.

Henry Cecil was the principal pseudonym for Judge Henry Cecil Leon who was born in Norwood Green Rectory, near London, England in 1902. He was called to the Bar in 1923, and served with the British Army during the Second World War. Later, appointed a County Court Judge in 1949, he served in this capacity until 1967. He died in 1976. The law and circumstances which surround it have been the source for many of Cecil's numerous short stories, books, and plays, and radio adaptations of his work.

Jack de Hart grew up in Lethbridge, Alberta, the son of J.B. de Hart and his wife. As a school boy he represented Lethbridge schools at the Coronation in 1937. He joined the military in 1943 and served until 1971, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in Korea. De Hart also served as Commissioner of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, Federal District (Ottawa) in the 1980s. He died on 6 November 1992. A bursary was set up in his memory by the Royal Canadian Artillery Association. He served as president of this association in 1978-79. His wife Marjory died in 1968 – she was the daughter of Alfred W. and Edith Wright.

Robert Fulford, journalist, editor, and author, was born in Ottawa on 13 February 1932 and educated at Malvern Collegiate. His first job was as a sports reporter with the Globe and Mail. He soon turned to literature and the arts which have remained his forte. Fulford edited various magazines for Maclean-Hunter in 1953-1955, returned to the Globe in 1956-1957, and was editor of Maclean's Magazine from 1962 to 1964. From 1958 to 1962 and again from 1964 to 1968 he was a literary columnist for the Toronto Daily Star. He became editor of Saturday Night magazine in 1968 and stayed there until his resignation in 1987. While there he reviewed movies under the pseudonym of “Marshall Delaney”. He then became columnist and contributing editor to the Financial Times until 1992 when he joined the Globe and Mail as weekly arts columnist.

He has been a contributing editor of both Toronto Life and Canadian Art. Fulford began writing a column for the National Post in 2000. He has published several books. In addition to his writing, he has been active as a radio personality and has hosted an interview program, "Realities" on TV Ontario. He served as chair of the Maclean-Hunter program in communications ethics, Ryerson University, 1989-1993. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. He has won numerous awards and been awarded several honorary degrees. Fulford published his memoir Best Seat in the House in 1988.

He passed away at the age of 92 on October 15th, 2024.

Jayne Epstein was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1922 and educated at Wilbur Wright College, Indiana University and the University of Iowa. In 1941 she married Alwyn Berland. The couple had four children. In 1963 she moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, becoming a Canadian citizen in 1973. From 1966 to 1968 she was the poetry editor of the Wascana Review. She and her husband later moved to Hamilton, Ontario where he became the Dean of Humanities at McMaster University and she taught poetry. She published her poems in many journals and also published several books of poetry. She was a founding member of the Hamilton Poetry Centre. In 1988-89 the Berlands travelled to Nanjing, China where they taught English language and literature at the Normal University (NanShaDa). Jayne Berland died in January, 2015, in Dundas, Ontario.

Robin Farr was born in Vancouver in 1926. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1947 with a B.A. and from teacher's college in 1948. In 1950, Farr began his publishing career with Copp Clark in Toronto. In 1960, after being appointed founding Director of the McGill University Press, he moved to Montreal to head the new publishing house for the next nine years. In 1969, after a short stint at McClelland and Stewart, Farr landed at Ryerson Press, Toronto. In 1970, the Ryerson Press was sold to the American firm McGraw-Hill Ltd. Farr ended his career at the Canada Council with a key role in developing and influencing government publishing policy. For further information, see Farr's autobiographical document On Publishing Years included in the fonds.

Bertrand Arthur William Russell, philosopher, logician, peace advocate and social reformer, was born at Trelleck in Monmouthshire on 18 May 1872, the younger son of Viscount Amberley, and the grandson of Lord John Russell, the first Earl Russell. Educated at Cambridge, Russell was a prolific author, publishing his first book, Germany Social Democracy, in 1896, quickly followed by his dissertation, An Essay on the Foundations of Geometry (1897). His principal work, Principia Mathematica, written with Alfred North Whitehead, was published in three volumes, 1910-1913. In addition to philosophy, he wrote books about education, marriage, religion, politics, and many other subjects. He was an active campaigner against World War I, nuclear weapons, and the Vietnam war. For a time he owned and operated his own school, Beacon Hill, together with his wife, Dora. He was a recipient of many awards and honours, including the Nobel Prize for Literature (1950) and the Order of Merit (1949). He married four times. Russell published an Autobiography in three volumes, 1967-1969. He died at Plas Penrhyn, Merionethshire, Wales on 2 February 1970.

Harold Brownlee Stuart, draughtsman, field engineer and soldier, was born in Mitchell, Ontario on 31 January 1889. He was educated at the University of Toronto where he trained in Practical Science and received his B.Sc. Degree in 1909. Stuart was employed as a surveyor, fire ranger, and road diversions designer before becoming a draughtsman and eventually designer for Hamilton Bridge Works in 1912.

In 1913 he joined the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as a Private. He transferred from the 1st Field Troop to the 2nd Canadian Pioneers as a Lieutenant on active service in 1915 and served in France and Belgium, attaining the rank of Captain in 1916 and Major in 1918. Stuart returned to Hamilton in 1919 and rejoined Hamilton Bridge Works as an expert in the construction of bascule bridges. He assisted in designing the Burlington Beach Ship Canal and also designed numerous railway bridges, overpasses, public buildings and factories in Western Ontario.

Stuart served in England from 1941 to 1944 as consulting engineer and officer, commanding the 7th Canadian Construction Company Royal Canadian Engineers. His civilian experience in bridge design allowed him to design bridges and similar structures that could be quickly constructed and readily transported. He was awarded the Member of the British Empire in 1943. In 1944 Stuart returned to Canada where he was affiliated with the Directorate of Works and Construction in Ottawa. Stuart died in Ottawa on 14 October 1946 and was posthumously appointed an Officer of the British Empire.

Benjamin Franklin Meyer, author and professor, was born in Chicago, Illinois on 5 November 1927. On 27 March 1969, he married Denise Oppliger. He was educated at the University of Santa Clara, California, the Biblical Institute, Rome and the Gregorian University, also in Rome. Meyer was assistant professor of religion at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley from 1965 to 1968. From 1969 until his retirement in 1992, he taught in the Department of Religious Studies at McMaster University.

He earned the respect of scholars around the world for his extensive work on the historical Jesus, and was the author of numerous books including The Man for Others (1970), The Aims of Jesus (1979) and Christus Faber (1992). Meyer was also the author of the television documentary "Christianity" (1973). Among the many honours and awards he received was a Fulbright fellowship in Germany from 1964 to1965 and Canada Council fellowships in Greece and Switzerland in 1976 to1977 and 1983 to1984. He resided in Burlington, Ontario and Les Verrières, Switzerland. Meyer died at Les Verrières on 28 December 1995.

Duncan Alexander MacGibbon, economist, was born in Lochaber Bay, Quebec, on 12 March 1882. He was educated at McMaster University and then went to Brandon College, Manitoba, to teach. He left Brandon to enrol at the University of Chicago where he received his Ph.D. in economics in 1915. He began to teach at McMaster University but his teaching career was halted by World War I. After the war he joined the University of Alberta as professor and head of the Department of Political Economy. He served as Commissioner for the Alberta Government on banking and credit with respect to the industry of agriculture in 1922. He was a member of the Royal Grain Inquiry Commission, Canada, 1923-1924. He left the University of Alberta in 1929 to become a member of the Canadian Board of Grain Commissioners, a post he held until his retirement in 1949. In 1930 he was attached to the Canadian delegation to Imperial Conference, London; in 1932 he served the same role at the imperial Economic Conference in Ottawa in 1932. After his retirement, he returned to McMaster University to teach part-time. Among his many writings, MacGibbon published two definitive books on the grain trade: The Canadian Grain Trade (1932) and The Canadian Grain Trade, 1931-1951 (1952). He died in Hamilton, Ont. on 10 October 1969.

Marian Engel, novelist, was born Marian Searle in Toronto on 24 May 1933. She was educated at McMaster University and then McGill University where she wrote her M.A. thesis, under Hugh MacLennan's supervision, on the English-Canadian novel in 1957. After teaching briefly in Montreal and at the University of Montana, she travelled in Europe, marrying fellow McMaster graduate and author, Howard Engel, in 1962. She spent a year in Cyprus and finally returned to Canada where her twin children were born. Her first published novel, No Clouds of Glory appeared in 1968 and was followed by The Honeyman Festival (1970), Monodromos (1973) and Bear (1976), for which she received the Governor General's Award for Literature. She also wrote short stories and children's books. Her last published novel was Lunatic Villas (1981). Engel died in Toronto on 16 February 1985.