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Allan Burgess Dove, wire engineer and metallurgist, was born in Ayr, Scotland on 9 April 1909. He immigrated to Canada with his family in 1913. He attended Queen's University where he graduated with a BSc. in Chemical Engineering in 1932. Throughout his career Dove worked at Stelco's Canada Works in Hamilton, Ont. and Lachine, Que. as a Plant Engineer, Wire Mill Engineer, Superintendent, and Senior Development Metallurgist. An active member of the Wire Association International and other professional organizations, he edited the Steel Wire Handbook (4 vols., 1967-1980) and co-edited Ferrous Wire with Robert F. Dixon and Regina Robert (2 vols., 1990). In addition to his professional and scientific career, Dove was active in the Canadian military, beginning as a Private with the 91 Princess Louise Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada in 1925. After his retirement in 1974, Dove remained a consultant to Stelco as well as for other clients. He died on 24 July 1989.

Established in 1979 and incorporated in 1982, the Editors' Association of Canada (EAC, formerly known as the Freelance Editors' Association of Canada), is an organization of both English- and French-language editors. The French name of the organization is Association canadienne des réviseurs. The association promotes professional editing as key in producing effective communications. With more than 1,600 members from coast to coast, salaried and freelance, EAC works with individuals and in the government, technical, corporate, non-profit, and publishing fields. EAC sponsors professional development seminars, establishes guidelines and aids to help editors, and promotes high standards of editing and publishing in Canada. EAC's national office is located in Toronto. Branch offices are located in British Columbia, the Prairie Provinces, Toronto, the National Capital Region, and Quebec/Atlantic provinces

Beatty Brothers Limited was established in Fergus, Ontario in 1874 by George and Matthew Beatty. In its earliest years the company was primarily a family business involved in the manufacture of farm equipment. At the Toronto Industrial Exhibition in 1879, the company was awarded a bronze medal for engineering excellence. During the same period the two brothers also purchased the Grindley farm implement factory with water power on the Grand River. It manufactured reapers, mowers, straw cutters, land rollers, single and gang plows, and even stoves and cast-iron kitchen utensils.

From the turn of the century to 1961, the company continued to expand. Other companies were purchased: the James Provan Company of Oshawa, Whitman and Barnes of St. Catharines, Cameron and Dunn of Strathroy, Tolton Brothers of Guelph, Emerson and Campbell of Tweed, Wortman and Ward of London, Ont., etc. By 1928 the Beatty product line spanned more than 600 items. Factories in Fergus and London, Ontario employed 600 people, and a further 800 people were employed in Great Britain. There were branches and stores across Canada; by 1939 there were also stores in Australia and New Zealand.

In May 1961 the Beatty family sold their shares to Ralph M. Barford, Robert A. Stevens, and George Gardiner. In 1969 the company amalgamated with General Steel Wares to form GSW Limited.

Gordon William Parkinson was born on November 18, 1898 in Byron, Ontario. He was the second child of Robert John Parkinson and Katherine Ellen (Hull) Parkinson. In 1904, the family moved to Granton, Ontario. Gordon left his home to work for James McCormick Leather in London, Ontario, to learn the trade of harness maker.

At the age of 17, on April 12, 1916, he voluntarily enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces and trained at Merwin Heights in London. He was part of the 142nd Battalion known as “London’s Own Battalion.” On July 8, 1916, his battalion left for Camp Borden by train. On November 1, 1916, the battalion left for England, and Gordon entered Dibgate Camp on November 11, 1916. Gordon crossed the channel to France on March 29, 1918, and was in active service with the First Division Canadian Corps. Throughout his time away from home, Gordon regularly wrote to his father, the family, and to his older brother Bob. He also sent home various items such as souvenirs, and a book titled “Atlas of the War.” Gordon was in the 1st Battalion, First Division Wing, D Coy, when he was killed in action on October 1, 1918. Gordon was buried in the Sancourt British Cemetery in France on October 17, 1918.

John D.C. McTavish served with the Canadian Intelligence Corps holding the rank of captain. The Corps was founded on 29 October 1942. He served in the military before that although it is not known what unit he was with. McTavish served with the Corps in Singapore, leaving England in December 1946, stopping in Cairo and New Delhi en route. He returned to England and from there sailed for Canada arriving in October 1946. He was married to Estelle Mary McTavish and they had at least one son. They lived in Victoria, BC, and at one point he describes the Thames in relation to the Cowichan River. Although he was married, McTavish became involved with two women while in England. Both of them wrote to him when he left England for the Far East. He had returned to Victoria, BC, by 1949, when he was working for Empire Life Insurance.

Information regarding McTavish's birth and death dates are unknown, however the following obituary appeared in The Times Colonist, 5 July 2002, and given the area, name, and the logical dates, it is presumed to be him:
MCTAVISH John D.C. 1913-2002, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 29, 2002. He will be missed by all his family and friends and will remain in our hearts and minds forever. An afternoon tea party at his home will be held in his honour at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 9, at at 2837 Gorge View Drive.

Ralph Ellis was an active labour leader in Hamilton for more than twenty years. During that time he was employed as a machinist at the American Can Company. He was active in the CCF party, becoming president of the Hamilton West Riding Association and also running for alderman in the 1950s. In the 1960s he became involved in the crusade to make Canadian labour unions independent of American influence. This activism led to his expulsion from the Hamilton and District Labour Council in 1971 after a membership of twenty years. He went on to chair the National Committee for Independent Canadian Unions. He passed away November 16, 2008 in his 88th year.

The Loyal Orange Association of British America was founded in January 1830 by Colonel Ogle G. Gowan who became its first Grand Master. The Association takes its name from William, Prince of Orange, who was crowned William III of Great Britain in 1689. In Canada, the Orange Association dedicated itself to the promotion of British Protestantism. Orangemen played an active part in local political affairs, church activities, and public education until well into the twentieth century.

John Innes Merrylees began his service as a rifleman with the 1st Battalion, 5th City of London Regiment, on the Western Front. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. He later became a captain in the Middlesex Regiment, attached to the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment which formed part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.

John Hays was born in Elgin, Scotland, in November 1896, the son of James and Jemina Hays. At the time of his enlistment in Toronto he was living in Hamilton, Ont. with his parents. He listed his occupation as a farmer. He was assigned to the 19th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force as a private. He served with different units during the war until his death on 9 May 1917.

Wilson Thomson was an illustrator for Blue Book magazine which published fiction in the United States. Apart from that, nothing more is known about him or his career.

William Force Stead, poet and clergyman, was born 29 August 1884 in Washington, D.C. and educated at the University of Virginia. He went to England with the U.S. consular service, serving as Vice-Consul in Liverpool and Nottingham. He left the service to study at Queen's College, Oxford. He was ordained into the Church of England and appointed assistant chaplain of the Anglican church in Florence, Italy. He returned to England around 1926 and was elected a Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. From 1927 to 1933 he served as college chaplain. In 1939 he returned to the United States where he became professor of English at Trinity College in Washington, D.C. He died on 8 March 1967 in Baltimore, Maryland. His best work of poetry is Uriel, A Hymn in Praise of Divine Immanence (1933). He was also a reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement. His academic scholarship involved the poet Christopher Smart (1722-1771). In 1939 Stead edited Rejoice in the Lamb: A Song from Bedlam by Christopher Smart.

Opal Nations was born in Brighton, England. He began his career as a singer. Later on he became a writer and editor. While living in Vancouver, he owned his own small press, Strange Faeces, which published a magazine of the same name. It featured poetry, fiction and art. He moved to Oakland, Ca. in 1981. Further biographical information can be found on his web page.

Thomas Douglas, the fifth Earl of Selkirk was born on St. Mary’s Isle, near Kircudbright, Scotland in 1771. He was a colonizer and author, founding the Red River colony in Manitoba in 1811.

William Duncan Stark (1815-) and Robert Mackenzie Stark (1815-1873) were twin brothers, the sons of Scottish clergyman William Stark and his wife Elizabeth. The twins were born on 17 June 1815. Robert wrote A Popular History of British Mosses (London: Lovell Reeve, 1854).

Lettice O'Hanlon of Orior, also called Lettice O'Hanlon, was the great-great-grandniece of Major General Henry Pringle. Pringle, born ca. 1727 in Ireland, served for many years in the military in North America. He later served in Spain.

Brigadier Donald Robert Agnew was born in Toronto on 25 Oct. 1897. He was educated at University of Toronto Schools and Royal Military College. From 1947-1954 he was both Commandant of the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. and A.D.C. to the Governor-General of Canada. From 1954-1958 he served as Director of the Imperial War Graves Commission in North West Europe. He was awarded the C.B.E. in 1946. He would gain the rank of Brigadier-General and retired from the military in 1958.

Lance Corporal Gerald John Blake (300028) served with the London Rifle Brigade, British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. He was born in 1885 or 1886 to John and Saima Blake of London. He arrived in France in October 1914 and was present for the Christmas truce. Blake died on 1 July 1916, at the age of 30, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. He is buried at the Thiepval Memorial, Pier 9, face D.

James R. Allan was a sapper with the 2nd Infantry Brigade, Headquarters staff, Brigade Signal section, First Canadian Contingent, British Expeditionary Force.

James Alexander Millen was born in Wentworth County on 11 February 1882. He enlisted with the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force in December 1915. Prior to enlistment, Millen was a member of the 77th Regiment where he had served as Lieutenant for Company E from 1902 to 1909.