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Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1942-2001 (Creation)
- Creator
- Lord, James Arthur “Jim”
Physical description area
Physical description
54.5 cm textual records.
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
James A. “Jim” Lord was born in Dublin in 1914, the fifth of seven children. His father, also James, was an accountant and his mother was a dressmaker. The family immigrated to Canada in 1921, first to Flamborough, then to Hamilton (Herkimer St.). In Hamilton, James Sr. died in 1924 when Jim was ten. At the age of sixteen, Jim left school to help the family, working at Wright’s Hardware on James North, then at Stelco.
With rumblings of war growing louder, Jim took night classes on the theory of electrical equipment. He met Elsie Grace Manewell at All Saints Anglican church, and they were married on 10 April 1942, just before Jim enlisted with the RCAF. His night class preparations made him a prime candidate for the role of radar technician. He completed training in the US and Canada before being sent overseas. He spent the majority of the war in Wick, Scotland at one of the radar stations there. These sites monitored for incoming bombing runs.
After returning home in November 1945, he returned to his job at Stelco. He and Elsie had three children: Jack, Bill, and Bob. Despite leaving school early, his passion for learning continued throughout his life. He finished his high school degree through correspondence, which he’d begun while overseas, and became an accountant in 1950. He worked for General Smelting, later moving into purchasing and personnel, until his retirement in 1979. He earned a scholar of theology diploma by correspondence from England, and in 1960, he was ordained as an Anglican deacon. He volunteered with St. Mark’s in downtown Hamilton and St. Margaret’s. After he retired, he attended McMaster University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 and an M.A. at the age of 70 (see his M.A. thesis here). In addition to academic writing, he wrote and published an epic poem in honour of Terry Fox, “The Song of Alopeix.”
Lord had a great love of the outdoors and would often go on long walks and hiking trips with his dog. He died of heart disease at the age of 86.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The fonds consists primarily of letters that Lord wrote to his wife, Elsie Grace Manewell, during the Second World War. He wrote dedicatedly nearly every day while he was overseas. Very often these letters were a month in transit before arriving in Hamilton. The archive also includes notes on Jim’s military leaves, especially to visit family in Ireland, and his trips to local Lodge meetings, weddings, and movies.
The majority, 743 letters from Jim, are handwritten, as well as some airgraphs, telegrams, and typed letters. Nearly all of these include their envelope, which Elise or her mother have noted the date they arrived compared to when they were sent. An additional 23 letters from others are mostly telegrams or handwritten letters or cards.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
The fonds (2023-022) was donated by Debbie Lord.
Arrangement
The archive is arranged chronologically, beginning with outgoing correspondence from Jim, then related war materials, and finally, his received correspondence. Some other records pertain to Jim’s life after the war.
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There are no access restrictions.
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Further accruals are not expected.
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Dates of creation, revision and deletion
B. Whittle, 2024.
