2 mm (1 two-page letter -- 1 letter with envelope)
History / Biographical
David Sommerville Charleson was born January 14th, 1884, in Brandon, Manitoba. The Charleson's settled in the GlenSouris area south of Brandon, Manitoba in 1882. David Charleson enlisted on 24 September 1914. He served as a lieutenant in the 6th Infantry Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Later, he transferred to the 8th Battalion. In Belgium, Charleson was a victim of an enemy gas attack early in the war, following which he returned to Canada incapacitated. Miss Estella Cullen, a trained nurse, cared for him following his return to Canada. David Sommerville Charleson died on May 12, 1925 a victim of war-time injuries. He is buried in the GlenSouris Cemetery just south of Brandon.
Custodial History
This fonds was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1997. Prior custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of one letter written by Charleson from Belgium in early 1915 to Miss Estella Cullen in Rounthwaite, Manitoba. In the letter, Charleson describes the circumstances facing the Canadian troops in the trenches during the Great War and provides an account of the German trenches facing him. This is an evocative and reflective letter. Philatelists may find the condition of the stamps on the letter envelope of interest.
See RG 6, series 9 (Department of Extension) for biographical information on R.B. Inch.
Custodial History
R.B. Inch's records were passed on to the McKee Archives following his death. It is presumed that the executer of his estate donated the collection after his passing in 1983.
Scope and Content
This collection is heavily influenced by Inch's professional and organizational life. Most heavily represented is literature associated with Inch's involvement with the League of Nations Society in Canada during the 1930s. It also appears that Inch paid close attention to United Nations' policy following World War II, from ca. 1945-1970. There are numerous items devoted to both Canadian and international political and diplomatic issues, with particular emphasis on British politics in the immediate post-war period. As one would expect from his involvement in the National Research Council and League of Nations Society, the core of the fonds is a study in two major themes. The first theme is of the post-WWII policy pursued by Canada and Britain and, secondly, the growth and development of United Nations' policy following the collapse of the League of Nations. There is some periphery material of general interest to Canadian history and Canadian university publications, but for the most part the material can be classified into one of the two preceding themes.
The collection includes a manuscript prepared by R.B. Inch entitled "Parliament Will Decide: A Chronicle of the Drift to War and of an Effort to Help Avert it" (1947). The manuscipt is edited but out of order.
The balance of the collection consists of accumulated documents gathered over the course of Inch's lifetime from outside sources. These include: newspaper clippings and whole newspapers from publications in Winnipeg, Brandon, Toronto, Calgary and London; United Nations' pamphlets conerning a broad range of issues, ranging from the question of East Indian independence to annual policy directives of the organization; various magazines including copies of "Interdependence," which Inch once edited; articles taken from the publication "Life" concerning important figures of the time period; numerous books and textbooks concerning the political formation of post-war Europe; quarterlies from academic institutions, such as the University of Toronto; some material, primarily pamphlets, concerning R.B. Inch's involvement in Amnesty International after his retirement; and documents relating to post-war reconstruction in Britain.
Notes
Finding aid for the R.B. Inch fonds was prepared for the McKee Archives by Matthew Palmer (2003). The majority of the boxes in the collection contain a typewritten inventory detailing the contents of each container. As well, the preponderance of the files within the boxes are further subdivided by either a typwritten inventory itemizing the material contained within each dossier or a handwritten note on the outside of the folder describing the contents.
MG 3 Brandon University Teaching and Administration
1.10 R.B. Inch
Related Material
Additional materials related to R.B. Inch may be found in RG 6, Series 9 (Department of Extension). There is also a related group of records from R.B. Inch that can be found in the Library and Archives of Canada under the heading Rober Boyer Inch fonds. This fonds consists of 4.05 m of textual records dating from ca. 1923-1981.
