Parallel Title

John and Margaret Taylor fonds

Date Range

1901-1987

Description Level

Fonds

Creator

John and Marguerite Taylor

Physical Description

0.24 m of textual records, 108 photographs, 56 postcards

History Biographical

John Joseph Taylor (born 25 June 1915) and Marguerite Taylor (nee Grisak, 14 April 1917-1 December 1984) were married in 1940. John joined the military in November of 1942 and trained in Camrose, AB; Chilliwack, BC and Prince George, BC before deployment to France where he was injured twice on D-Day. Afterwards, he was sent to Birmingham General Hospital in England to recover from a severe arm would before his return to Canada. They had one son, Grange Taylor, born in the summer of 1943 while John was stationed in Chilliwack. While he was away Marguerite wrote “Johnny” frequently, sometimes multiple letters in a single day. She would often start by reminding him how much she missed him and then reassure him that she, and later the baby were doing fine in spite of how much they missed him. Marguerite often writes of how she prays for John and that the war will end soon. She would recount the goings on of her day and what she had done since she had last written and how she cherished his letters. Several letters mention ones that she did not send because she felt they were too sad and did not want to bring him down since he was already so far from home. Early on she writes of a fear of the doctor, but that she will go because she is pregnant and that John would want her to go. She also recounts local gossip regarding the local prisoner of war camp and the dances that she goes to with her friend Annie. She signs most of her letters with a lipstick kiss and “I love you 60 millions & millions more then last time” or something similar. Prior to his military service John was as an industrial painter working at the airports being built for military flight training that were built across southern Alberta. As a result, he developed what they would later discover to be lead poisoning from the lead-based paint. Throughout his military career he was afflicted with ill-health. He would later be diagnosed with Huntington’s Correa, as would his son Grange. Marguerite was a devout catholic and an original member of St. Basil’s Catholic Church in north Lethbridge. She and John lived in Lethbridge until 1961 when they moved to Calgary so that John could find work. While John was away with the military she lived with her family and upon his return they purchased a house through the veteran’s housing program. John was an avid photographer and artist. Included in the donation are several examples of his drawing and photography including photographs of his family and military companions and drawings from his time overseas.

Scope and Content

20051015/1: Taylor Family Financials; Insurance papers, Benefit Application, Discharge Papers, Army Notebook, Correspondence, News Clippings, Sales Contracts, Pension Papers. 1942-1963. (Papers originally stored in a green metal box.) 20051015/2: Various Correspondence; Holiday Cards, News Clippings, Drawings, Souvenir, Photographs, Notes, Gun Permit, Ticket Stub. [1940-1968] 2 PHOTOGRAPHS 20051015/3: Correspondence, Etc. (July 1940 – March 1942); Letters, News Clippings. 1940-1942.—File primarily contains letters from Marguerite Taylor to John Taylor while he was stationed in Camrose, AB, Chilliwack, BC and Prince George, BC. The letters relay the happenings of Marguerite’s day to day life, local gossip, and the development of her pregnancy. Also included are letters to Marguerite from John, Marguerite’s aunt Julia, brother Pete, and their friend A. C. (Alf) Tomlinson of the R.A.F. stationed in Calgary. 20051015/4: Correspondence, Etc. (March 1942 – April 1946, 1965); Letters, Postcards, Newspaper Clippings. 1942-1946, 1965. — File primarily contains letters from Marguerite Taylor to John Taylor while he was on active duty in Canada and after he had been injured in France and was in hospital in England. The letters include accounts of the development of Marguerite’s pregnancy and the birth of the couple’s son Grange. Also included are letters to Marguerite from John, their friend A. C. (Alf) Tomlinson, Mrs Tomlinson (A.C.’s mother) and other men with whom John served. 20051015/5: Bills; City Taxes for 1004 – 13th Street N. 1938-1953. 20051015/6: Fighting Fifth; Newsletters, Correspondence. 1965-1983.—Papers relating to John’s military unit and several 1980s reunions. 20051015/7: Old House; Correspondence, Pension Documents, Birth Certificate. 1949-1981.—Correspondence and other documents relating to Marguerite’s parent’s home at 1004 – 13th Street N. Also included is a copy of Marguerite Oliver’s birth certificate issued in 1949 20051015/8: Personal (Bills); City of Lethbridge Tax Notices, Correspondence. 1959-1962. 20051015/9: Personal; Correspondence, Inventory Lists, Poetry. 1959-1974. 20051015/10: Dept of Veterans Affairs; Correspondence, Financial Records. 1946-1983. 20051015/11 Medical Records 1967-1987.—Copies of John’s medical records. 20051015/12: Taylor Family Various Papers; Certificates, Photographs, Coasters, Keepsake Box, Correspondence, Promotional Mirror. 1924-1984.—File includes a number of different items including several photographs and small documents that were folded up and kept in a small metal box along with a piece of a broken crucifix. 5 PHOTOGRAPHS 20051015/13: Notebook; Songs. [1944]—File contains a notebook filled with hand written song lyrics. 20051015/14: Pamphlets. 1927-1946—File contains several pamphlets on subjects relating to acceptable behaviour. 20051015/15: Pension; Correspondence. 1960-1974.—Documents related to John and Marguerite’s pensions. 20051015/16: Photographs. 1934-1969.—Baby pictures of Grange Taylor as well as other family pictures. 40 PHOTOGRAPHS . 20051015/17: Photographs. [1923-1945].—Matted oversize photographs and John and Marguerite’s wedding picture. 4 PHOTOGRAPHS. 20051015/18: Religious; Photographs, Prayer Cards. 1925-1971.—Photographs of a religious ceremony and several commemorative prayer cards. 9 PHOTOGRAPHS. 20051015/19: Photo Album (Kitten Cover); Photographs, Newspaper clippings. [1940-1976].—Family photo album contents including hand tinted portraits. 16 PHOTOGRAPHS 20051015/20: Taylor Album; Post cards, Newspaper Clippings, Post Cards, Marriage Certificate. [1901-1969]—File contains items from an album as well as a photocopy of the original placement of the items within the album. Notably there are a large collection of souvenir postcards from Lethbridge and military postcards from local studio Jackson & Co. 1 PHOTOGRAPH / 53 POSTCARDS 20051015/21: John Taylor Military Album; Photographs, Patches, Letters, Drawings, Postcards, Telegrams, Greeting Cards. [1942-1981]—File contains photographs and keepsakes from John’s time in the military. 31 PHOTGRAPHS / 3 POSTCARDS 20051015/22: Calendar.1962 —Catholic Art Calendar from Martin Bros. funeral home. 20051015/23: Donation Correspondence. 2004-2005. Correspondence between Terri Taylor and Galt archivist Greg Ellis.

Accession No.

20051015

Collection

Archive

Less detail