Series 8 - Correspondence

1.23 m of textual and graphic records

The letters at the beginning of this series (in accession B2013-0005) consist of Spencer’s letters home while on military training and active duty (1941-1946), beginning with letters sent from Canada (June 1941 – March 1943) and then from overseas (June 1943 – July 1946). Spencer began numbering his letters home on 28 February 1943 when he was about to be stationed at Camp Debert, Nova Scotia. Between then and 23 March 1945 he wrote at least 312 letters home; then started, but did not maintain, a new numbering system.

These are followed by various family letters, including some sent by Spencer (1943-1947), letters to and from third parties, letters to and from his parents between 1946 and 1950, and letters (1946-1948) between Robert and Ruth Church whom he married on 22 June 1948. Bob’s letters to Ruth were always mailed to the Office of the High Commissioner at Canada House where she worked. The family correspondence, which included some from Robert’s parents (his father, Charles Allan, died on 2 August 1972), his brothers (Colin and Wilson), and later his and Ruth’s children (Charles, Valerie, and Katherine) continues until 2010. From the mid-1990s, there are no letters from Ruth.

The arrangement in this section of correspondence is grouped by correspondents but is largely chronological. Fax paper has been photocopied and the original faxes have been destroyed.

The correspondence in accession B2010-0024 relates mostly to professional, not family, matters. It includes Professor Spencer’s ongoing correspondence and dealings with various government departments, embassies, consulates, international, national and local organizations other than the COTC and Atlantik-Brücke. For more information, also see Series 9, which includes information on Spencer’s extensive roster of speaking engagements, and Series 11, which documents his attendance at various conferences, seminars, roundtables and panel discussions. The arrangement for this section is alphabetical by organization.

Included with the letters are numerous postcards and a few photoprints.

Open.

For file listing, see Appendix 6 in the attached PDF finding aid.