Showing 233 results

Authority record
Duffus, Maureen
E0001 · Person · 1926-2018

Maureen Duffus is a well-known local historian and author of several books and numerous articles about the history of Vancouver Island from the 1840s to the mid-20th Century. Maureen grew up on the waterfront on View Royal Avenue, born to two lawyers. She attended Craigflower elementary, but in the newer school, across the street from where her grandmother attended classes. Maureen was married to the late Dr. John Duffus, professor emeritus, former Dean of Science and Engineering, Royal Roads Military College. She has two sons, two grandchildren, and a great-grandaughter.

After graduating from the University of British Columbia she was a journalist at the Victoria Daily Times and the Ottawa Citizen. She spent several years in England where her occupations included secretary and driver for the touring Oxford and Cambridge Players theatrical company, a vibrant and eclectic group that foundered soon after its short run as a fringe show at the Edinburgh Festival. She returned to Victoria as a newspaper reporter, columnist and section editor, and produced an illustrated history of Victoria fashions for the Centennial Edition of the Daily Colonist. She later served as communications officer for the Institute of Ocean Science where she specialized in "translating science into English for non-scientists." In 2012, she was presented the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Town of View Royal for her community work as an archivist and notable citizen. Some of the organizations she has volunteered at include the Victoria Music Festival, Esquimalt Silver Threads Society, and the View Royal Community Archives committee.

Maureen is also related so several early families of the area. Her great-grandparents, James and Mary Yates, after whom Yates Street is named, arrived in Fort Victoria in 1849. Another great grandfather, Philip Austin, was an Esquimalt Councillor in 1916.

Draper, Horace
E0054 · Person · 1925-2005

S. Horace Draper was born on April 2, 1925 in Ottawa. He married Louise and had 3 children: Dianne, Marilyn, and Bev. He served overseas with the Canadian Navy during WWII. He also served as a Navy photographer stationed at HMCS Naden from 1944-1945. Horace later worked as a draughtsman and photographer with the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory for over 25 years. He has also done most of the copy work for Esquimalt Municipal Archives. He passed away on June 16, 2005.

Dobson, Jean
E0104 · Person

Jean's husband, Harvey Dobson, was born in Esquimalt in 1908. The couple married in St. Paul's Church in 1937. Harvey's parents, Albet Henry Dobson and Emily May Young, who was born in old Esquimalt Village in 1882.

E0192 · Person

Kathleen De La Poer Beresford lived at 851 Wollaston Street with her sister Vera Easton. The home was sold to Charles Simonds in 1984.

De Gruchy, Frank
E0053 · Person · 1927-2017

Frank De Gruchy was born on August 15, 1927. He was married to Agnes and had four children: Bill, Dick, Tom and Lois. Frank was a shipwright in HMC Dockyard for 38 years. He was also an amateur photographer in Esquimalt for 40 years. He passed away on January 10, 2017.

De Costa, Edward
E0037 · Person · 1918-2013

Edward De Costa Sr. was born May 28, 1918 in Esquimalt. He married Johanna and had 5 children, Edward, Eileen, Joanne, Michael, and Robert. He served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1938 to 1958, worked in the Dockyards for 10 years, and was an Esquimalt Alderman from 1959 to 1975.

Daniels, Arthur John
E0153 · Person · 1877-1955

Arthur John Daniels was born in Essex, England, June 27, 1877. He was Superintendent Shipwright and Dock Master for Yarrows Limited, which operated a shipyard in Esquimalt. Daniels died in Victoria on March 30, 1955.