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Title proper
Gordon Elliott fonds
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- Textual record
- Sound recording
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- Source of title proper: The title is based on the provenance of the fonds
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Physical description
1.6 m of textual records
1 audio cassette
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Gordon Raymond Elliott was born in Vancouver in 1920 but spent childhood in Pemberton, Williams Lake, and Revelstoke. In 1942, Elliott joined the Canadian Army following the attack on Pearl Harbor. He later transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force and served as a navigator on Lancaster bombers based in England. In 1945, Elliott was injured during a plane crash and was sent home to a Vancouver hospital. Upon his release, he attended UBC from 1947-54 and earned a B.A. and M.A. in History. Elliott taught in Williams Lake briefly before enrolling at Harvard University, earning a second M.A. in History. From 1957-65, Elliott taught in the English Department at UBC. During this time, he encouraged novelist Margaret Laurence to publish her first books. In 1965, he joined the Department of English faculty at SFU. He taught courses in Canadian Literature until 1985 when he retired as Professor Emeritus. Over the years, he edited Canadian texts such as British Columbia: A History by Margaret Ormsby (1958) and wrote several books of his own. Elliott was also a leading member of the Vancouver Historical Society, serving as Vice-President (1968) and President (1970-1972). He introduced ethnic history as a field of study for the Society with a speakers' series on local ethnic groups. Later, he launched a publication program with three local histories, the Occasional Papers Series. Elliott died in 2006.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Fonds consists almost entirely of materials created or acquired by Gordon Elliott throughout his life and career and includes:
• The manuscripts for his historical writing.
• Research materials.
• Personal correspondence.
• University notes and lectures.
• Newspaper clippings.
• Public lectures.
• An audio recording.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
The executors of his estate donated the papers of Gordon Elliott to the University Archives in 2007.
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Online Finding Aid
Please see the finding aid for an inventory of files.
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No further accruals are expected.
Alternative identifier(s)
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Place access points
Name access points
- University of British Columbia. Dept. of English (Subject)
- University of British Columbia. Faculty of Arts (Subject)
- Watters, Reginald Eyre (Subject)
- Ormsby, Margaret (Subject)
- University of British Columbia. Dept. of History (Subject)
- Haig-Brown, Roderick Langmere (Subject)