The series consists of thirty-three (33) diaries and one (1) scrapbook created by William Huestis Bamford between the years 1962-2003, primarily reflecting his personal and family life. Only the first diary in the series, written between 1962 and 1964, touches on Bamford’s employment with Canada Post, including information about delivery routes and labour strikes. The subsequent daily diaries cover Bamford’s family and personal life in great detail, including part-time, temporary work at an insurance company; visits made and received; birthdays and holidays; household and garden chores and repairs; meals eaten; purchases and subscriptions; leisure / recreational activities and hobbies; personal travel; banking and financial information and transactions; voting habits; personal and family health issues and deaths; gifts received and given; important family events; personal appointments; and family pets, among other topics. The diaries also include information of general interest, such as weather, news updates, and sports results. Later diaries include extensive memoranda related to health appointments, treatments, surgeries, medications, etc. of Bamford and his wife, Esther, particularly related to her rheumatoid arthritis. Other memoranda in the diaries include lists of Christmas gifts, notes about sale and other tax increases, records of weight and weight loss, and more. Some diaries include inserts such as bookmarks; brochures and flyers; funeral service programs; postcards; tickets; theatre and event programs; invitations; coupons; and other ephemera and memorabilia.

Scrapbooks in the series contain photos, personal correspondence, notes, and ephemera, including travel-themed stickers; tickets; napkins; receipts; business cards; postcards; blood donor cards; ribbons; programs; greeting cards; grade reports; certificates; flyers; and travel documents.

The series contains a scrapbook created by Esther Adelina Lasell Bamford between the years 1933-1942, reflecting her early schooling and personal interests, as well as correspondence to Esther’s aunt, Adelina Ord Lasell, from various members of a branch of the Ord family living in New Zealand. The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings covering local and national news and events, songs, poems, pictures, knitting and needlecraft patterns, and recipes. Also included are copies of the local school paper, the Wainwright High School “Gusher,” programs from local performances, and song and poems copied out by Bamford. The letters to Adelina Lasell are written between 1938 and 1940 by several members of the Ord family (Lasell’s maiden name) living in New Zealand. The letters concern family updates and history and the death of Lasell’s sister, Mary.

The fonds consists of diaries, scrapbooks, and correspondence spanning the period 1910-2003 and related to the professional and personal lives of three generations of the Bamford family—William Blackley Bamford, his son William Blackley Stanley Bamford, and his grandson William Huestis Bamford—as well as to members of the Lasell and Ord families, related by marriage to William Huestis Bamford. Diaries in the fonds include concise “five year” or “line a day” diaries, as well as more detailed daily journals and many cover aspects of the Bamfords’ professional and personal life.

Scrapbooks in the fonds, which contain newspaper clippings, ephemera, correspondence, photographs, notes, and other material, primarily reflect the Bamfords’ personal interests, but also interests their chosen professions and employers, including the Canadian Pacific Railway Company and the Bank of Montreal. Beyond the incoming and outgoing personal and professional correspondence included in the scrapbooks, the Esther Adelina Lasell Bamford series contains incoming correspondence related to a branch of the Ord family living in New Zealand.

The fonds is arranged into four series by family member: William Blackley Bamford; William Blackley Stanley Bamford; William Huestis Bamford; and Esther Adelina Lasell Bamford.