Joseph B. Clearihue - German POW letter

Public

A letter obtained by Joseph B. Clearihue during World War I, ostensibly written by a German prisoner of war, Willi Wagener, to his wife and daughter. Although the printed form appears authentic, spelling and grammar errors and other inconsistencies indicate that the letter may be a fake. It is possible that the message was written by Clearihue or another non-native German speaker. Biography: Joseph Badenoch Clearihue was born in Victoria and attended Boys' Central School and Victoria High School before enrolling at Victoria College (graduated in 1903), McGill University and Oxford University. He enjoyed a long career as a student, a soldier in the Fifth Canadian Field Artillery Unit in World War I, a Liberal MLA and Victoria alderman, and as a lawyer before being appointed a county court judge in 1952. He was Chair of the Victoria College Council (1947-63), and guided the College to university status. In January 1962, Clearihue turned the first sod at the construction site of the Clearihue Building, which was the first building on the Gordon head campus. Clearihue was also the first Chancellor of the University of Victoria, and Chair of the Board of Governors (1963-66).

In Collection:
Subject Language Date created Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 1 page ; 9.5 x 15 cm
Additional physical characteristics
  • Handwritten.
Physical repository Collection
  • Victoria to Vimy First World War Collection
Provider Genre Archival item identifier
  • Accession Number: 1978-027
Fonds title Fonds identifier Is referenced by Technical note
  • Metadata and transcription by M. Gerber. Edits by M. Parker. Migration metadata by KD.
Rights
  • This material may be protected by copyright. Use of this material is permitted for research and private study purposes only. For all other uses, contact University of Victoria Special Collections and University Archives.
DOI

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