Hal Lawrence collection
| Record No. | SC066 |
| Main Entry | Lawrence, Hal, 1920-1994 |
| Title | Hal Lawrence collection |
| Dates | 1939-1995 |
| Physical Description | 2.3 m of textual records -- ca. 180 sound cassettes [~300 hrs.]. -- 71 photographs. -- 60 slides. -- 7 maps. -- 10 map transparencies. -- 3 posters. |
| Bio/Admin History | Hal Lawrence was born in 1920 in the Royal Engineers Barracks in Catham, Kent, England. His family later moved to Halifax, where Lawrence joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1939 and served for 28 years. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for helping to sink a German submarine in World War II. Lawrence completed his wartime service with the destroyer Sioux, sailing long convoy runs to Russia. On June 6, 1944, off the coast of Normandy, Sioux participated in the direct bombardment of inland targets that precipitated the assault on Fortress Europe. Following service during the Second World War, he made a career with the peacetime navy. His last sea appointment, before retirement in 1965, was as senior officer in command of the Eleventh Escort Squadron. At the age of forty, Lawrence started his BA at the University of Ottawa and by the time he retired had his MA and began teaching at the University of Ottawa and later, at the University of Victoria. In 1970, he started an interpersonal and socioeconomic communications company in Ottawa and transferred it to Victoria in 1980. He was accepted as a fellow in the Royal Historical Society in 1993 and is the author of several books, including A Bloody War (1979), Tales of the North Atlantic (1985), and Victory at Sea (1989). He died April 11, 1994 at his home in Victoria, British Columbia. |
| Scope and Content | The collection consists of audio tapes of 120 interviews that Lawrence conducted between 1980 and 1990 with naval personnel, several female officers and ratings. Collection includes several interview transcripts, correspondence relating to one interview, a captain's night order book (HMCS Portage), and the text of an address. The collection also consists of manuscripts for books and articles written by Hal Lawrence, correspondence, clippings and photographs related to his navel career. The collection also includes personal and professional documents and correspondence, naval oral history material, several naval maps and transparencies, miscellaneous publications and ephemera. The collection is arranged in eight series: 1) Manuscripts; 2) Oral histories; 3) Correspondence; 4) Photographic materials; 5) Newspaper clippings and reviews; 6) Personal and professional documents; 7) Published materials and ephemera; 8) Maps and transparencies. |
| Title Source | Title based on the contents of the collection. |
| Finding Aids | Some transcripts and summaries available. |
| Online Finding Aids | A Guide to the Hal Lawrence Military Oral History Collection (PDF, 1.21 MB) Box List for Accession 1993-008 (PDF, 18 kB) Canadian Military Oral History Collection Database Inventory with series and file level control for Accession 2008-011 |
| Restrictions | |
| Notes | 48 cassettes missing [28 March 1994]. Widow contacted. Balance of missing was not available from the widow. |
| Provenance | Lawrence, Hal, 1920-1994 |
| Repository | University of Victoria Libraries Special Collections |
| Subject Headings | Canada. Royal Canadian Navy Canada. Royal Canadian Navy--Military life Canada--History, Naval Lawrence, Hal, 1920-1994 Military history Portage (Ship) |
| Related Links | Military History Collections Military Oral History Collection |