Series MS-0436 - A.F. Buckham personal and professional papers

Consists of three series. Series A: Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Limited papers collected by Buckham; Series B: Buckham's official papers produced in his employment by the Geological Survey of Canada, and the British Columbia Public Service; and Series C: Buckam's private papers. Maps transferred to Map accession M845025. Alexander Fraser Buckham was born in Edmonton, Alberta on April 29, 1914. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in mining engineering from the University of Alberta in 1935 and Master of Science in geology from the same university in the following year. From 1936 to 1939 he worked on a Doctorate in Geology at the University of Wisconsin, however he never completed work on this degree, as he returned to Canada to join the Geological Survey in the summer of 1939. He remained with the Geological Survey for ten years specializing in the coal resources of western Canada. This work resulted in his being offered the position of Chief Geologist with Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Limited (C.C.(D)L.) at Cumberland, B.C. in 1949. He remained with Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Limited until the shut-down of Vancouver Island operations in 1960. He then worked with the Government of British Columbia. In this capacity he advised in the restoration of Barkerville and did geological work in connection with construction of main roads. Mr. Buckham had a keen interest in local history as well as geology. This resulted in his preserving many Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Limited records from destruction and building a historical and geological archives parallel to his career. A list of publications transferred to the Northwest Library Collection is available at the end of this finding aid.