Laurence Frank Wilmot fonds: Home

Title: Laurence Frank Wilmot fonds.

Dates: 1895-2003.

Extent: 7.5 m of textual records and other material.

Biographical sketch: Reverend Canon Laurence Frank Wilmot was born on April 27, 1907 on a small mixed farm near Clanwilliam, Manitoba. He graduated from St. John’s College with a Bachelor of Arts and Licentiate of Theology in 1931. He was ordained a deacon in 1931 and a priest in 1932. That same year, he married Louise Hope Littlewood, a Winnipeg school teacher. For ten years, he provided pastoral care in rural Manitoba. In 1942, he was appointed a chaplain in the Canadian Army. While serving as Chaplain to the West Nova Scotia Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Canadian Division, he was awarded a Military Cross for directing the evacuation of the wounded from an active minefield during the Canadian Corps attack at Foglia River in Italy. Upon his return to Canada, Wilmot worked at a Veteran’s Vocational School, preparing returned soldiers for entrance into university. In 1946, he began a four year term as Central Western Field Secretary for Christian Education under the auspices of the General Board of Education of the Anglican Church. In 1950, he was persuaded to return to his alma mater, St. John’s College, as Warden. In his eleven years at the College, both the Faculty of Arts and Theology were strengthened and the College left its cramped Broadway quarters to join the University of Manitoba campus.

From 1961 to 1963, Wilmot studied at Oxford University . During this time, he wrote a thesis that qualified him for a Masters Degree in Philosophy from the University of Manitoba. He spent four years as the Sub-Warden at St. Augustine’s College in Canterbury, Kent. He subsequently worked in Pastoral Care in hospitals in Houston , Washington, D.C. and Whitby, Ontario. After retiring in 1972, Wilmot completed a Masters of History at the University of Manitoba in 1979. He published his first book, Whitehead and God: Prolegomena to Theological Reconstruction, with Wilfred Laurier University Press in 1979. In 2001, he wrote St. John’s College: A Documentary. His next book, Through the Hitler Lines: Memoirs of an Infantry Chaplain, was published two years later. Wilmot died on December 17, 2003.

Custodial history: The fonds was donated to University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections by Laurence Wilmot in 1995 and 1996. In 2004, his widow, Grace Nunn, donated the final installment of Wilmot's records.

Scope and content: The fonds is divided into eight series. The first series consists of Wilmot’s notes from his student days. The second series is comprised of his time as an army chaplain, including his war diaries and letters home. The third series is made up of material generated from Wilmot’s clerical duties. They include sermons and correspondence with church officials. Wilmot’s stint as field secretary for the Anglican Church’s General Board of Religious Education comprises the fourth series. The fifth series covers Wilmot’s tenure as a college administrator and lecturer. Series six contains material generated while Wilmot provided pastoral care at various hospitals. Series seven contains material pertaining to his three books. The final series details the many organizations in which Wilmot participated.

Source of supplied title: Title based on contents of fonds.

Restrictions: Some material pertaining to Wilmot’s ministerial work, financial information, and legal documents have been deemed restricted.

Accruals: No further accruals are expected.

Finding aid: A printed finding aid is available in the Archives reading room and an on-line finding aid is available at the link below:

MSS 122, PC 132, TC 84 (A1995-18, A1996-54, A1996-95, A2004-09).

Digitized Material