The collection consists of video copies of 36 film items from the Allan D. Taylor collection held by Library and Archives Canada. These selected items (mainly newsreel footage and out-takes) depict British Columbia events, leisure activities, scenery and cityscapes in Victoria and Vancouver, on Vancouver Island, or in the Interior (for example, Kamloops and Lillooet), during the period 1907-1931. Several items filmed during World War One show events related to the war, including the departures of various military units for the conflict. The collection includes at least one item fillmed by Vancouver filmmaker A.D. "Cowboy" Kean, and a few others that are attributed to him.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-03-28 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Dr. Bryant talks about Dr. Helmcken, Dr. Davie, and other pioneer doctors; early training for medicine; recollections about area doctors and hospitals; first impressions of Victoria in 1911; downtown buildings; the real estate boom; effects of World War I; Victoria of the 1960s; tourism; passenger boats; Mr. Sayward; the Protestant orphanage; the Tolmie family; prominent early families; the Dunsmuirs and the Wilson family. TRACK 2: Dr. Bryant continues with his recollections about Victoria families; the Tolmie family; Bishop Cridge; Joe Norris; Chinese residents; and the East Indian population.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Lusitania riots in Victoria, B.C., May 1915
PERIOD COVERED: 1914-1915
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1975-10-21
SUMMARY: In introducing her interview with retired Major General George R. Pearkes, Ruth Chambers provides historical background on the "Lusitania Riots" of 1915. General Pearkes recalls witnessing part of the Lusitania riots in Victoria, B.C. Camped at Willows with the Second Canadian Mounted Rifles; news of the sinking of the "Lusitania" and the loss of James Dunsmuir [i.e., James A. Dunsmuir, Jr.]; frustration of waiting to go overseas; the attack on the Kaiserhof Hotel; being stationed at the Phoenix Brewery. Pearkes' theory on how the riot started. The "carnival" atmosphere.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Early Victoria : the Wootton family RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-06-04 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: The Honourable Mr. Justice Wootton recounts the Wootton family's arrival in Victoria in 1859; his grandfather, Henry Wootton, was a master mariner, harbour master and post master; early home;s and families; horses and coachmen; his father's friendships; calling days and cards; Judge Wootton's mother; the Harvey family and Stoneyhurst; the James Douglas home; the David Spencer family; the Hibben family; the Japanese Gardens on the Gorge; knocking on doors; recollections about the legal profession and training; Judge Begbie and Sir Lyman Duff. TRACK 2: The Honourable Mr. Justice Wootton continues with an account of early forms of legal training; the law then and now; Englishness; estates and prosperity in turn of the century Victoria; the war effort 1914 to 1918; post war depression in Victoria; and the growth in the legal profession.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Military life in Esquimalt, B.C. PERIOD COVERED: 1907-1914 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1962-03-30 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: This tape begins with brief comments by Eva Gillan (nee Eva Hart), about her theatrical career; this is the conclusion of an interview by Grace Shaw, continued from T1302:0001. The tape continues with Imbert Orchard's interview of Colonel John Quinn Gillan. He recalls his arrival in Esquimalt as a British soldier in 1907; the army in the Victoria area prior to World War I; a 1914 incident; concerning the coastal defense guns; and the Canadian Navy. [TRACK 2: blank.]

SUMMARY: In this episode, Major Kirkpatrick-Crockett recalls the preparations to defend Victoria and the B.C. coast at the outbreak of World War One, and an incident involving two submarines purchased by the B.C. government.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-05-18 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Major Maxwell Kirkpatrick-Crockett talks about his arrival in Vancouver in 1911; early jobs in Vancouver; work in Victoria; Arthur Currie; commission with the Fifth Regiment; Victoria at the; outbreak of World War I; coast defense batteries at Esquimalt in 1914; the affair of the "BC submarines"; fear of coastal attacks; state of coast defenses; the 5th Regiment sent to Nanaimo because of rioting [i.e., striking] coal miners; the damage at Extension. TRACK 2: Major Kirkpatrick-Crockett continues speaking about incidents at Extension; Ladysmith; German interest in British Columbia in; 1914; [von] Alvensleben; anti-German feeling; history of St. John's Church; Victoria; Christ Church; Bishop Hills; Reverend Cridge and conditions in Victoria after World War I; work in the Victoria Machinery Depot and for the City of Victoria.

The item is a compilation video made by the Royal BC Museum using clips from archival newsreel and amateur footage. It shows mobilization and wartime scenes in Victoria and Vancouver during World War One (clips 1-5) and World War Two (clips 6-10). The Second World War material also includes civil defence activities in Vancouver, and Girl Guides collecting salvage for the war effort.