Fonds F1744 - Herbert Horace Roberts and Margaret (Harrison) Roberts fonds

Margaret Harrison was born on May 28, 1911, in Mimico, Ontario and attended local public schools and trained at the Toronto General Hospital, becoming a registered nurse. In 1932-33 she went through the diploma programme in public health nursing at the University of Toronto, where she studied under noted nursing educator Edith Kathleen Russell. For two years (1934-1935), she did public health nursing at Penetanguishene and Christian island, Ontario. In 1936 she joined her fiance, Herbert Horace Roberts, who was working as an architect in London, England. They were married on February 15, 1936 in Caterham, Surrey, where they lived for four years. On account of the war, Mrs. Roberts and her daughter, Jill, returned to Canada in 1940 and lived at Westport, Ontario. She died on December 26, 1985, at Toronto.

Herbert Horace Roberts was born in1910, at Toronto, Ontario. He entered the University of Toronto in 1928 and graduated in 1933 from the School of Architecture. He won the Darling-Pearson Scholarship and the Toronto Architectural Guild Silver Medal for Design. For some time he was employed by Craig and Madell Architects. In 1935 he joined the staff of T.P. Bennett and Son, the largest architectural office in the Empire. In 1940 Mr. and Mrs. Roberts and their daughter returned to Canada. For one year Mr. Roberts was employed at Defence Industries Limited, Montreal, where he was involved in designing munitions factories. In 1941 Roberts joined the Royal Canadian Engineers as a Second Lieutenant. For some time he was Intelligence Officer at Petawawa as Camouflage Officer with the rank of Captain. He was involved in the development of various camouflage materials designed to avoid detection by aerial infrared photography. In 1942 Roberts was posted to Canadian Army Headquarters in England as Camouflage Officer. Upon his discharge from the Army, the Roberts lived in Westport. From 1947 to 1973 Roberts operated an architecture firm. During this period he designed numerous schools, churches, recreational centres, and public buildings such as registry offices, post offices, homes for the aged, theatres and offices. Roberts died at Perth, Ontario, on October 11, 1983.