Gunner McCrea “Mac” Parker Blair Jr. was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on July 20, 1915, to Major McCrea Parker Blair Sr. and Muriel Torrance (née Wood) Blair. He was the third of six children, with siblings: Helen Margery, William Wallace, George Duncan Wood, David Wood, and Muriel Torrance Blair.

Blair enlisted for Active Service on February 8, 1940, with the Royal Canadian Artillery. Following initial training in Ontario at Kingston and Petawawa, he shipped overseas to England in July 1940,  where he was assigned to X Battery, Super Heavy Group, R.C.A. In February 1941 he transferred to the 18th Battery, 2nd Anti Tank Regiment, R.C.A., and then in September to the 13th Battery, 6th Field Regiment, R.C.A. Blair was medically discharged in November 1942.

Content notes:
The letters were written by Blair to his parents and siblings between February 1940 and February 1942. Photos are mainly of fellow soldiers, taken on deployment overseas. Also included is Blair’s Soldier’s Pay Book. Only twenty-five letters have transcriptions available at this time; a list of these letters, with links to their transcriptions, has been added at the very end of the letter section (date “2023”).

External links:
Gnr. McCrea Parker Blair Jr.’s service record (Serv/Reg# H3628) is not open to public access at this time.
Major McCrea Parker Blair Sr.’s WWI service record (Serv/Reg# not assigned) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.