The series comprises papers related to the clubs and organizations to which James Charles Bonar belonged. He played a leading role in many charitable, academic and professional organizations in Montreal and frequently served on the executives of these organizations. In addition, he was active in several international organizations in various capacities. The series contains alphabetically-arranged files on organizations like the Combined Appeal for the Blind, the Better Business Bureau of Montreal, and the Montreal Junior Board of Trade but most of the material relates to his work with the Canadian Club, the Chartered Institute of Secretaries, and Newcomen Society. Bonar was Honorary Secretary and Literary Correspondent of the Canadian Club of Montreal during the early 1950s and may have held other positions as well. Most of the papers date from 1947 to 1955 and consist mainly of invitations and correspondence with guest speakers. Some of the correspondents include Omar N. Bradley, Brooke Claxton, M.M. Coady, Edgar Collard, John Foster Dulles, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John Fisher, Donald Gordon, Vincent Massey, Robert Montgomery, R.C. Overton, Branch Rickey, I. Norman Smith, and Georges Vanier, among others.
Bonar became a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries of Joint Stock Companies in 1948 and served as chairman of its Canadian Advisory Council and its Quebec branch in the 1950s. The records relating to the Chartered Institute of Secretaries date primarily from 1948 to 1961 and include the chairman's files, newspaper clippings, nominal correspondence, subject files, lists of members, minutes, annual reports, examinations, lists of speakers, speeches, and reports of committees. In addition, the series holds a large set of its journal 'The Secretary' from 1910 to 1964. Bonar was also Executive Secretary for Canada of the Newcomen Societies of England and North America. Most of this material dates from 1947 to 1955 and consists mainly of nominal correspondence with members and guest speakers. The correspondents include L.W. Brockington, D.C. Coleman, Arthur Meighen, C.P. Stacey, Irving S. Olds, and Sir Thomas White, among others.
