Ward, Ernie, 1921- : Ernest Ward was born in Ottawa on 23 Jun 1921 of British parents. His parents had emigrated to Canada in 1904. Although his father was not a stamp collector, it was the general rule around the year 1931 that most children collected stamps of the world and this was encouraged by the school board facilities at the time. Therefore, at that time, Ernie elected to commence collecting. As a result of this, and representations to high schools in different parts of the world, he ultimately had many correspondents in British Guiana, Southern Rhodesia, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. Additionally , his father, who worked in the federal government, was in a position to help Ernie to acquire used Canadian stamps in order to help his correspondents. After service in the Second World War, Mr. Ward returned to Ottawa, reactivated his collecting activities, and has continued ever since. In 1976, while working with the Philatelic Branch of the Post Office, Ernie Ward was selected to represent the Post Office team at the International Stamp Exhibition being held in Philadelphia. It was at this exhibition that he was introduced to the philatelic aspect of `postal history' and he followed this course quite strongly for many years, while continuing his interest in Canadian and Newfoundland stamps. Mr. Ward has not been an avid exhibitor, but has shown his Money Letters collection in Baltimore, and as a member of various philatelic organizations, at ORAPEX. His memberships include the RA Stamp Club, the Ottawa Philatelic Society, the Canadian Armed Forces Club, and was at one time a member of the American Philatelic Society, the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada, and the Postal History Society. He has published articles on philately in the Canadian Forces Philatelic Society Bulletin. Biographical information provided by the donor.
