Accession N-2018-009 - Sidney Hanford photograph collection

Sidney C. (Sid) Hanford was born in Birmingham, England, on March 3, 1905. After graduating high school, he participated in an engineering pupil apprenticeship program. Following the completion of the program, Sid Hanford worked at a mine power plant in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, for two years. He then returned to England and married Elizabeth. During this time, Sid Hanford worked installing movie theatre sound systems. The Hanfords then moved to Cyprus where Sid worked at a copper mine for the Cyprus Mines Corporation. Sid and Elizabeth’s first son, Howard, was born on December 18, 1934, and their second son, Gordon, was born on November 21, 1938.
As World War II progressed, the Hanfords left Cyprus for asylum in Canada. Between July 13 and October 22, 1940, the family travelled by boat, bus, and tramp steamers from Cyprus through Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Basra, Karachi, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan before arriving in Vancouver, British Columbia. In Vancouver, Sid Hanford worked as a draftsman at the Burrard Dry Docks, moved briefly to Trail, BC, and returned to Burrard Dry Docks to supervise the build of the North Sands cargo ships. Sid Hanford then worked as the plant engineer for a copper mine in Copper Mountain, BC.
In February 1945, Sid Hanford moved to Yellowknife and in April began work as the Master Mechanic at the newly opened Giant Mine, where he was in charge of surface installations, the operation of the steam plant, and repair and maintenance of machinery. Elizabeth, Howard, and Gordon followed Sid to Yellowknife later in the spring. The Hanfords spent the summer and fall in Yellowknife before moving back to Cyprus, where they stayed for three more years before they moved to Toronto, Ontario, in 1948. In Toronto, Sid Hanford worked for Canada Packers, first for the main production plant and then the multi-product plant until his retirement in 1970. Sid and Elizabeth spent their retirement first between summers in the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario and winters in Florida, and later between Ontario’s Muskoka area and Florida. Sid died in 1987. Elizabeth died in 1994.