Fonds MsC-178 - Ajaib (Jab) Sidhoo fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Ajaib (Jab) Sidhoo fonds

General material designation

  • Textual records
  • Photographic materials

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Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title is based on the contents of the fonds

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

MsC-178

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

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Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1923 - 2016 (Creation)
    Creator
    Sidhoo, Ajaib

Physical description area

Physical description

254 photographs : b&w negatives
546 photographs : b&w prints
25 photographs : col. prints
1 photograph : col. slide
63 cm textual records
11 optical discs : DVDs
1 optical disc : CD

Publisher's series area

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(08 Jan 1923 - 22 Feb 2016)

Biographical history

Ajaib (Jab) Sidhoo was born on January 8, 1923 in the Punjab, India, when it was still ruled by Britain. Due to his father’s protestation against high British taxes on farmland in India, Jab’s father relocated to Vancouver Island in 1927, where he worked in the Kapoor sawmill. Jab was sent to join him in 1929, accompanied not by family but by another couple from his village.
After a number of years residing amongst the Island’s lumber mills, the Sidhoo family moved to Kitsilano in the late 1930s and Jab attended Kitsilano High School in 1939, where he played on the school rugby team. In 1941, he transferred to Vancouver Technical High School to learn a trade. In 1943 he was one of three students from his class recruited by the Canadian Air Force, becoming one of the first South-Asian Canadians to serve in World War II. He was trained in aircraft maintenance and worked as a fleet mechanic at bases in Caron, Saskatchewan and in the Yukon.
After the war Jab founded East India Traders in Vancouver as a wholesaler for imported carpets and goods. He spent time in India training in the profession, and it was there that he met his future wife Nirmal Dutt (also known as Munni [ca. 1933]). They married in India in 1950 then returned to Vancouver, eventually having two children, Asha and Ravi. Jab’s business also expanded as his client base grew to include hotel chains, banks and other successful professionals. He renamed his business East India Carpets and opened a retail location at 1606 West 2nd Avenue in 1962, where it remains a fixture in the community.
An avid sports fan, Jab was one of the original 100 investors of the BC Lions in 1953 and became a lifelong season ticket holder. He also amassed a considerable collection of football-themed newspapers and magazines, as well as souvenir programs from games in the 1950s and 1960s.
Together, Jab and Munni were active in their community and involved in philanthropic ventures, such as the Ajaib (Jab) and Nirmal (Munni) Sidhoo Charities Fund which sponsors medical scholarships and schools. Munni died on November 14, 2001. Jab passed away on February 22, 2016 at the age of 93. His archive, recently donated to Special Collections and Rare Books by his family, consists of photographs, documents, sports memorabilia, ephemera and objects detailing all aspects of his life as a first generation Canadian, and the communities in which he lived and worked.

Custodial history

This fonds was donated to Simon Fraser University in 2016 by the Sidhoo family.

Scope and content

This fonds contains textual and photographic materials relating to the life experiences of Ajaib (Jab) Sidhoo. The contents of the fonds have been divided chronologically into five distinct series representing significant periods in Jab’s life. Each series is then divided into two sub-series: Photographs and Textual records. The contents of these series are primarily photographs, but correspondence, newspapers, magazines, personal memorabilia and ephemera are also included.
The series contained in this fonds are as follows: Series 1: Records relating to childhood/high school (1923-1942?); Series 2: Records relating to World War II service (1939-1945); Series 3: Post-War Vancouver records(1945-2009); Series 4: East India Carpets business records (1948-2016) and; Series 5: B.C. Lions and Canadian Football League material (1953-1998)

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

The majority of items in this fonds were received and digitized before any arrangement was performed. Therefore, identifier numbers were assigned in no particular order. The result is that items within each series and sub-series have been organized sequentially, but the ID numbers are not consistently consecutive.
There are also two different identifier numbers assigned to most objects – the digital image number, typically in the style of “MSC178-001” as well as the more detailed RAD-compliant identifier indicating series and sub-series placement such as “MsC-178-0-2-1-0-0-001”.

Language of material

Script of material

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Digitized materials are available for research in SFU Digitized Collections: https://digital.lib.sfu.ca/sidhoo-collection/ajaib-jab-sidhoo-collection

Restrictions on access

No known restrictions

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Finding aids

A detailed list is available in addition to a series-level description and item inventory.

Generated finding aid

Associated materials

Related materials

Accruals

Further accruals are possible

General note

See "Arrangement" notes

Alternative identifier(s)

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Rules or conventions

Rules for Archival Description

Status

Published

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Entry created 16 Feb, 2018. Jenny Haddon

Language of description

  • English

Script of description

Sources

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Physical storage

  • Archival box - standard: MsC 178 - Boxes 1-12
  • Archival box - standard: MsC 178 - Box 13