James Stevenson Balfour was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1894 and later attended The University of Saskatchewan. He enlisted in April 1915, and found himself in France in July 1915, where he served until wounded in June 1916. He recovered, returned to duty, and in 1917 joined the Royal Flying Corps as an observer. He later trained as a pilot and had qualified as a flying instructor when the war ended. The collection consists of thirty-five extended letters, twenty photographs and one post card.