Bruce Lancaster Collection

Collection — Box: SC090-LANC-001

Identifier: SC090-LANC

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection contains a biography of Lancaster written in The Eighteener, which was published by the Harvard class of 1918. There is also personal correspondence between Mr. Lancaster and Fr. Lucey, S.J. concerning answers to historical questions posed to the writer. After his death, Mrs. Lancaster continued to write to Fr. Lucey and those letters are also in the collection. There are also two photographs of Lancaster. Finally, a manuscript of Lancaster’s final novel The Big Knives is included.

Dates

1962-1966

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions

Conditions Governing Use

Materials believed to be under copyright or other restrictions are available for limited noncommercial, educational and personal use only, or for fair use as defined by United States copyright law and with proper citation. Please note that the College of the Holy Cross may not hold the rights to all items in this collection. Users assume responsibility for identifying all copyright holders and for determining whether permission is needed to make any use of the content. For permission under rights held by the College, please contact archives@holycross.edu.

Biographical Note

Bruce Lancaster was born in Worcester, MA on August 22, 1896. He served on the Mexican border with Battery A, 1st Massachusetts Field Artillery and served in France during World War I. In 1919, Lancaster published The Narrative of Battery A – Yankee Division, 101st Field Artillery.

Lancaster’s post-war employment was varied. From 1920-1921, he was an assistant football coach at Harvard. For the next six years, he was involved in various business activities in Worcester. He entered the Foreign Service of the Department of State and in 1928 left for Kobe, Japan. He served for five years as a vice consul working to improve relations between Japan and the United States.

Lancaster returned to the United States in 1933 and began a prolific writing career. His works include sixteen historical novels, four histories, and numerous magazine articles. Much of his work focused on the growth of our nation during times of struggle. He was the editor of “Old Time New England” and the newsletter of the Society for Preservation of New England Antiquities. He frequently lectured at museums and before civic, professional, literary, and academic audiences. Among his other activities, Lancaster was also the first American to join a British rugby team. Lancaster died in Beverly, MA on June 20, 1963.