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Series consists of four files:

1. Publications
2. Other Materials
3. Speech Notes
4. General Notes

One accompanying compact disc contains scanned images of the Almanac, map, children’s rhymes, two Tibetan songs, and a verse for a New Year’s toast, and philatelic materials.

The ‘Publications’ file consists of one bound, 59-page Almanac with pages wood block-printed with Tibetan text. A folded rice paper envelope accompanies the Almanac and has a handwritten annotation that reads, “Almanac of Iron Bird Year from Feb 28, ’21 to Mar 2, ’22.” Supplementary information provided by Father Donald indicates that this Almanac was printed specifically for British/Indian government use, although its contents is unknown. Also included in this file is a published map of Tibet titled, “North-Eastern Frontier,” and dated July 1905. Of significance is the map’s close temporal association with the (Francis) Younghusband Expedition of 1904, a famous military mission to Tibet. The file also includes more recent materials such as two newspaper clippings (1974; n.d.), a program guide to a service held for the Dalai’s visit to Vancouver (1980), a newspaper (“News Tibet,” 1988), and two newsletters (1988, 1989).

ref # 4-3-2

The ‘Speech Notes’ consist of handwritten notes on Tibet written for a talk Col. Parker was to make to the Royal Overseas League in Victoria, B.C., on 8 May 1961. Included are notes on Tibet’s history, population, Parker’s journeys through the country, Gyantze, Lhasa, religion, trade, troops, and the ‘wheel of life’ among other topics. A second set of notes gives a brief outline of his military life (most in India) up to 1947.

ref # 4-3-3

The fonds consists primarily of material accumulated and/or created by Lt. Col. Parker during the period of his military duties in Tibet and time spent there after his release from the military (1921-1924). This material includes textual records such as correspondence relating to military matters with Sir Charles Bell, and those written to, and received from, Tibetan officers and the 13th Dalai Lama. A few letters written in Tibetan have been recently translated into English and are included in the fonds. Other textual materials includes handwritten speech and other notes, published documents such as an Almanac (written in Tibetan), newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous items such as philatelic materials and handwritten children's rhymes and songs.

The fonds also contains a collection of black and white photographs and negatives, the majority of which were images taken by Lt. Col. Parker, while others, predate Parker’s time in Tibet. The photographs are housed in two albums (Photograph Collections A and B), and show Tibet primarily in the 1920s. The images depict military and domestic scenes in Tibet including photographs of individuals from all social strata, as well as local architecture and landscapes. Some of the places (e.g., monasteries) no longer exist. The albums also contain more recent colour prints of the many Tibetan objects acquired by the Parkers (and now housed in the Ethnology Collection at the Museum of Anthropology). Some duplicates occur within and between albums. The negatives correspond to prints in one album (Photograph Collection A). Only a small number of negatives have not been printed.
The fonds is arranged in the following 3 series:

1. Correspondence
2. Photographs
3. Miscellaneous Materials