Augustus Bridle

Augustus Bridle (4 March 1868 – 21 December 1952) was a British home child who was sent to Canada in 1878 by National Children's Home (now known as Action for Children).[1] After working on Ontario farms as a young boy, he went on to study at the University of Toronto, where he graduated with a gold medal in classics.[2]

Bridle began his career in journalism with the Edmonton Bulletin while living at Edmonton, Alberta from 1900 to 1901.[2] He returned to Ontario in 1901, where he continued in newspaper work as a writer, first for the Stratford Herald and later for the Toronto News.[2][3] In 1908 he became the associate editor of the Canadian Courier, a national weekly magazine published in Toronto, continuing in this position until 1916 when he became editor.[3][4] He later joined the staff of the Toronto Daily Star in 1922, and served the newspaper for 30 years as music critic, book reviewer, and film and drama editor.[3][5][6]

In 1908, he became the founding member of The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, which was noted as being a meeting place for the members of the Group of Seven.[5][7][8]

Bridle was the author of several books, including A Backwoods Christmas (Toronto 1910), Sons of Canada (Toronto 1916), Masques of Ottawa (Toronto 1921), Hansen: A Novel of Canadianization (Toronto 1925), and The Story of the Club (Toronto 1945).[3][5][6]