A lion of a man
Daughter publishes book on African Lion Safari founder, Olympian and war veteran
A chest full of her late father’s memorabilia travelled with Virginia Dailley as she moved to a new house four years ago; it was only once she moved that she decided to peek inside.
Virginia, Gordon Dailley’s only daughter, knew how much impact her dad had in Canada — he had founded Cambridge’s African Lion Safari in 1969, where visitors could, from the safety of their vehicles, see exotic animals roaming around, up close.
Dailley was also a war veteran, athlete and community leader.
When Virginia opened the treasure chest she uncovered items she never knew existed.
Virginia says some of her family still lives and works on the safari property, but few know about her father’s accomplishments outside of the safari, such as being a gold medallist in hockey at the 1936 Winter Olympics, where the Winnipeg-born Dailley played on Great Britain’s team.
He served in the Second World War and in UN peacekeeping efforts in Korea.
After he retired from the military in the mid-1960s, Dailley went on to work with Oxfam.
“As I was going through my father’s chest, I realized how little his nine grandchildren knew about him,” said Virginia. “I decided I would write a book to share his life, first for his family and then for the public.”
Virginia, who lives in Cambridge, worked on the book part time for the better part of two years while sifting through her father’s items.
She then dedicated herself to it full time for another two years, she says, to “get it done.”
“He had over 1,000 slides that I wanted to go through to see which would be appropriate for the book,” said Virginia. “When one of his great-grandchildren read a chapter of the book, he was in shock that he was related to (him).”
Growing up, Virginia said she wasn’t really aware of all the work her father had done. She was of course aware of his military career — in 1954, the entire family moved to what was then Yugoslavia, living in a protected house, when Dailley was promoted to the rank of colonel and served as the military attaché in Belgrade.
“I thought that the life I was living was normal,” said Virginia. “My dad rarely shared his work with us, but what I do know is that when he was with us, we had his undivided attention and love.”
The soon-to-be released book, “Lions in Canada: Life & Times of the Unstoppable Canadian Col. Gordon D. Dailley,” includes copies of news clippings, photos and handwritten letters Dailley left behind.
The book is available to order online at Chapters Indigo.