Introduction
Bristol Foster & Robert Bateman
The Rover Boys on a return trip to Africa reminiscing about this 1957/58 adventure and its effect on their lives.
Bristol Foster in 1957
sketch by Robert Bateman
1944: Royal Ontario Museum
A bird carving class taught by Frank Smith. Robert Bateman is standing on left. His friend, Alan Gordon is standing on right. The Rover Boys meet up with Al and his wife during their drive around Great Britain.
Leighton Foster
A portrait of Bristol's father, Leighton was a pivotal figure in the Rover Boys adventure – financing the purchase of the GT and monitoring their progress.
Typical Letter from the Road
The Rover Boys maintain a steady barrage of letters home to Leighton Foster.. Lighton's secretary would retype the leters and distribute them to the Toronto Telegram, the Bateam family and Bristol's mentor, Dr. Beckel at the University of Toronto.
The Red Diary
Robert Bateman kept a small diary that became more of an outpouring of impressions than a true chronology.
Ross Bateman
This portrait sketch was done by Robert on his return to Canada in 1958. Ross – his youngest brother – was working in the British Columbia interior at the time.
Note the change in Bateman’s sketching quality in the image post-The Rover Boys adventure.
The Rover Boys Painting
In this nostalgic full-sized painting, Bateman captures the romance of the 1957/58 adventure placing the men probably in Sikkim where they could see the distant snow-capped peaks. Bateman painted this entirely from memory.
Bristol's Crossing
This the Ternefjell freighter Bristol Foster board in Montréal as crew. It was bound for Havre, France where he transferred to a ferry to Southampton, England.
