Fonds consists of diaries and notebooks; printed programmes, books, and newspaper clippings regarding Col. William Rhoades or the regiments with which he served, including the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles. Fonds also contains miscellaneous papers related to his career.

The diaries and notebooks document Rhoades’ activities while posted in the Yukon, South Africa, and Europe during World War I. Some of the notebooks also contain hand drawn maps of battle fields.

Fonds comprises two letters written to William Croft. The first refers to work in the gold mines, while the second is a request for Croft's permission to allow his sixteen-year-old son to go overseas with the Canadian Forces. There is also a note from James Heyson to John Croft containing a medicinal recipe.

Fonds consists of a book of literary quotations, a letter from Sir William Young to Judge Thompson and S.L. Shannon, a draft of a speech regarding Dalhousie College, a letter from William Young to his parents, and a letter to Charles Young from William.