John Duff - Canadian Connection

Canadian Connection

John Duff was born in China in 1895. Like everyone else in the British Empire, Canadians were subjects of the reigning monarch, not citizens of any country. If there had been Canadian citizenship, Duff would have qualified via his Canadian parents. John Duff can be found on the Canadian Census for both 1901 and 1911. There was a category for “Nationality”. In both cases, Duff’s was listed as Canadian. When John Duff started racing in 1920, he had lived a significant part of his life in Canada. Although there was no Canadian citizenship until 1947, Canada had issued its own passports since the 1860s. As late as 1932, John Duff carried a Canadian passport — which means that he carried one throughout his racing career. In a newspaper interview given after his last crash, Duff was clear about his Canadian origins. Finally, and most conclusively, John Duff’s eldest son and daughter have no doubt that their father was a Canadian.