Its that time of year again when everyone starts thinking about veterans. For genealogists this is the time when many choose to focus their efforts on finding their ancestors that served in the military. I have provided below a list of some of my favourite resources for finding ancestors that served in the Canadian military.
1. Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada's (bac-lac) boasts a large military collection which contains service records for a variety of different conflicts. I have attached links below to two of their most popular collections (WW1 and WW2 service files). Due to Canada's privacy laws WW2 service files have only been digitalized for those who did not survive the war. All service files have been digitalized for WW1 regardless of if they survived the war or not.
Database: WW1 Service Files
Database WW2 War Dead Service Files
Each database allows you to perform a 'basic' and 'advanced' search. A basic search allows you to search using any of the following information: their name, service number, and record group. An advanced search allows you to further refine your results using: their birth date, place of birth, attestation location, and regiment/unit.
Be advised that some of the service files have been transcribed with the abbreviated first name, so if your not finding the person your looking for consider removing the first name.
After searching your able to sort the results using the arrows in the table header.
Once you have located the desired service file there are two ways that you can view it. The first is by clicking on the image of the attestation form. There should be two images - the top image is the front and the bottom is the back of the form. The second way to view the service file is more detailed. Below the transcribed soldier's information you will see "Digitized service file - PDF format:", click on the link beside it to begin downloading the full service file. This process takes a while (especially for large files) so be patient. Once downloaded you are able to open and view a PDF copy of the complete service file. I will write another post later on that explains how to read the service files.
2. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Although it does not provide the service files it does provide information about where they are buried. This information is often not included in service records. Generally there is also a picture of the cemetery and sometimes even the grave.
3. Veterans Affairs Canada
Aside from providing much of the same information as the Common Wealth War Graves Commission, Veteran Affairs also provides what they call a "digital collection" The digital collection is a series of images relating to the soldier. This can include things such as their regimental patch, a newspaper clipping announcing their death, their service index card, their battalions insignia, etc. One of the things that I love about this is that they have all the images taken of that soldier. In the case of many of the men their appearance changes dramatically during the war. For example look at my ancestor below. Prior to entering the war he was clean shaven with a round face. After serving for 1 year and 4 months his face has became thin and he is sporting a full mustache.
4. Wikipedia WW1 CEF Battalions
Although Wikipedia is not a direct link to a database, each battalion's page provides a link to their website. Often the battalion websites contain a memorial for the fallen soldiers of WW1 and WW2. These can be great resources to obtain photographs of your ancestor and potentially their family. When searching the 92nd battalion website I was lucky enough to find a complete timeline of my ancestor's service and it even included a newspaper clipping I had never seen before.
Even if the battalion's website does not have a digitalized memorial they will at the very least have their contact information. My experience has been the Canadian military love to share their history and are willing to help you understand an ancestor's service file. Who knows they may even have records they are yet to upload on their website.
In the case of my ancestor who died at Vimy, his regiment has a full museum in Toronto which is complete with the cross that temporarily marked his and other soldiers graves.
5. Canadian Great War Project
There are a few things that I love about this resource. The first is that it has transcribed some information from the service records that other resources have not. For example it lists the regiments that the soldier served in which comes in handy when your researching a soldier started in a reserve battalion as they would eventually be transferred to a new battalion on the front lines. This information can sometimes be hard to find and interpret in service records, hence why this is helpful. The second thing, is that when you are searching, your able to see how many soldiers have the same or similar names and what battalion they served in. Although the other resources allow you to identify people with the same/similar names, the search result display on this site makes it easier to identify distinguishing details such as death date and battalion.
6. A Street Near You
The way site displays the soldiers information is quite unique from the others mentioned above. It features a map which identifies where key events occurred during their service. It also supplies a list of war memorials they have been commemorated on. I find this particularly valuable when performing cluster research as it can connect the person to specific organizations within their community such as a church.
There are four ways to search the database: by name, date of death, regiment, or cemetery.
7. The Fallen
The Fallen commemorates all soldiers who lost their lives while serving in the Canadian military. It allows you to search for a particular soldier by battle or through other parameter such as name and service number. In addition to commemorating all the fallen soldiers it has information on a wide range of battles and conflicts which far exceed those confined to the first and second world wars.
Related Posts
WW1 and Canada's Conscription Crisis: How to tell if they served willingly
Finding your Military Ancestors: November 2021
Loyalist Resources
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