tracing your canadian wwi ancestors - bibliography

World War I (1914-1918)

Resource Guide

Images credit (left to right): cenotaph in Victoria Park (www.regina.ca) and Saskatchewan’s 27th Light Horse Regiment, 1914(http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/military_history_of_saskatchewan.html)

World War I (WWI), known also as The First World War or The Great War, started August 4th, 1914. It consisted of the Triple Entente (The United Kingdom, France, and Russia) and their allied nations (Canada, Australia, etc.) versus the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Italy did not join the war effort alongside the Alliance and would instead choose to align with Britain and France in 1915, declaring war upon Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Canada fought in many battles during the war including The Second Battle of Ypres in April of 1915, The Battle of the Somme in July 1916, The Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917, and the Battle of Passchendaele which lasted from October to November 1917. There were more than 650,000 men and women from Canada and Newfoundland who served in the First World War. 4,000 of which were Aboriginal Canadians. More than 66,000 lives were lost, and over 172,000 Canadians were wounded. Fighting ceased November 11, 1918 with the signing of the Armistice. The war officially ended in 1919, once the Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany. (Veterans Affairs Canada)

General Research Tips for Tracing WWI Ancestors

1. Get as much information as you can about the individual you are researching—full name, basic vitals (e.g. birthdate and year and birth place), where and when did the individual serve, and in what capacity did they serve – e.g. Air Force

2. Don’t forget to look beyond the military/personnel files. Bear in mind that the individual was not acting alone and so researching and adding context to your relative’s story is equally important.

3. Always record and evaluate your sources!

Note: Check out the following newspaper article about the name discrepancies found on the Cenotaph for Guelph, Ontario: Butts, Ed. “The Guelph Cenotaph: Names of the Fallen From the First World War (1914-1918).” Orangeville, 15 June 2014. http://tinyurl.com/khu4ll9. Accessed 6November 2014.

Regina Public Library’s WWI Resource Guide -

Canadian Genealogy Centre, Library and Archives Canada (http://www.tinyurl.com/cangencentre)

One of the best starting places for tracing your Canadian military ancestors is the Canadian Genealogy Centre, the genealogical department of Library and Archives Canada (LAC). By clicking on the link to military subject guides and selecting the time period WWI (http://tinyurl.com/ktwzy4k), you will be able to access information on what LAC holds and/or where else you may need to go to get additional information.

Two Main Sources of Genealogical Information Are:

Soldiers of the First World War--CEF (http://tinyurl.com/lac-cefdatabase): Over 600,000 Canadians enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the First World War (1914-1918). The CEF database is an index to those personnel files, which are held by Library and Archives Canada. To date, over 800,000 images of Attestation papers have been scanned and are being made available on-line. Over the course of the next two years, the full military files will be scanned and made available online for free. For project updates, check out LAC’s blog (http://thediscoverblog.com/). **Tip: To help decipher a service file, check out this handy guide: http://tinyurl.com/ocr86dx

War Diaries of the First World War (http://tinyurl.com/k453eko): To understand why a unit was sent to a particular battlefield, you need to research the unit’s regimental histories which are referred to as War Diaries. The database is only searchable by unit name, date or by the year. There is no full text search of the images and the amount and level of detail vary greatly. Also, not all of the regimental histories have been digitized. **Tip: handy online guide with tracing regiments in WWI: http://tinyurl.com/qeuj3uw. Check out Cox, pgs 144-147 on his brief description about the organizational structure of the CEF.

Other Recommended Resources

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead.aspx): The "Debtof Honour Register" is the Commission's database listing the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died during the two world wars and the 23,000 cemeteries, memorials and other locations worldwide where they are commemorated. The register can alsobe searched for details of the 67,000 Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action in the Second World War.

The Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial (http://svwm.ca/): This website features a searchable database of 11,000 Saskatchewan war dead from not only the World Wars, but also from the Boer War, peacekeeping missions, and armed conflicts in Korea and Afghanistan. The site also


offers a wiki for contributors to add to the local knowledge base as well as a self-directed online tutorial to help readers learn about war casualties and the lives of soldiers. Ancestry Library Edition (in-house use at all RPL Branches): An enhanced library version of the popular Ancestry.com website, the database offers the Canadian Soldiers of World War I (1914-1918) and the Canada, as well as the British Army WWI Service Records (1914-1920), British Army WWI Pension Records (1914-1920) and the British Commonwealth War Graves Registers (1914-1918).

Select Bibliography

Books—SaskatchewanBarry, Bill, Doug Chisholm and Beth Parsons. Age Shall Not Weary Them: Saskatchewan

Remembers Its War Dead. Regina, SK: People Places Pub., 2005.

Pitsula, James M. For All We Have and Are: Regina and the Experience of the Great War. Winnipeg, MB: University of Manitoba Press, [2008].

Winton, Maurice V. Saskatchewan’s Prairie Soldiers 1885-1980. [S.l.: The Author], 1980.

Books—GeneralBurg, David F. Almanac of World War I: Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, c1998

Lang, Sean. First World War for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2014.

Simkins, Peter, Geoffrey Jukes and Michael Hickey. The First World War: the War to End All Wars. Oxford: Osprey, 2013.

Strohn, Matthias, editor. World War I Companion. Oxford, [England]: Osprey Pub., 2013.

Willmott, H. P. World War I. New York: DK Pub., 2009.


Books—Genealogical ResearchCox, Kenneth G. Call to Colours: Tracing Your Canadian Military Ancestors. Toronto, [ON]:

Ontario Genealogical Society, Dundurn Press, c2011.

Kitzmiller II, John M. In Search of the “Forlorn Hope”: a Comprehensive Guide to Locating British Regiments and Their Records (1640-WWI). Salt Lake City, Utah: Manuscript Pub. Foundation, c1988.

Littlejohn, Catherine. Métis soldiers of Saskatchewan, 1914-1953. Saskatoon, SK: Gabriel Dumont Institute, c2012.

Meider, Monica and Lynda Blach, editors. Saskatchewan Remembers Then and Now: an Anthology of Saskatchewan War Veterans. [Regina, Sask.] : Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism, 2001.

Paterson, Sarah. Tracing Your Prisoner of War Ancestors: the First World War: a Guide to Family Historians. Barnsley, [United Kingdom}: Pen & Sword Family History in association with Imperial War Museum, 2012.

Storey, Neil. Military Photographs & How to Date Them. Newbury, Berkshire, [United Kingdom]: Countryside Books, 2009.

Wright, Glen. Canadians at War, 1914-1919: a Research guide to World War I Service Records. Milton, ON: Global Heritage Press, 2010.

Online Resources—ExhibitsCanada and the First World War (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/firstworldwar/index-e.html): From 1914 to 1918, thousands of Canadian men and women were called upon to contribute to the effort required for the First World War, an event that transformed our nation, culture, economy and identity. This exhibition is designed to illustrate, through Library and Archives Canada collections, the many roles that Canadian men and women played during the First World War, and the definite mark the war left on our society.

Canada & the Great War (http://www.thegreatwar.ca/): This web page examines and explores Canada's role in World War I. Contains various photographs and historical information about WWI.


Canadian Great War Project (http://www.canadiangreatwarproject.com): The site offers biographical information, letters and diaries from Canadians who participated in the Great War.

First World War (http://www.firstworldwar.com): Multimedia site offering photos, video clips and audio recordings documenting the First World War.

The First World War: History (http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/first-world-war): Veteran’s Affairs Canada’s page about World War I. Plenty of information about WWI, information pertinent to veterans, has videos and information on the battles and campaigns of the First World War and a list of detailed history links.

Europeana 1914-1918 (http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en/explore): The site mixes resources from libraries and archives across the globe with memories and memorabilia from families throughout Europe enabling users to explore stories, films and historical material about the First World War.

Oral Histories of the First World War: Veterans 1914-1918 (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/first-world-war/interviews/index-e.html): This online exhibition is based on the CBC's radio broadcast In Flanders Fields, a series of one-on-one interviews with veterans of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, which aired from November 11, 1964 to March 7, 1965.

Online Resources—Military RecordsCanadian Military Heritage Project (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canmil/ww1/): Rootsweb’s page for The Canadian Military involvement in WWI, which contains a list of free and searchable military databases for each war and rebellion that Canada has been involved in.

Internet Archives (https://www.archives.org/details/texts) – The site offers some published regimental histories for the CEF as well as a select number of city directories and census records.

Lives of the First World War (http://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/): Created and maintained by the Imperial War Museum, the site offers military lists, stories and exhibits for free. For a subscription rate, users can also access military service files and census records.

The National Archives (UK) (http://tinyurl.com/y7cjyng): To access British military personnel files, make sure you carefully read their subject guide as access to these records vary. Do not forget to check out these two key resources:


National Archives UK: First World War (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/first-world-war/): Official UK government records of the First World War, including a vast collection of letters, diaries, maps and photographs.

National Archives UK: War Diaries 1914-1922 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/war-diaries-ww1.htm): Not personal diary entries, these records are Unit war diaries of cavalry and the first 33 infantry divisions of the British Army in WWI.

National Archives and Records Administration (USA) (http://www.archives.gov/research/military/): To access American military personnel records, make sure you carefully read their subject guide.

Prisoners of the First World War, the ICRC Archives (http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/): During the First World War, 10 million people, servicemen or civilians, were captured and sent to detentioncamps. The countries involved provided lists of prisoners to the ICRC, which created an index card for each prisoner and detainee, approximately 5 million of them.

“Researching Canadian Soldiers of the First World War” The Regimental Rogue (http://tinyurl.com/6q8vn84): Good overview and tips on how to research your WWI ancestors.

Online—Newspaper ResourcesGoogle Newspapers Archives (http://news.google.com/newspapers) – The site offers full digital images of the Morning Leader as well as newspapers from all over North America.

Saskatchewan Historic Newspapers Online (SHNO) (http://sabnewspapers.usask.ca/) – The site offers full digital images of weekly newspapers from Saskatchewan. First phase of the project is focusing on WWI years.


tracing your canadian wwi ancestors - bibliography

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