CEF 101 Documenting Our First World War Ancestors
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CEF 101Documenting Our
First World War Ancestors
Objectives
• Nature of military service, 1914-1919
• CEF Service Documents – Review
• Creating a CEF Timeline
• Timeline “Pointers”
• Some overlooked or underused resources
• The “future” of CEF Research
The Great War
■ August 4, 1914
■ United Kingdom
■ Caribbean
■ Belgium
■ France
■ Russia
■ Middle East
■ Atlantic Canada
■ November 11, 1918
Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919
■ Infantry
■ Artillery
■ Cavalry
■ Railway Troops
■ Forestry
■ Service Corps
■ Medical
■ Engineers
■ Veterinarians
■ Nurses
■ Chaplains
■ Administration –Canada and Abroad
Presenter
Presentation Notes
MEN AND WOMEN WERE DRAWN FROM CANADA’S SMALL PERMANENT FORCE, FROM THE MILITIA, BUT MORE THAN ALL THIS, THE CEF WAS A CITIZEN ARMY, A VOLUNTEER FORCE AND LATER IN THE WAR, CONSCRIPTS. MEN FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE, MOST WITH NO MILITARY EXPERIENCE. THE AVERGAE AGE IN THE CEF = 26 YEARS AND 1 MONTH, LARGEST SINGLE POERCENTAGE WERE BRITISH-BORN AND 75% WERE SINGLE. MORETHAN JUST INFANTRY – WE HAVE GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO REMEMBRANCE DAY MEDIA COVERAGE SHOWING MEN JUMPING OUT OF TRENCHES AND RACING ACROSS NO MAN’S LAND V– NOT SO. SERVICE TOOK MANY FORMS
Canadians at War
■ Second Ypres, 1915
■ Courcelette, 1916
■ Somme, 1916
■ Vimy Ride, 1917
■ Passchendaele, 1917
■ 100 Days: August – November 1918
■ Russia, 1918-1919
LAC > Military Heritage > First World War
Personnel Records of the First World War
■ Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF)
■ Imperial Gratuities
■ Non-Permanent Active Militia
■ Rejected CEF volunteers
■ Royal Newfoundland Regiment and Forestry Corps
Ancestry > Military > Canada military Collections > Canada, World War I Personnel Files
• Search by name
• Birth place & date
• Relative, i.e., next of kin
• Regimental number
Presenter
Presentation Notes
ON ANCESTRY, ONE CAN SEARCH BY NAME AND EVEN WITH SOME SPECIFICS, THE RESULTS FOR COMMON NAMES WILL BE EXTENSIVE. BUT ANCESTRY ALSO PROVIDES DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH IN ITS RESULTS AS WELL THE NAME OF THE NEXT OF KIN.
Key Document: Attestation
■ Name
■ Address
■ Place & date of birth
■ Next-of-kin, relationship address
■ Occupation
■ Previous service
■ Certification
■ Unit first joined & date
■ Regimental/service number
Presenter
Presentation Notes
THE ATTESTATION PAPER IS A SOLDIER’S AGREEMENT TO SERVE IN THE CEF, IT SAYS VERY LITTLE ABOUT ACTUAL SERVICE. PRIMARILY, THE ATTESTATION PAPER CAPTURES PERSONAL INFORMATION: NAME – ADDRESS – DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH – OCCUPATION – NEXT OF KIIN AND ADDRESS – PREVIOUS MILITARY EXPERIENCE AND THE ONLY SERVICE INFORMATION = UNIT FIRST VOLUNTEERED WITH AND SERVICE OR REGIMENTAL NUMBER ON THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE FORM, A PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION, APPARENT AGE, RELIGION, ANY IDENTIFYING SCARS OR TATTOOS. THE ATT PAPER ALSO RECORDS IDENTIFIES THE UNIT THAT THE MAN FIRST VOLUNTEERED WITH, NOT NECESSARILY THE UNIT HE SERVED WITH ON THE WESTERN FRONT.
Key Document: Casualty Form
■ Arrival & departure
■ Training - location
■ Promotions
■ Transfers
■ Wounds, illness, hospitalization
■ Discipline
Presenter
Presentation Notes
THIS BRINGS US TO THE MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENT ON FILE – THE CASUALTY FORM/ACTIVE SERVICE – VARIATIONS EXIST, BUT THE FORM IS RECOGNIZABLE BECAUSE OF THE INFORMATION RECORDED. THERE MAY TWO OR EVEN THREE VERSIONS ON FILE – COMPARE. THE FORM INCLOUDES NUMEROUS ABBREVIATIONS – A LIST IS FOUND ON THE LAC WEBSITE. FROM THIS, CREATE A TIMELINE. MOST IMPORTANT = THIS IS THE ONLY DOCUMENT TO CONFIRM WHAT UNIT OR UNITS A SOLDIER SERVED WITH AND THIS INFORMATION IS REQUIRED IN ORDER TO MOVE FORWARD IN OTHER RECORDS. THERE IS NOTHING IN THESE SERVICE DOCUMENTS TO RECORD BATTLES, EVENTS … WE MUST KNOW THE UNIT.
Timeline Pointers
■ Ships and voyage files (to and from England)
■ Part II Orders
■ Hospital Admission and Discharge Registers
■ Operational Records
■ War Diaries
■ Service chronology: attestation to discharge
Presenter
Presentation Notes
A TIMELINE SUGGESTS A NUMBER OF RESOURCES THAT NEED TO BE CONSULTED IF OUR GOAL IS TO UNDERSTAND MORE FULLY WHAT OUR ANCESTOR DID IN THE GREAT WAR. WHERE DO WE TURN? REFER TO RECORDS NOTED ON SCREEN … BRIEFLY
Guide
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Administration and organization History – chronology, badges, bands Personnel - honours and awards, casualties, nominal rolls, promotions Major and minor operations in the Field Demobilization
Part II Daily Orders
■ Transfers from one unit to another and within the unit
■ Hospitalization
■ Discipline – awol, insolence, swearing, etc
■ Wounded, died
■ Leave, including permission to marry
■ Discharge from the unit
■ Company designation
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Information should be captured on the casualty Form, but here it is more clearly spelled out, this is THE authority for any personnel action.
Hospital Admission and Discharge
■ Facilities in Canada
■ Stationary Hospitals
■ Casualty Clearing Stations
■ Special Hospitals
■ Convalescent Facilities
■ identifiers
■ length of service
■ wound
■ treatment
■ disposition
Presenter
Presentation Notes
WE ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE BRUTALITY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR … 60000 CANADIANS DIED, ABOUT 175000 WOUNDED … WOUNDS, FOR EXAMPLE, ARE DOCUMENTED ON THE CASUALTY FORM … HOSPITALS RECORDED ETC BUT THE HOSPITAL ADMISSION AND DISCHARGE BOOKS, VIRTUALLY ALL OF THEM RELEVANT TO THE CEF ARE AVAILABLE FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES … AND THEY CAN TELL US A BIT MORE ABOUT OUR SOLDIER ANCESTOR … NOTE GRANDAD’S ENTRY … HIS COMPANY IS NOTED … AND WHERE HE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY SENT FOR CONVALESCENCE … NOT ALWAYS AS EXPLICIT ON THE CASUALTY FORM, NUMBER OF DAYS TREATED ETC
War Diaries
■ Hierarchical in organization
■ France and Belgium only?
■ Training camps
■ Hospitals and convalescent facilities
■ Troop ships – homeward bound 1918-1919
■ Daily account of activities (trench fighting to football)
■ Names – Officers only
■ Appendices – plans, operations
■ Maps
War Diary: 116th Battalion
Presenter
Presentation Notes
TYPICAL WAR DIARY … DAILY ACCOUNT OF THE UNIT’S ACTIVITIES, WHETHER FIGHTING THE ENEMY OR ENJOYING A BASEBALL MATCH BEHIND THE LINES … OTHER RANKS RARELY MENTIONED, OFFICERS ONLY … ATTACHED TO THE DIARY ARE OPERATIONAL ORDERS, DETAILED REPORTS ON SPECIFIC ACTIONS, EVEN RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AWARDS … maps, messages and more DIARIES WERE KEPT WHEN THE UNIT WAS IN FRANCE OR BELGIUM, BUT UNFORTUNATELY NOT WHEN IN ENGLAND … HIGHER ORDERS KEPT DIARIES AS WELL … BRIGADE, CORPS, GENERAL STAFF ETC MOST ARE DIGITIZED AND AVAILABL E ONLINE AT LAC … FROM THIS WE CAN GET THE BROAD PICTURE OF WHAT OUR ANCESTOR WAS DOING ON ANY PARTICULAR DAY, WE KNOW WHERE HE OR SHE WAS AND FOR HOW LONG, WHETHER THE ENEMY WAS ENGAGED AND GENERALLY WHAT HAPPENED … USEFUL KNOWLEDGE IF ONE IS INTERESTED IN VISITING THE WESTERN FRONT AND FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF AN ANCESTOR … WAR DIARIES, I WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT MY GRANDFATHER WAS PRESENT AT VIMY RIDGE AND PASSCHENDAELE IN 1917 AND HE ALSO TOOK PART IN THE LAST 100 DAYS OF THE WAR BEGINNING AT AMEINS, FRANCE IN AUGUST 1918
Canada to England
Voyage File
■ Ship
■ Nominal roll
■ Port of departure & arrival
■ Dates
CORSICAN
Home Again, 1919
Voyage File
■ Name of ship
■ Ports/Dates of departure & arrival
■ Nominal roll (NoK, destination)
■ Log or diary of voyage
■ Conditions on board: medical, discipline, facilities
ROYAL GEORGE
Discharge from the CEF
■ Verify the information
■ Note unit served with
■ Check the dates
■ Check physical description
■ Officers: Certificate of Service
Honours and awards
■ Victoria Cross
■ Distinguished Service Order
■ Military Cross
■ Distinguished Conduct Medal
■ Military Medal
■ Mentioned in Despatches
■ Various foreign awards
Ancestry
Not to be overlooked…
■ CEF volunteers rejected at Valcartier, 1914
■ Conscription Tribunals, 1917
■ Trench newspapers (and all newspapers!)
■ Photograph sources – are they any?
■ Commemorative books
■ Provincial probate records
■ And … is that all there is?
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Mad Rush” to join the colours, August 1914 -- Establishment of Valcartier Camp -- Re-assessment of all volunteers -- Over 4000 rejected
Conscription 1917-1918
■ 1917
■ Military Service Act
■ Personal information
■ Physical description
■ Where drafted & when
■ Military District & unit
Presenter
Presentation Notes
GEORGE LAWRENCE PRICE.
Conscription Tribunals, 1917
Trench Newspapers
■ Small runs, inconsistent
■ Photographs
■ Stories
■ Humour
■ Some personal news items
203,500 files, including 860 nursing sisters
1/3 of all who served in uniform
1491 reels of microfilm … now digitized
Post-War/Pension Records
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Foreign First World War Veterans (approximate figures): The Collection also includes thousands of pension records for veterans from other Allied nations during the First World War who immigrated to Canada after the war. British Imperial Veterans – 2000 American Veterans – 600 Australian Veterans – 150 French Veterans – 300 Foreign First World War Veterans (approximate figures): The Collection also includes thousands of pension records for veterans from other Allied nations during the First World War who immigrated to Canada after the war. British Imperial Veterans – 2000 American Veterans – 600 Australian Veterans – 150 French Veterans – 300 Other Conflicts Pension records for Canadian veterans of conflicts prior to the First World War are within the Through Veterans Eyes Collection. The two primary conflicts are the 1885 Northwest Rebellion and the 2nd Boer War The 2nd Boer War (commonly known as the South African War) was fought from 1889 to 1902 between the British Empire and Dutch settlers in modern day South Africa. Over 7,000 English-Canadians, loyal to the British Empire, volunteered and fought in South Africa. 2nd Boer War (1899-1902) Veterans – 250 Northwest Rebellion (1885) Veterans – 120
War Dead: Memorials and Cemeteries
Cemeteries
■ background … why?
■ during the war … IWGC … CWGC
■ post-war consolidation
■ battlefield tourism
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Notes on history of the IWGC … grave registration during the war … policy, buried where one died, comrades, rank not considered Several hundred small cemeteries along the front lines … in 1919, consolidation began, bringing smaller cemeteries together to form larger ones … using registration records, many isolated graves were located, bodies exhumed and re-buried Not all were found because later battles obliterated the site .. The work of locating bodies ceased in 1921 and the work of designing, constructing and indexing the cemeteries began … to honour fallen soldiers of the Empire and to be prepared for battlefield tourism Of all Canadians buried on the Western front, one was exhumed and returned to Canada …
Documenting the dead: France and Belgium
■ Service record
■ Circumstances of Casualty Registers
■ War Grave Registers
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Thousands were buried where they fell or in small, hastily prepared graves … these were noted at the time, but later fighting often obliterated the ground and the graves … An interesting case is that Lieut. Alexis HELMER …
Ancestry: Documenting the Fallen
Lieut. Alexis Helmer
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Black register
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Circumstances of Death
Researching the War Dead and Missing
■ Canadian Virtual War Memorial
■ Commonwealth War Graves Commission
■ Commemorative and memorial books
■ Unit histories – online and published
■ Local histories
■ Deaths in the UK and at sea
Presenter
Presentation Notes
ASIDE FROM THE ANCESTRY RESOURCES, ONE MIGHT ALSO LOOK AT THESE RESOURCES IF RESEARCHING A SOLDIER OR NURSE WHO DIE DIN THE GREAT WAR.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
FOR THOS EOF USE WHO LIVE IN OTTAWA, WE HAVE TWO OF THE BEST REPOSITORIES FOR MILITARY HISTORY RESEARCH. LAC I HAVE ALREADY MENTIONED. THE RESEARCH CENTRE AT THE CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM IS AN EXCELLENT RESOURCE FOR HISTORIES AND REFERENCE MATERIALS.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
AND SO IS THIS PRESENTATION … THANK YOU.
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