From 1914 to 1918, nearly 630, 000 Canadian men and women served in the First World War, which claimed over 60, 000 lives. This presentation discusses key facts about the war, where to look for Canadian military records, and offer research tips for those studying ancestors who served in the conflict.

1. Tracing Your
Canadian WWI
Ancestors
Presented by May P. Chan
Prairie History Room, Regina
Public Library
November 15, 2014
© 2014

2. Agenda
Brief Introduction
Researching Your WWI Ancestors
General Research Tips
Case Study using primary records – e.g. CEF
military files, regimental war diaries, military
graves, maps and newspapers
Additional Bibliographic Resources
Additional Genealogical Research
Conclusion

3. Brief Introduction
 World War I is also known as First World War or the Great
War
 Began July 28, 1914 (Austria-Hungary declares war on
Serbia)/August 4, 1914 (Britain and Belgium declares war on
Germany) and ended on November 11, 1918
 Estimated 9 million soldiers and 7 million civilians died in or
as a result of the conflict
 Approximately 66, 655 Canadians were killed and 172,
950 were wounded (Cox, 131)
 About 19, 666 Canadian soldiers have no known grave
(Cox, 131)

4. General Research Tips
1. Get as much information as you can about the
individual you are researching:
• Full name of the individual
• Basic vitals (birthdate, birth year and birth place)
• Branch of Service—eg. Army, Air Force, Navy, etc.
2. Don’t forget to look beyond the individual’s
military/personnel files! For example, look at
regimental histories to find out where the regiment
was assigned and what battles they fought in.
3. Always record and evaluate your sources!

5. Cenotaph for Guelph, ON
photo credit:
http://ancestorsatrest.com/cenotap
h_records/guelph_cenotaph.shtml
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 6 November 2014.

6. Case Study
Ernest Harry ANTILL
Name: Ernest Harry (Jr)
ANTILL
Born: 1876 in Hathern,
Leicestershire, [England]
Death: KIA August 15, 1917
- Fought in the 5th Battalion,
Saskatchewan Regiment
- Died at Hill 70
- He has no known grave
- Commemorated on the
Vimy Memorial
Source: The Saskatchewan Virtual
War Memorial (http://svwm.ca/)

7. What are my research steps???
Ernest Harry ANTILL’s military file
Attestation papers
Service File
War diaries and Unit Histories
Cemeteries and Battlefields
Other Military Records – depend largely on
the individual’s service file
Other Genealogical Records

8. Canadian Genealogy Centre
- Library and Archives Canada (LAC)
http://tinyurl.com/cangencentre
Great starting place for tracing
your Canadian military
ancestors!!!

9. Subject Guide to WWI
http://tinyurl.com/ktwzy4k

10. Soldiers of the First World War: 1914-1918
http://tinyurl.com/lac-cefdatabase

11. Link to the
full service
record!

12. Ernest Harry ANTILL
Attestation Papers
Attestation Paper is the agreement that the individual signs saying he will serve in the
military. The document lists address, place of birth, occupation, next-of-kin, previous
military service and distinguishing physical characteristics.

13. Ernest Harry ANTILL
Service Record
Guide to help you read the service
record: http://tinyurl.com/ocr86dx

14. Ernest Harry ANTILL’s military will
Ernest Harry ANTILL’s eligibility
for war medals
Other records found in the
Service File!

15. Surprising addition….
 Letter found middle of
the file
 Dated January 29, 1991
 Letter indicated that
Ernest Harry ANTILL had
four children
 Letter writer was
Ernest’s nephew, Leslie
ANTILL, who was living
in New Zealand at the
time the letter was sent

16. War Diaries and Unit Histories
 Service file only
provides you with
where and when the
individual served and
what happened
 To understand why a
unit was sent to a
particular battlefield,
you need to track down
the regimental histories
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.c
a/archivianet/020152_e.html

17. War Diaries of the First World War
Database
War diaries can only be
searched by unit name,
date or by the year only
 No full text search of
the images
 If you don’t know the
specific unit’s name
(e.g. Regina Rifles), start
with the generic name
of the unit (e.g. 5th
Battalion)

18. Some Notes on Using War Diaries
 CEF authorized 260 numbered infantry battalions but
only 52 battalions were sent to the battlefields – it
helps to know what unit your ancestor fought in
 handy online guide:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_infantry_battalions_in_the_Cana
dian_Expeditionary_Force
 Cox, 144-147: brief description about the organizational structure of
the CEF with a 2 page chart with divisions included which battalions
 Not all of the regimental diaries have been
digitized!!! Depending on the regiment, you may
need to plan a trip to Ottawa to view the microfilm
or hire a researcher
 Amount and level of detail of content in the war
diaries vary greatly

19. Entry for 5th Battalion Infantry
August 1917

20. Alternative Sources for Regimental
Histories and General Information
Internet Archives
(https://www.archives.org/details/texts) –
some published regimental histories
Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org) – info
on specific regiments
Websites on specific regiments
Don’t forget to check your local public library
for published books!!!

21. Commonwealth War Graves Commission
http://www.cwgc.org/

22. Battles and Battlefields
Photo Source:
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia
.ca/en/article/hill-70/
 Don’t forget to look at books, exhibits and maps pertaining to
specific battles and battlefields
 E.g. Hill 70
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hill_70
https://legionmagazine.com/en/2012/03/vimy-a-battle-remembered-
hill-70-a-battle-forgotten/

23. Additional Military Resources
 Library and Archives Canada’s Canadian Genealogy Centre
(http://tinyurl.com/cangencentre) - FREE
 Court Martials of the First World War
(http://tinyurl.com/pagbknh) – FREE
 Royal Canadian Navy Ledger Sheets 1910-1941
(http://tinyurl.com/nahjkna) – FREE
 Ancestry.ca (www.ancestry.ca) - $ but free if using RPL’s
Ancestry Library Edition database (in house database)
 Queen’s Canadian Military Hospital Registers, 1914-1919
 Ledgers of CEF Officers Transferring to Royal Flying Corps,
1915-1919

24. Additional Military Resources
Canadian Great War Project (biographical info,
letters & diaries;
http://www.canadiangreatwarproject.com) –
FREE
The National Archives (UK)
(http://tinyurl.com/y7cjyng) – FREE
READ their subject guide as access to the military
personnel records varies!!!

25. Military Resources continued…
Lives of the First World War (Imperial War
Museum) (military lists & stories;
http://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/) – FREE but
$ for premium content such as the military
personnel files and UK census records
National Archives and Records Administration
(USA)
(http://www.archives.gov/research/military/) -
FREE

26. Prisoners of the First World War, the ICRC Archives
http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/

27. Select Bibliography
Military Records
Cox, Kenneth G. Call to Colours: Tracing Your Canadian
Military Ancestors. Toronto, [ON]: Ontario Genealogical
Society, Dundurn Press, c2011.
Wright, Glen. Canadians at War, 1914-1919: a Research
guide to World War I Service Records. Milton, ON: Global
Heritage Press, 2010.
“Researching Canadian Soldiers of the First World War.” The
Regimental Rogue (http://tinyurl.com/6q8vn84) – FREE

28. Select Bibliography continued
General
Pitsula, James M. For All We Have and Are: Regina and
the Experience of the Great War. Winnipeg, MB:
University of Manitoba Press, [2008].
First World War (multimedia;
http://www.firstworldwar.com) –FREE
Europeana 1914-1918 (multimedia;
http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en) - FREE

29. Additional Genealogical Information
What happened to the soldier’s family???
Census records
E.g. Ernest ANTILL’s case: 1916 Prairie
census and the 1921 Canadian census as
well as the 1920-1940 US federal censuses
as it appears that Ernest’s widow, Eliza,
moved to the US sometime in the 1920s
City directories – useful for tracing family
members between census years

30. 1916 Prairie Census – Ernest ANTILL
Ernest H ANTILL (age 36) living at 945 Haultain Street
Wife: Eliza ANTILL (age 35)
Children: Earnest W (age 7), Archebald H (age 5) and Trevor C (age 0)

31. 1916 Henderson Directory for Regina
Photo credit:
http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/
image-image.aspx?id=1294#i1

32. 1920 US Census - Eliza ANTILL
Eliza ANTILL (age 40) is living as a boarder in Aurora Ward 1, Kane, Illinois.
She is listed with 2 of her children, Trevor (age 4) and Harry (age 2). She is
widowed and living with the Thompson family (landlords). Mystery arising
after looking at the 1916 Prairie census – what happened to her two older
sons, Earnest W and Archebald H?

33. Additional Genealogical
Information…continued
 Immigration records
 Passenger lists
 Naturalization records
 Websites and message
boards
 Antill website:
www.antill.org.uk
 Interesting factoid:
Ernest ANTILL (father of
Ernest Harry) ran a
photography business in
Hathern, England
Ebay: http://tinyurl.com/l4q4jd3

34. Newspapers
 Newspapers
 Digital versions of the
Morning Leader (Leader
Post) newspaper via
news.google.com/newsp
apers
 Tip: Begin to look about
2 weeks (average length
of time for family to
have received word from
the battlefront) after the
death date of the soldier
for the death notice
New newspaper digitization project:
Saskatchewan Historic Newspapers
Online (SHNO) -
http://sabnewspapers.usask.ca/

35. Conclusion
 Broaden your research – try to understand the
context by looking at the regimental histories or the
specific battles
 Don’t forget that every soldier left family members
behind – what happened to them?
 Consider and contribute what you have found out
about your WWI ancestor(s) to museums, archives,
and libraries
 Saskatchewan Military Museum –
www.saskatchewanmilitarymuseum.com
 Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial – www.svwm.ca

36. The End
Email: maychan@reginalibrary.ca
Presentation:
www.slideshare.net/maychan