Canadian military forces have been involved in many conflicts over the years, from the 18th century Seven Years War (arguably the first global war), to the First and Second World Wars and the Korean and Gulf Wars of the 20th century. In the two World Wars more than 1.6 million personnel from Canada served as combatants, medical personnel and in various ancillary roles.[1][2] Thus military service has been a significant part of many Canadians and, for better or worse, shaped who they were and how they lived their lives. Records of this military service are an important trove of information for any family historian researching their Canadian ancestors.
The wiki article How to research military records is a good starting point for family historians interested in exploring ancestors who served in Canada's military forces, or who were otherwise impacted by major wars. The article provides general guidance on issues such as preparatory steps you can take to make your search for military records more productive as well as pointing to other potential sources of Canadian military records beyond made available by Canadian agencies.
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Where Canadian military records are stored
The main official sources of Canadian military records are:
- Library and Archives Canada (LAC): LAC is the official archives of Canada and holds a vast collection of military records, including service records, unit histories, and photographs. The LAC incorporates the Personnel Records Centre which holds archival personnel military records. These can be searched online, including records from the First World War as well as Second World War personnel who were killed in action (1939-1945); died as a result of accident, illness, or injury while in service; or died in 1946-1947 of injuries related to service.
- Canadian Department of National Defence (DND): The DND is responsible for the Canadian Armed Forces. The DND keeps records for those who were:
- In the regular Canadian Forces after 1998 and are either currently serving, released from service, or died in service
- In the reserve Canadian Forces between 1 March 2008 and today and meet these same conditions, noting that access to both classes of these records is restricted because they contain personal information[3]
- Canadian Virtual War Memorial: The Canadian Virtual War Memorial is a website that provides information about Canadian military personnel who died in the line of duty. You can search the Canadian Virtual War Memorial to find information about a deceased Canadian Armed Forces member. The database also includes an Honour Roll for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
- Veterans Affairs Canada: The VA Canada website includes a Remembrance section which provides both an overview of Canada's military history, from battlefields and peacekeeping missions to search and rescue operations and disaster response, and the personal stories of those who have served Canada, and those who have made significant contributions to commemoration.
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC): The CWGC maintains a database of British Commonwealth, including Canadian, military personnel who died in the First and Second World Wars. The database also records where these personnel are buried. You can search the CWGC online using flexible search options. These search criteria include name, country, cemetery, unit, rank, regiment, date of death, and honours and awards.
Accessing Canadian military records
In order to release military records of genealogical interest, the holding Canadian administration must be satisfied that the person is deceased, either by reason of age or on the basis of evidence provided with the inquiry.
Military records which can be accessed without restriction include:
- Personnel records of the First World War (including records of nurses who served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps in the Canadian Expeditionary Force)
- Second World War Service Files of the War Dead, 1939-1947
- South African War, 1899-1902
- Military Medals, Honours and Awards, 1812–1969
Other military records are restricted to varying degrees. To access these you need to complete an Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) request, either online or via a paper form sent directly to the relevant administration. These restricted records include:
- Canadian Armed Forces regular members (1919-1997), including Permanent Force, Second World War (those who did not die during the war) and the Korean War
- Canadian Armed Forces reserve members (1919-2007) (noting that not all files were retained for the Reserves)
- Newfoundland Militia members who served in the Second World War (noting that not all files were retained)
- Medical or dental records of the regular or reserve Canadian Armed Forces members who were released from service more than five years ago or who died in service more than five years ago
- Military records held by the DND (as described above)
The information included in Canadian military records
For military records accessible through the Personnel Records Centre of the LAC, the database entries include a digital “genealogy package”. This includes the most relevant documents from the person’s service file highlighting their service, such as:
- Enlistment details
- Military units with which they served (for the Canadian Army), names of ships on which they served (for the Royal Canadian Navy), or squadrons with which they served (for the Royal Canadian Air Force)
- Medal entitlements
- Cause of death, burial details, and estate records
- For about 1,600 database entries a second attachment includes partial or complete service files that were previously digitized for other purposes. There may be some duplication with what is in the genealogy packages.
All of the digital objects are in PDF format and can be downloaded. Very few of the online database entries include a copy of an individual's complete service file. For those personnel service files that have not been digitized, a researcher must inspect them in person at the LAC archive where the physical file is held (Ottawa, Vancouver, or Winnipeg). If you can't visit the LAC in person, you can order digital copies or hire a researcher to inspect the file at the archive site on your behalf.
Digital copies of other military records of interest to family historians that can be purchased from the LAC include:
- Published material, such as books, magazines, theses
- Photographs, videos, and sound recordings
Information required before you can apply to obtain Canadian military records
As explained above, records of personnel serving up to and including the First World War are "open" (accessible without restriction). Later records generally require the individual’s permission or proof of that individual's death.
If requesting your own personal military records you will need to provide your full name, Social Insurance Number (SIN), and date of birth to the LAC. You may need to provide proof of your military service, such as a discharge certificate.
Cost and processing time for Canadian military records
The LAC has a useful guide to current prices, time frames, and delivery options for ordered military records on its website. In summary there is a price per page, plus taxes and handling fees for shipped items. The standard time frame for copying and processing records is given as 30 working days. Note that you must give credit or cite LAC material if you use it in your research.
The processing time for your own personal military records requests can vary, from several weeks to several months.
Explore more about Canadian military records
The MyHeritage Collections Catalogue lists 7 Canadian military collections with more than 626,000 records. The largest collection covers the First World War. As well there are several specialist collections of military documents including the official history of Canadian Forces during the First World War as well as the histories of some individual battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during that conflict.
MyHeritage also includes 170 other collections with 121,613,024 records relating to Canada. Among the most useful in relation to researching military records and history are:
- Canada Newspapers, 1752-2007: potential source of military obituaries and stories (in English)
- Canada, French Newspapers 1807-2007: potential source of military obituaries and stories (in French)
- Canadian Obituaries, 1997-2017: contains death details, obituaries, and memorials covering all ten Canadian provinces, drawn from a variety of sources.
- Letters from the Front, c1920, with Supplement: Over 1,700 staff members resigned their positions with the Canadian Bank of Commerce to fight in the First World War. Subsequently, the bank's Staff Inspector conceived the idea of publishing a series of pamphlets containing suitable edited extracts from the soldiers sent back home
- University of Toronto, Roll of Service, 1914-1918: includes a complete list of men and women who were associated with the University of Toronto and who served in the First World War
The Canadian Directorate of History & Heritage (DHH), whose main function is the production of official histories of the Canadian Armed Forces, maintains a wide range of historical archives, including some biographical files. However most of this material is not online and can only be accessed by visiting the DHH Reading Room in Ottawa.
There are many regimental museums spread throughout Canada that include information on personnel who served in those regiments. The website of Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society provides a comprehensive list of these museums (with contact details), while acknowledging that its list may not be completely up to date.
References
- ↑ Canada, V. A. (2022, May 18). First World War (1914 – 1918) - veterans affairs canada. (1914 – 1918) - Veterans Affairs Canada
- ↑ Canada, V. A. (2022b, May 19). Second World War. Veterans Affairs Canada
- ↑ Canada, V. A. (2022c, September 8). How to find military service records and attestation papers. Veterans Affairs Canada