Digitization of Canadina Expeditionary Force Personnel Service Files

Digitization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Personnel Service Files – Update of November 2014

 

As of November 18, 2014, 78,914 of 640,000 files are available online via our Soldiers of the First World War: 1914–1918 database.

Remembrance Day

10 Quick Facts on... Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day was first observed in 1919 throughout the British Commonwealth. It was originally called “Armistice Day” to commemorate armistice agreement that ended the First World War on Monday, November 11, 1918, at 11 a.m.—on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

1. From 1921 to 1930, Armistice Day was held on the Monday of the week in which November 11 fell. In 1931, Alan Neill, Member of Parliament for Comox–Alberni, introduced a bill to observe Armistice Day only on November 11. Passed by the House of Commons, the bill also changed the name to “Remembrance Day”. The first Remembrance Day was observed on November 11, 1931.
2. Every year on November 11, Canadians pause in a moment of silence to honour and remember the men and women who have served, and continue to serve Canada during times of war, conflict and peace. We remember the more than 1,500,000 Canadians who have served throughout our nation’s history and the more than 118,000 who made the ultimate sacrifice.
3. The poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day. Replica poppies are sold by the Royal Canadian Legion to provide assistance to Veterans.
4. Remembrance Day is a federal statutory holiday in Canada. It is also a statutory holiday in three territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) and in six provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador).
5. The national ceremony is held at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. The Governor General of Canada presides over the ceremony. It is also attended by the Prime Minister, other government officials, representatives of Veterans’ organizations, diplomatic representatives, other dignitaries, Veterans as well as the general public.
6. In advance of the ceremony, long columns of Veterans, Canadian Armed Forces members, RCMP officers, and cadets march to the memorial lead by a pipe band and a colour guard. At the end of the ceremony, they march away to officially close the ceremony.
7. Some of the 54 Commonwealth member states, such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, observe the tradition of Remembrance Day on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Other nations observe a solemn day but at different dates. For example, ANZAC Day is observed in New Zealand on April 25. In South Africa, Poppy Day is marked on the Sunday that falls closest to November 11.
8. Many nations that are not members of the Commonwealth also observe Remembrance Day on November 11, including France, Belgium and Poland.
9. The United States used to commemorate Armistice Day on November 11. However, in 1954 they changed the name to Veterans Day.

Canadian Exit Permits 1942-1946

Thanks John D Reid at Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connection

Canada needed all hands to the wheel during the Second World War. Exit permits were required if those able to work wanted to leave the county. Their names, mainly women and children, were published in Orders in Council of the Privy Council of Canada along with information about the people receiving them at their destination, often the UK.

You will find the names of those granted permits, and other names mentioned, at www.exitpermits1942-1946.com/325502161c.

Sample entries along with information on how to purchase photographs of the list that contains the information about your person of interest is at www.exitpermits1942-1946.com/.

British Columbia Records

Anyone looking for actual record for British Columbia can find Digital images are here.

http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy/BasicSearch

 

War Diaries on Library and Archives Canada

War Diaries of the First World War and Image Search

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Library and Archives Canada Blog

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War diaries—records held at Library and Archives (LAC)—are daily accounts of First World War units’ “actions in the field.” They provide the most complete, first-hand record of how and where individual units were deployed and the wartime experiences of their members.

A page from the war diaries of the 22nd Canadian Infantry Battalion (MIKAN 2004664)

Searching War Diaries

To search the war diaries, use Image Search, a great, fast and easy way to view and consult these digitized records. Tips for searching specific diaries are available on our How to Search for War Diaries section; using keywords will also help you narrow down your search. For example, here are the search results for the diaries of the famous “Van Doos,” better known as the 22nd Battalion. We used the search terms war diaries 22nd battalion and selected “Textual material” in the “Type of material” drop-down menu.

Finding Related Materials

After consulting a unit’s diaries, redo the search you just performed, but this time leave out war diaries, and in the “Type of material” drop-down menu, select the default “All.” Here are the search results for the 22nd Battalion. Your results will still include the war diaries, but you will also see photographs, works of art and other documents related to your search term, provided that it appears in the title of these documents.
Enjoy searching and exploring the digitized materials that we have to offer!

Posted in Military Heritage, What's New at LAC? | Tagged First World War, images, Military Heritage, War Diaries, WWI | Leave a reply

New Ontario BMD records on Ancestry.com

New records on Ancestry.com

• Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928
• Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1913
• Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947
• Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935
• Canada, Canadian National Railway Immigrant Records, 1937-1960
• Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
• Central Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, Newspaper Birth, Marriage & Death Indexes, 1911-1990
• Canada, South African War Land Grants, 1908-1910

USA and Canadian Border

Interesting info about the USA and Canadian Border

 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qMkYlIA7mgw

Heir and Devisee Commssion

Lorne McGinnis Schutze has been hard at work and has added more to her website reguarding the Heir and Devisee Commission.

On March 23 she posted
Canadiana.Org has digitized 21 films of the Heir & Devisee Commission Papers (Heir & Devisee Commission papers 1797-1854, found in their Heritage Collection), and that's a good thing for genealogists. These records have valuable and informative genealogical documents.

But as mentioned in a previous blog post I wrote called Heir & Devisee Commission 1797-1854 on Canadiana.org - Listing Errors and a Workaround, the index and description of what is in each film, as provided on Canadiana.org, is incorrect.
I have been slowly going through each film and noting the correct contents in detail.

I have published the full set of corrections for the digitize records on Olive Tree Genealogy website at Heir & Devisee Commission This is a work in progress.

Read more: http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/#ixzz2zuqDl0dM

A HUGE Thanks Lorne!

New on Ancestry.com

1825 Census Lower Canada, Quebec

 

1842 Census Lower Canada, Quebec

Immigrants to Canada 1930-1950

I have just come across this site

Immigrants to Canada 1930-1950

It is worth a look

 

http://www.orderincouncillists.com/