“Past Tents” – November Newsletter

“Past Tents”, the newsletter of the Thunder Bay Branch of the OGS, recently issued their November 2011 edition.

The Branch has a very interesting and eye-catching first page of their newsletter. Four times a year they highlight an “Ancestor of the Month”, and this month they are featuring Marion Belle Elliot.

Marion was born in 1898 in Morewood (near Ottawa), the daughter of Marion Henderson and Francis Elliot. She taught school in Thunder Bay, and although she wasn’t spoken of as a genealogist, she spent her summer going around Canada visiting relatives, and leaving the lists and pictures of their relatives.

The column, "Research Article", mentions going to a community called Tum Tum in Washington State where Paul McAlister found the tombstone of Robert Elsworth McAlistor. An interesting read!

In another article entitled “Why Mobert is Called Mobert”, we find out that the name is the contraction of C. S. Montizambert, a fellow who led men in 1885 Out West to help quell the Riel Rebellion.

You can go to their website at http://www.ogs.on.ca/thunderbay/index.html

If you are interested in joining Ontario Genealogical Society, go to http://www.ogs.on.ca/membership.php

Ottawa Speaker at NGS Conference 2012

While going around the Internet checking on blogs and conferences, I came across the NGS Conference 2012 speaker's list, and discovered one name which stood out - Ottawa's Alison Hare.

Alison is a member of both the Ottawa Branch of the OGS and BIFHSGO in Ottawa, and has given talks at both groups at their conferences on a number of subjects. This time, she will be part of a panel discussion being held on May 10th at 8:00 a.m., entitled "BCG Certification Seminar".

Other panelists include Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG, and Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS.

The NGS Conference will be held next year at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio from 9-12 May. This year, the theme is "The Ohio River: Gateway to the Western Frontier".

If you are planning to go to the NGS Conference and take in the panel discussion, and you meet Alison, please say “Hello” to her from us at the GenealogyCanada blog! I am sure that she will represent Canada very well. She is a very popular speaker in Ontario, and I have had the pleasure of listening to her speak numerous times.

The Conference website is at www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/conference_info.

"Thanksgiving" for my American Cousins

I have American cousins on both sides of my family, even though I was born and grew up in Nova Scotia.

On my paternal side (BARCLAY), I have three great-great aunts, one great-great uncle, and one aunt who went to the “Boston States”, either to find work, or they got married and then moved to the "Boston States” with their husbands.

My great-great aunts were the issue of John and Roseanne (WATT) BARCLAY of Jordan Falls, Nova Scotia –

Josephine Peterson BARCLAY (b. 1880 – d. 1935) She emigrated in c1911 to Massachusetts to work as a teacher, but quickly became married to George Wallace GELLATLY (who had emigrated from Scotland) in 1916.

He was a Baptist minister who travelled around Rhode Island, to New Hampshire, and on to Vermont, were they eventually settled in Newfane.

They had two sons – John, who died at a very young age due to a car accident, and George, who died in California.

Alma Leah BARCLAY (b.1890 - d.1935) She emigrated to Boston, and worked as a bookkeeper. She married William Eben CURRY from Nova Scotia, and he worked on the railroad. They did not have children.

Louise Beatrice BARCLAY (b. 1880 – d. 1967) Great-Aunt Louise emigrated to Boston c1910 to Massachusetts, where she went to cooking school, and worked as a servant in various homes.

She married Martin NYE, and she had two children – Alma and John.

Harold Glenburn BARCLAY (b. 1892-d.1984) He emigrated to Boston in 1910, fought for the US in the First World War, and later, worked as a motor mechanic.

My aunt was the daughter of Cecil and Laurie (TURNER) BARCLAY of Jordan Falls, Nova Scotia -

Mary Augusta BARCLAY (b.1915 - d. 1970) The last relative on my paternal side to emigrate to the “Boston States” was Aunt Mary. She emigrated c1940s, married Samuel WALL, and had two daughters – Florence and Beth. We used to visit them quite often when they lived in Upper Kennebunkport, Maine.

If you would like to read more about Canadians who migrated to the United States, a good place to start is -

The Boston States Migration Links Page http://bostonstates.rootsweb.ancestry.com/BostonStatesindex.htm. It is THE site for Migration to the Boston States.

I would like to wish our American friends a "Happy Thanksgiving!"

If you want to see whimsical and interesting material on Thanksgiving, including "Were Cats and Dogs on the Mayflower?", check out this post (along with links to animated dancing and football-playing turkeys on my blog and website) - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2010/10/happy-thanksgiving.html.

Be sure to click on all the links - there are a few to go through!

Enjoy!

Elizabeth

The Ontario Name Index (TONI)

As part of the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the OGS, The Ontario Name Index (TONI) has been growing steadily ever since, having posted close to 250,000 single names in the index.

They hope to eventually have tens of millions of entries in the database.

TONI includes -

• converting and importing the existing electronic indices at both the Branch and Society level, i.e. Ontario Cemetery Ancestor Index or the Ottawa Branch Name Index;
• 
  
• digitizing and importing existing hard copy indices;
• 
  
• indexing existing electronic and hard-copy documents and importing them, including family histories, Tweedsmuir histories, items in the e-library, etc. Branch publications such as cemeteries, census, newspapers, and other transcriptions that they have done; and

• indices to digitized documents produced for other organizations as part of the scanning project could be included, with permission of the owner.

Presently, they are putting in names in cemetery transcriptions of Northumberland and Carleton Counties of Ontario. They have already put in cemeteries of Wellington, Peterborough, and Hastings Counties.

TONI is available to everyone. You do not need to be an OGS member to use the index.

Go to www.ogs.on.ca/integrated/toni_database1.php.

If any of the members of the OGS would like to help enter material into TONI, contact your Branch TONI Co-ordinator or the Provincial TONI Co-ordinator, Mike More, at Director08@ogs.on.ca.

Canadian Genealogy Survey

Just received a note from Del Muise, Professor of History, Emeritus at Carleton University in Ottawa who has written to say that the Canadian Survey will be closing November 30th.

To date, they have received over 2,000 responses to the survey, so if you haven't answered the survey yet, please do so by going to www.cusurveycentre.ca

He says that “they will analysing the results of the survey as soon as we get the final results available for some work. We anticipate that that will be by the middle of December; but in the meantime we are preparing a few posts about our preliminary look at the qualitative or open ended questions that seem to us to be quite suggestive”.

They also have a blog at www.genealogyincanada.blogspot.com

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 12

Here are some of the websites and blogs that I have come across the week ending November 20, 2011.

Amy Brewitt Genealogy Research Services - www.amybrewittgenealogy.com. This is a pay site if you wish for Amy Brewitt to research your ancestry, especially records in Ontario.

Kindred Footprints: Following in their footprints and walking where my Ancestors walked - http://kindredfootprints.blogspot.com/p/about.html. Started in 2009, the Manley/Munnelly family from County Mayo, Ireland to Thorold, Ontario, Canada and the Vine family from Norfolk, England to Alden, Erie Co., New York.

The Huntley Pages - www.huntleygenealogy.ca. As the website says, it is "A genealogy of the Huntley family that emigrated to Canada from Wiltshire in the mid 1800s. Also covers the families the Huntleys married into. (Ontario)".

Jen's Genealogy Pages…searching for my family's history - www.jenasmart.com. Jen recently celebrated her blogiversary on November 16, 2010 on Geneabloggers. She is searching for her family history.

About Genealogy Services: New Books in the Genealogy and Family History Room - www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-204-e.html. This webpage from Library and Archives Canada (LAC) lists, every month, the latest books that have been received by them.

The Evangelical Christian Church in Canada - www.cecconline.com/node/1. The Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Christian Disciples) traces its roots in part to 1810 near Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and a Presbyterian minister - Barton Warren Stone (1772-1844).

Jim's Girl Family History Blog: A genealogy blog to bring together cousins near and far in my family tree. - http://jimsgirlfamilyhistoryblog.blogspot.com. A blog by Katherine of Ottawa, she gives a good description of BIFHSGO's Friday Conference in September as well as the Genealogy Theme, "Good Things Happen in Genealogy". She also discusses her battle with breast cancer in her latest post.

Joan's Genealogy Jottings - http://joansgenjottings.blogspot.com. The website says that it is blog about her "journey through the DAVIES, BELLAMY, CROCKETT, and BUTCHART family histories".

Judiology ... a genealogical journal of discovery! - http://judiology.blogspot.com. A recently-started blog in April 2011, she has blogs about Home Children, and since her mother was a War Bride, she has a blog about them, also. Good reading!

Le chercheur nomade - The Nomadic Researcher - http://chercheurnomade.blogspot.com (In French only). A blog started by Gilles Cayouette in 2007, the blog traces the ancestors whose surnames are Caillouet (Caillouet, Caillouette, Cayouette...).

Tomorrow Post: November 2011 issue of Families

BRANTches Newsletter - November 2011

The talk at the September meeting of the Brant County Branch of the OGS was given by Gerry Miller on the Jewish families who used to live there from the 1900s up until the late 1920s, when most of them moved on to Toronto or to the United States.

Some of the surnames mentioned were HENKLE, WHITE, BERKERMAN, NYMAN, TULCHIONSKY, YAMPLSKY, KANTER, FINKELSTEIN, and SILVERSTEIN.

In an article by Jean Farquaharson called, "The War of 1812-1814: People in Brant Area – The Nelles Family", she tells us about Hendrik, and his nephew, Andrew. Hendrik supported the Americans during the American Revolution, but Andrew supported the British in the War of 1812.

Jean also writes a review of Mary Coushnie-Mansour's book, A Twentieth Century "Portia": Biography of Thelma Bernice Kerr-Thomson.

Visit the Brant County Branch online at http://brantcountybranchogs.ca

If you are interested in joining Ontario Genealogical Society,go to http://www.ogs.on.ca/membership.php.

Tomorrow's Post: - SCAN (Simcoe County Ancestor News)

Our Waterloo Kin - November 2011

The November issue of Our Waterloo Kin is out, and there are various genealogical articles in their edition such as rescuing and restoring a cemetery, biographies published in a newspaper 100 years ago, and an obituary of an old settler who died in 1871.

An semi-unknown cemetery located on the west side of Waterloo, next to the Regional Shopping Centre along Ira Needles Boulevard, is cleaned up by members of the Waterloo Branch of the OGS.

See what they did to identify the cemetery, and why they've decided to make a return visit to the cemetery.

The eleven people who lived in the Waterloo area – Joseph ABRA, Peter BERG, Samuel CASSEL, A.P. DAMMEIER, Albert GIBBONS, Adam HEIPEL, Fred HOLWELL, Henry N. HUEHN, Joseph Good HURST, Solomon KOCH, and Adam MATTUSCH – have short biographies listed on pages 53 and 54 of this issue.

Obituaries of a Father and of his Daughter” highlights the passing of Ledogarius Beisang, and that of his daughter, Mary Anna (nee Beisang) Stremmer, who died in 1905 at Eagle Creek.

The iron cross and stone monuments have been restored at the St. Agatha Roman Catholic Church, and there is an article on “Reading the Documents: Ins and Outs of Paleography”.

You can visit their website at www.waterlooogs.ca.

If you are interested in joining the Ontario Genealogical Society, and the Waterloo Branch of the OGS, please go to the OGS website at www.ogs.on.ca/membership.php.

Tomorrow's Post: Brant County's Newsletter

Huron County Branch Newsletter

The November 2011 issue of the Huron County Branch newsletter is out, and is full of genealogical news.

Ian Hulley, in the September meeting, talked about himself being a gravedigger at the Blyth Cemetery, and he has been the supervisor at St. Paul's Anglican Church Churchyard in Clinton, Ontario.

The old cemetery was disused after the bodies were re-interred in the new cemetery, although there is a question as to if all the bodies were moved.

The rest of the story follows on what Ian has found.

At the October meeting, John Hazlitt, Ted Turner, and Doug Culbert gave a talk on "The Power of the Maitland" where they discussed the research they did on 78 dam sites in Huron, Perth, and Wellington Counties.

There is a book in the making, and it will be called, The Power of the Maitland: Powering Pioneer Settlement in an Ontario River Watershed.

The story, "The History of St. Augustine Parish", that was given at the Closing Mass on September 24th, 2006 has been reprinted in the newsletter, as well as the names of people who were involved in the "12th of July Parade", at Stratford, ON is 1938.

"A Splinter of Wood" is about a young English couple – Robert Carter and Charlotte Watson - who were both born in East Yorkshire, married, and came to Canada in 1854 or 1855. His dream was to own land, which he did in Clinton. A splinter of wood taken from their log house is shown in the newsletter.

"From the Newspapers" is devoted to names taken from The Clinton News-Record and from The Huron Expositor through the years.

You can go to their website at www.hurontel.on.ca/~ogshuron

If you are interested in joining the Ontario Genealogical Society, visit www.ogs.on.ca/membership.php.

Tomorrow's Post: Our Waterloo Kin Newsletter

Southern Georgian Bay Official War of 1812 Bicentennial Event

David J. Brunelle, the Co-ordinator, Historical Displays/Exhibits from the Celebrate Barrie Festival 2012, has sent the following press release -

He says that "On May 31st, June 1st, 2nd and possibly the 3rd, 2012, Barrie, Ontario will host the Southern Georgian Bay Official War of 1812 Bicentennial Event, and honour the Nine Mile Portage Heritage Transport Route.

The Nine Mile Portage, an ancient native trail, once formed a land bridge between Kempenfelt Bay and the Nottawasaga River, enabling a continuous trade and transportation route from Lake Ontario through to Georgian Bay for many centuries.

During the War of 1812, the British military improved the route for the transport of supplies and personnel, as the lower lakes were occupied by the Americans following the Battle of Put-in-Bay. This land route became strategically important in keeping the captured American fort of Mackinaw supplied, and in British hands.

Following the War, the route remained active, and what was known as "the portage landing" grew into the community we know today as Barrie, Ontario.

The City of Barrie will be celebrating its founding with a huge War of 1812 Bicentennial Event including a very large War of 1812 land and naval component. This potential four-day event will include two education days on Thursday and Friday, and continue with two public days on Saturday and Sunday."

If you are interested on attending the event for all or some of the days as a paid participant, or would like more information, please submit an email to David J. Brunelle at davidbrunelle@rogers.com

The Royal British Columbia Museum

The Royal British Columbia Museum is located in downtown Victoria, close to the Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel.

From June 1 to September 3, 2012, the museum will feature an exhibit called "Celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee".

The website says, "This special exhibition of nearly 100 portraits by royal photographer, Cecil Beaton (1904-80) depicts Elizabeth in her roles as princess, monarch and mother, and will include a number of rarely-seen photographs alongside extracts from Beaton’s personal diaries and letters"

You can see what is upcoming in the exhibit at www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Exhibit_Gall/Upcoming.aspx

You can also link over to the BC Archives at www.bcarchives.bc.ca/BC_Our_Collections/BC_Vital_Rrd_Collect.aspx and stop at the World War Two Overseas Casualties (1940-1945); Colonial Marriages (1859 to 1872); and Baptisms (1836-1888).

Postscript #1 – BIFHSGO held its monthly meeting on November 12, with a large capacity crowd of 195 members present to hear Glenn Wright give a brief overview of history and genealogical books available online that one can search.

Brooke Broadbent talked about "Moonrakers at Peace and War" which covered the lives of four families that emigrated from the U.K., and settled in the Peterborough, Ontario, area, and who had sent soldiers to serve in both the First and Second World Wars. It was a very interesting talk from a former history teacher, and was punctuated at the end with a graphic (and because of Remembrance Day, timely) video showing poignant archived footage from the Battle of the Somme, where one of his relatives lost his life in service.

Afterwards, Glenn announced surprising news that BIFHSGO has been given a year's reprieve by Public Works (PWGSC), allowing BIFHSGO to use their facilities at the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) until the end of 2012! Monthly meetings will continue to take place at the LAC as will the Conference in September.

The news was met with clapping and cheers from the membership, for it has been a hard-fought battle by Glenn, his executive, and BIFHSGO members.

The next conference will focus on Scotland. If you want to be considered as a presenter, you may submit a brief outline of your proposed talk(s) to conference@bifhsgo.ca no later than 31 January, 2012.

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 11

Here are some of the websites and blogs that I have come across the week ending November 13, 2011

Notes from the Hills/Hackett Tree - NEW! http://hillsandhackettree.blogspot.com Read about attempts to trace a family from Eastern Canada.

Larbalestier and Carmoody Ancestors - NEW! www.larbalestier.ca John Larbalestier and Elizabeth Clark of Jersey, Channel Islands to Toronto, Ontario; Mary Carmoody of London, England, to Toronto, Ontario

Shaw and Milsted Genealogy - NEW! www.leitchandshaw.ca The Ancestors of William John Jefferson Shaw and Florence Milsted.

Elgin County Ontario Genealogy - http://elgincountyogs.blogspot.com Although this blog has been around since 2007, the blog that was written last year should be of interest to anyone who has Elgin County, Ontario roots.

Zichydorf Village Association - www.zichydorfonline.org Tracing German ancestors who originated from this town, and its surrounding towns in modern Serbia to Saskatchewan.

Doctors, Preachers, Pioneers, Statesmen, and Folk - http://drrevfolk.blogspot.com A blog which has information on over 50 surnames in Canada.

Fur Trade Family History - http://furtradefamilyhistory.blogspot.com Nancy Marguerite Anderson, author of the book, "The Pathfinder: A.C. Anderson's Journeys in the West," which will be published in October 2011 by Heritage House Publishers.

Growing Up in an Italian Family - http://nucciasthoughts.blogspot.com The blogger describes herself as a "First Generation Canadian - Full Blooded Italian".

Remember When Genealogy - http://rememberwhengenealogy.blogspot.com NEW! A new blog just started this month tracing the Goodwin and Lafleur families of the Windsor-Detroit area.

The Road Backward - www.theroadbackward.com/process/CreateJournalEntryComment?moduleId=11081656&entryId=13520165 NEW! This blog, started in October, traces back the blogger's family in part to her father’s father's family of Russian Jews who fled to the U.S. and Canada after the Bolshevik Revolution.

Tomorrow's Post: The Royal British Columbia Museum: Past, present and future, plus some exciting news about BIFHSGO.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Obituary Files

As of October, 2011 the following obituary card index information, and notices from 1876-2007 have been updated, and are online at www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1425003

1876–1971 - Deaths of Royal Canadian Mounted Police killed while on duty, taken from S.W. Horrell's, The Pictorial History of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

1919–1997 - Scarlet and Gold (Royal Canadian Mounted Police Veterans' Association) publication including an historical honour roll of officers killed while on duty, and more current obituaries. Honour roll contains deaths prior to 1919.

1933–2007 - Digital images of an obituary card index for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and digital images of the obituary sections of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police publications the index refers to.

1976–1994 - Pony Express: Staff Relations Branch Newsletter

Related Websites

There are four websites that hold related information, and they are -

Saskatchewan Genealogical Society  - This society has a copy of the obituaries on file and an explanation about how the file index was created. The website is www.saskgenealogy.com/databases/RCMP/RCMP.htm

Library and Archives Canada describes this collection and other places where more information about Royal Canadian Mounted Police may be found. The website is www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-913.003-e.html

North West Mounted Police (NWMP) - Personnel Records, 1873-1904. The collection is found at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/nwmp-pcno/001032-100.01-e.php

RCMP Graves. - www.rcmpgraves.com

Tomorrow's Post: New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs, Week 11

Researching Canadian WWI Records

On Saturday the 19th of November at 1:00 p.m. at Quinte West City Hall Library, 7 Creswell Drive in Trenton, Ontario, the Quinte Branch of the OGS will host their monthly meeting & AGM.

Rick Roberts from Global Genealogy http://globalgenealogy.com will talk on "Researching Canadian WWI Records Using Online and Traditional Resources".

Discover which Canadian military records are available to help you reveal the roles that individual enlisted Canadians played in World War One, where those records are, how to access them, plus tips and hints for interpreting Canadian military documents. To be discussed are those who served at home and/or overseas, those who applied for service and were rejected, those who returned from war, and those who didn't. A case study, compiled by using Internet-based and physical records, will illustrate effective strategies, research processes, and results.

For more information, visit their website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs

Tomorrow's Post: Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Obituary Files

The Portraits of Honour National Tour

The Portraits of Honour National Tour, in a mural, honours 157 Canadian soldiers, sailors, and aircrew who have lost their lives in Afghanistan.

It started touring Canada on May 26th, and is slated to go right across the county from coast to coast to coast. If you want to read their Tour Diary, and see their photo gallery, go to www.portraitsofhonour.ca/index.cfm?page=blog.

The bus will be in Ottawa today and tomorrow at the following places and times -

Friday, November 11th it will be on Parliament Hill, and will be open for public viewing from 9:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m..

On Saturday, November 12th, it will be at the National War Museum at 1 Vimy Drive. The public viewing will be from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m..

Go to www.portraitsofhonour.ca for more information.

Postscript #1 - Under the title of "Remembrance Day: Lest we forget" — a day set aside to honour sacrifice — there are a number of articles available online on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's website at www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2010/11/05/f-remembrance-day.html.

As well, CBC will pay tribute to Canada's fallen soldiers today through live video, audio, and online streaming of the ceremony from the War Memorial in Ottawa, starting at 10:00 a.m. EST this morning. Go to www.cbc.ca/video/#/Radio for details.

Postscript #2 - There will be free admission to the Canadian War Museum www.warmuseum.ca and the Canadian Museum of Civilization www.civilization.ca on Friday, November 11.

Today at exactly 11 a.m., sunlight will shine through a single window to frame the headstone of Canada’s Unknown Soldier.

A limited number of free tickets will be available at 9 a.m. at the Information Desk. No reservations permitted.

This event will also be webcast live from Memorial Hall on November 11, starting at 10:45 a.m. on the Museum’s website, and broadcast within the Museum.

For more information on the programs available today, and for a link to the live webcast, go to www.warmuseum.ca/programs/remembrance-at-the-canadian-war-museum.

Tomorrow's Post: Researching Canadian WWI Records with Rick Roberts of Global Genealogy at the Quinte Branch (OGS) AGM.

Wreaths Across Canada

Adorned graves at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. John’s, Newfoundland. (Photo submitted by Wreaths Across Canada)

I received an article written by Canadian Forces Captain, Lisa Evong, entitled, "A wreath for every Canadian veteran", about a new initiative between the Canadian Forces and Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa to be called Wreaths Across Canada.

The article says -

Almost a quarter of a million Canadian veterans are buried in cemeteries across Canada including those at rest at the National Military Cemetery at Beechwood. Many Canadians are unaware of this fact, and so the honour that is owed to them is lost. Wreaths Across Canada (W.A.C.) Incorporated is an organization determined to correct this omission starting on December 4.

“All too often when the image of deceased Canadian war veterans comes to mind we think of those buried overseas at places like Vimy, Normandy, Ortona, or Hong Kong,” says Chief of the Defence Staff, General Walter Natynczyk. “But, thousands of veterans, many of whom fought in and survived those same battles, are buried in military burial sites throughout our nation. Wreaths Across Canada is giving Canadians of every age an opportunity to play a personal and significant role in the ceremony to honour our fallen.”

Beginning Sunday, December 4 at 1:30 p.m., W.A.C. will activate its mission by placing almost 3000 balsam wreaths on the headstones of every veteran buried in the National Military Cemetery. The public is invited to participate in this most personal act of remembrance. It is anticipated that this will become an annual tradition in Ottawa and it is hoped that this ceremony of commemoration spreads to every military cemetery throughout Canada.

“Keep in mind three easy words - Remember, Honour, Teach – that is the mission statement of Wreaths Across Canada,” says General (Ret) Rick Hillier, W.A.C.’s Honourary Chairman. “We will remember those members of the Canadian Forces who lie in military cemeteries across Canada; we will honour those who have served Canada as members of our military forces; and we will strive to teach Canadian youth the value of freedom.”

No longer will it only be government and military leaders placing wreaths on memorials. W.A.C. invites you, your friends, and your family to participate in this ceremony. Families are encouraged to bring their children to the ceremony and schools are encouraged to participate. Serving members of the Canadian Forces are invited to attend in uniform and veterans attending are encouraged to wear their medals. The hope is that participants will depart with a new sense of gratitude and understanding of the sacrifice that was made.

W.A.C. is a registered charitable organization composed of a small group of volunteers who are mainly veterans. Local school boards are enthusiastic about this program and there is also a growing interest from other organizations and associations.

Fundraising for W.A.C. is now in full swing. Funds have been received from Veteran’s Affairs Canada, The McCain Foundation, the True Patriot Love Foundation, the Harrison McCain Foundation and individual donations from the general public. If you would like to make a donation to W.A.C, or volunteer to lay a wreath on December 4, please visit the website at http://www.WreathsAcrossCanada.ca, call 613-435-4294 or simply just arrive at the National Military Cemetery at 1 p.m. and you will be given a wreath to lay when the ceremony starts at 1:30 p.m.  

Postscript #1 - Glenn Wright, the former military archivist at the Library and Archives Canada, has informed me that the website, "WWI Canadian War Graves in the United Kingdom", has been put together by D. Beaupré and Adrian Watkinson. They are compiling a list and information about 3,885 soldiers who are buried in 834 locations across the United Kingdom.

The website is www.canadianukgravesww1.co.uk.

Postscript #2 - Ancestry.ca has FREE access for Canadian Military Records on its website at  www.ancestry.ca/11remembrance?lcid=4105&o_xid=37375&o_lid=37375&o_sch=Newspaper+Brand%2fPR until November 13th, 2011.

Tomorrow's Post: The Portraits of Honour National Tour, plus live streaming of the CBC's (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - Canada's public broadcaster) of the Remembrance Day Service, live from the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa.

Canadian Soldier Sikhs: A Little Story in a Big War

A film is being made by Canada's David R. Gray about ten Sikh men who enlisted in the Canadian Army in the First World War. As the website says, the film "follows the men through the enlistment process, training, and transport to France by troopship. It features the struggles these Sikh soldiers faced and the battles they fought, including those during which two of the men were killed".

The producers of the film are looking for assistance from people who travel to India, and may be able to contact the relatives and descendants of the ten Canadian Sikh soldiers. And they are looking for photos of any of these Canadian Sikh soldiers.

You contact the producers at grayhound@xplornet.com. The website is http://canadiansoldiersikhs.ca.

Postscript # 1 I have just been informed by Sandeep Singh Brar of the website at  http://www.sikhmuseum.com/buckam which honours "Private Buckam Singh: Discovering a Canadian Hero" - the first Sikh to enlist in the First World War with an Ontario battalion. 

The website says that "Buckam Singh came to B.C. from Punjab in 1907 at age 14 and eventually moved to Toronto in 1912/1913. He enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the spring of 1915. He's one of the earliest known Sikhs living in Ontario at the time as well as one of only 9 Sikhs that we know of that served with Canadian troops in WWI".

Postscript # 2 According to a story in the Ottawa Citizen, there are a number of tunnels in France that have etchings in them. They are a reminder of the Canadian veterans who stayed in the tunnels in the wintertime while waiting to fight the Germans in the First World War.

There will be a travelling art exhibit of the etchings that will cross Canada in 2014, the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the war.

The story is found online at www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/French+tunnel+etchings+haunting+reminder+Canada+veterans/5666293/story.html.

Tomorrow's Post: Wreath Laying in Ottawa

Canada at War: A Guide to LAC's Websites

Private G.R. MacDonald of The Toronto Scottish Regiment (M.G.) giving first aid to an injured French boy, Brionne, France, 25 August 1944.

"Military and Peacekeeping" is one of the many topics found under the umbrella title of "Canada at War: A Guide to Library and Archives Canada's Websites Recalling the Canadian War Experience", found online at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/veterans/index-e.html.


This webpage will lead you to the many resources available on their website, particularly those who lost their lives in the First World War. Veterans' Week 2011 marks the 93rd anniversary of the armistice ending the First World War.

Sunday evening, we watched TVO's excellent documentary, "The Last Day of World War One", hosted by Michael Palin.

Although it was a British program about the last day of the war and the fighting that continued on that day even though the Armistice had actually been signed, many references were made to Canadians, including Strathroy, Ontario's own, General Sir Arthur Currie.

TVO is commemorating Remembrance Day with a month of special programming ww3.tvo.org/story/tvo-commemorates-remembrance-day-month-special-programming

Tomorrow's Post: Canadian Soldier Sikhs: A Little Story in a Big War