In keeping with Veterans’ Week 2012, here are some military websites, blogs, and newspaper articles that I have come across that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too –
New Historical Records Offer Glimpse Into The Lives Of Canada’s Military Heroes Ancestry.ca
A press release received by GenealogyCanada says, “Ancestry.ca announces more than 1.5 million new historical Canadian military records spanning more than 100 years.
“Remembrance Day is such an emotional time for Canadians to reflect on the people who made the brave and often ultimate sacrifice for this nation and its ideals,” says Lesley Anderson, a genealogist and Content Manager at Ancestry.ca. “We are so happy and proud to be able to provide a forum for Canadians to discover more details about their military ancestors and the lives they lived through the preservation and digitization of these rare historical records.”
The collections, which launched on November 1, 2012, include -
Canada, Military Honours and Award Citation Cards, 1900-1961 contains almost 70,000 records documenting awards and honours received by Canadian service personnel, both men and women. Some records include valuable and rare information on the soldier’s next of kin, a physical description, their home address, and a description of the meritorious action.
Canada, Nominal Rolls and Paylists for the Volunteer Militia, 1857-1922 contains more than one million records that provide detailed information about a soldier’s everyday life, including payroll. The records also include travelling expenses, battalion or regiment, rank, pay for the use of a horse, and signature of the member for received pay. These small details can help paint a richer picture of the day-to-day routine of Canada’s servicemen and women.
UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 & 1939-1947 contains more than 500,000 records and includes information from both World Wars. The records list names of gravesites and memorials maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and document who is buried in a cemetery and where, names of people with no known grave, next-of-kin, and a history of military action in the area. The collection includes burial and memorial sites in about 150 different countries.
Canada, War Graves Registers: Circumstances of Casualty, 1914-1948 contains almost 30,000 new records added to the existing collection already available on Ancestry.ca. The collection includes military burial documents from Canada, as well as casualty records from the U.S., prisoners of war and members of the Australian Air Force, Polish Air Force, and Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Ancestry.ca is also providing FREE access to select military records from some of the most popular collections, from November 8th to November 12th at
www.ancestry.ca/11remembrance, including records covering
Soldiers of the First World War, the
Rebellion of 1837, and the
War of 1812.”
Last Post: Death Notices www.legionmagazine.com/en/lastpost The Royal Canadian Legion has over 190,000 deaths of veterans listed on its website, giving their rank, their first and last name, their unit, plus other information, if known.
Welcome to the Maple Leaf Legacy Project www.mapleleaflegacy.ca/wp The Maple Leaf Legacy Project is a volunteer project aiming to photograph every Canadian War Grave from the South African War (1899-1902), World War 1 (1914-18), World War II (1939-45), Korean War (1950-52), all United Nations Peacekeeping Missions, and to the conflict in Afghanistan, in which 157 Canadians died.
Learn about Canada’s History from The War Amps Military Heritage Series
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2012/10/31/77852 Jenny Fredenburgh tells us about The War Amps Military Heritage Series. More information is available at
www.waramps.ca
Question of the Day: In what year did the
Legion Magazine of the Royal Canadian Legion first honour those members with military backgrounds, Canadian war veterans, and Legion members with police service who had died with short death notices in a special column known as the “Last Post”?
Send your answer to Elizabeth at
genealogycanada@aol.com by midnight, Eastern Standard Time. Please put “booklet” in the title, and remember to submit your full name and postal address. A winner will be chosen by random draw from every eligible entry received.
Good luck, and happy researching!
© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved
