Researching your relative’s First World War record

If you’re interested in researching a relative’s service in World War One, the Library and Archives Canada’s Soldiers of the First World War database is the best place to start.

The database is a repository for the service files for the soldiers, nurses and chaplains who served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

The LAC is currently in the middle of a massive digitization project that will see high-quality digital copies of the service files for all 640,000 CEF personnel available free of charge online by the end of 2016.

The home page of the LAC’s Soldiers of the First World War database tells you more about the records it contains and provides essential information on how to read and use them.

Where to begin

“For most researchers, we recommend starting by researching the service files because these files contain the information that you would need to take your research further later on," said Claire Banton, who heads orientation programs for the LAC's reference services division.

"The service files include documents relating to postings, pay, medical history, hospitalization, medal entitlements, and discharge or notification of death. They do not contain photographs," she said.

Database users enter a name and/or regimental service number into the search field. Banton recommends starting with a first name and surname and avoiding middle names, which were not often given.  

Search results provide a complete record description including name, regimental number, and archival reference number.

Most database entries also now come with a digitized image of the original attestation paper that was completed upon a soldier's enlistment.

For service files not yet digitized, there is a reprography fee of around $20.

War diaries

Service files do not include information about battles or postings during the war, but only give the name or number of the units in which the individual served. 

Banton said information on locations and battles can be determined by searching the relevant unit War Diaries. 

"War Diaries are the historical record of a unit's administration, operations and activities during the war," she said.

Those records can be searched in the Archives database and most of them have been digitized and are available online free of charge.

Guidance on searching war diaries is available on the LAC's website.