Researching Canadian Soldiers of the First World War

By Michael O'Leary; The Regimental Rogue

Updated: 19 Sep 2022

Part 1: Find Your Man (or Woman)

This page introduces the availability of Canadian Expeditionay Force (CEF) soldiers' service records at Library and Archives Canada (LAC). All CEF service records have been digitized and are available through LAC search function. Other First World War personnel records, such as the files for members of the Non-Permanent Active Militia who were on Active Service in Canada but did not transition to CEF status, still require Access to Information requests.

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Canadian soldiers' service records for the First World War are held by Library and Archives Canada (LAC). For researching soldiers of the First World War, the place to start is the Collection Search page.

The basic search form for Collection Search at the Library and Archives Canada website.

From the Basic search form, open the Advanced Search.

The Advanced search form for Collection Search at the Library and Archives Canada website.

The Adbvanced search form for Collection Search at the Library and Archives Canada website.

From the Database drop-down list, select "First World War Personnel Records."

The database drop-down list, for narrowing the results of your search to First World War Personnel Records.

Enter the full name of the soldier you are searching for. Including the CEF service number can help to narrow the search to the desired results.

This example search for Walter Lowe returned five results to choose from. If the service number or date of birth is known, the correct record can be easily identified. For larger sets of returned records, try refining the search with the service number or the year of birth.

For more common names a little more effort may be required, in contrast to the lone Gladiator there are 7432 entries for the surname "Smith" and 734 of those have the given name "John." Use full given names to search when known, or use initials with an asterisk "J*" if the initial is known but it is not certain what the given name is, or how it might have been entered on the soldier's Attestation Papers (ex. "J*" for John, Jean, Jack).

An example of results returned when searching on a soldier's name (Walter Lowe).

Selecting a linked result will open a new page with a viewer showing the available documents. For CEF service records, this will include the images of scanned Attestation papers (most have scanned images, some do not), and a link to the digitized service record in PDF format. About 90% of the soldiers of the CEF have their attestation papers on line. The remainder simply weren't among the mass files of Attestation Papers that were scanned when the original database was built, but copies of attestation papers for the others will usually be part of the individual service record files.

An example of display page for the documents of 477950 Walter Lowe.

Select each file in turn from the gallery row under the attestation page image and download each to your computer. It is possible to zoom in on the attatestation page images and move the window around the page, but for most researchers it will be simpler to save the file for use.

If your name search still leaves you will multiple possibilities, and you don't have a service number, all is not lost. When you have a "short list" of possibilities, such as men all with the same given names, try to narrow your choices by the birthdate. Note that those without a service number listed were officers, although officers who also served as soldiers before their commissioning will often be shown with a service number in the LAC database record. One further method to distinguish between similarly named individuals is to go to each record and look at the linked Attestation Paper. the front of the paper will include next of kin, place of birth, and home town at the time of enrolment. It should be possible to match any or all of these details to previously known family history and confirm the appropriate record.

If your attempts to narrow the field are still frustrated, consider the following possibilities:

Try alternative surname spellings. Not all men were literate and the forms were often filled out by officers or clerks who did their best, but may not have gotten it right. This can be as simple as mixing up "Mc" and "Mac" or as complex as a semi-phonetic spelling of an Eastern European surname.
Your soldier may have enlisted and served under an assumed name. There are many reasons for this, but it may require some extra family research before returning to the LAC database wth new possibilities.
A typographical error with a service number reference. Are you using an old hand-written note? There is even the (very slim) possibility that medals have the service number incorrectly impressed, it has been known to happen. Search separately for name and number to see other possible results.
Lastly, you may have to consider that perhaps the family stories of war service aren't true. Or maybe they are, but his service was not with a Canadian unit. In either case, there would be no entry in the LAC database.
There is an advanced serch option, but the data behind it is being populated as the LAC scans the First World War service records and may not be complete for your search..

Hopefully with few problems, you will quickly be led to the correct service record for your ancestor.

The Attestation Paper will probably provide you first look at new information on your ancestor. There are two different documents linked with records. Most will have the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force Attestation Paper (example). Others, conscripts, will have a single-sided form showing that they were Drafted Under [the] Military Service Act, 1917 - Particulars of Recruit (example).

The next step, exploring the service record, will have to wait until you have the service record in hand, but please, read on.

Part 2 - The Service Record.

Researching Canadian Soldiers of the First World War

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