Research Links

TIP: Not all records are correct. For example, birth years are often wrong on the attestation papers. Do not give up. Try different years, name spellings, etc., to whittle down the candidates for your search.

Library and Archives Canada Links

Search: Personnel Records of the First World War - This site is the old version of the current site (link below). This site has the advantage of using the * operator symbol. If you are searching for a last name like McTeague and you are having problems with the spelling, you can search using "McTeag*" (without the quotes) and it will show all iterations of that text string, allowing you to scan the results and find your person.

The site has a tabular search format that allows you to sort by last name, date of birth, and other fields, allowing you to decrease or increase the search results.

Example: William Johnson Smith. This soldier could be under the first name Bill, or the spelling of the middle name may be the two most common versions of Johnson/Johnstone. You can search for Bill John* Smith, and if you know his year of birth, you can sort the results from descending or ascending years to find your person.

First World War Personnel Records database - This is the current database. It does NOT allow search operators and totally needs the names entered into the fields to be correct (as correct in the database), or no results will be found. The most effective search is by regimental number. I have never had any of the advanced features work for searches. If you run into trouble with this site, try the site above.

Collection Search: Military Medals, Honours, and Awards (1812-1969) - This site needs you to go to the Collection field and select the correct database to search. Searches using regimental numbers are most effective. For officers, you will need the spelling of their name as it is listed on their attestation papers. This site only gives reference information. No information about the medal citation text is available here. See the London Gazette or the paid version of Ancestry for medal cards.

Military abbreviations used in service files - This site contains most, NOT ALL, abbreviations used in service files for World Wars 1 and 2, the Korean War and since. It is not a definite database, and some knowledge of the abbreviations specific to World War 1 will help avoid confusing abbreviations from other times and conflicts.

CEF Acronyms & Abbreviations by Brett Payne - PDF file.

How to read First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force service files - A good guide to get a handle on the scope of this resource.

Researching Military Personnel (Canadian War Museum) - A series of PDF files covering all military branches. Not just the First World War.

Forms

The C.E.F. Paper Trail - A good guide overviewing the forms used by the CEF in service files. Images with some explanatory text with sample forms.

Canadian Specific Sites

Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group - This site is best used as a self-serve portal to get started. Not as busy as it was during the centenary period, there are several great people there who can get you in the right direction. This is NOT a social media site.

Canadian Great War Project - This site has three sub-sites that help.

Search - This site allows searches of soldiers over a wide range of search terms. Towns, age, and other search terms can be found. Not all soldiers of the CEF are in this database, but it is a great source to find soldiers when the LAC sites do not work out.

War Diaries - This is an amazing resource. Check out your person's service with an active unit. It does not have war diaries for non-active units, but if you man or woman served in France and Belgium, you can find out their unit's war experience. Some war diaries are amazing. Some are poor. Be ready to read cursive writing.

Canada at war - is a drop-down menu that offers access to several topic related to Canada's war.

WARTIME Canada - is a site that features social history related to Canada's military history. Searchable.

Rabbit Hole Site: sites that can help a lot, with effort.

The Long, Long Trail - Primarily a British-focused site, this site has many resources dealing with a BROAD range of information related to the Imperial war effort, including specific information relating to the CEF and Canadian Corps.

Saltwood - Do not let the name fool you. Many soldiers of the CEF trained at the camps near Folkestone and this site has information about the Sandling Camps that will give you insight into military camp life in England in general, and specifically for these camps.

Trench Maps - A challenge to use, but puts the geography of trench warfare in context. Lots of online resources assist in the use of this resource.

McMaster WWI Trench Maps & Aerial Photographs - A simplified version of the Scottish Archives.

British First World War Trench Maps, 1915-1918, National Library of Scotland - This site, though challenging, can really help with its search functions.