Category Archives: Military Heritage

How to Order Military Records from the Personnel Records Unit

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The Personnel Records Unit at Library and Archives Canada manages all Canadian military service files from 1919–1998 for Regular members, and until 2007 for Reserve members. These files have some access restrictions, which means that not everyone can view them because they are protected by the provisions of privacy legislation. Each file contains an individual’s personal information and details of employment history.

If you are interested in receiving your own or another individual’s record, please read and follow the steps in the Application for Military Service Information form. You must submit this form only if you wish to receive a military service file from 1919–1997, including those files of soldiers from the Second World War (not killed in action).

You can also request a Genealogy Package to receive military records of soldiers from the Second World War (killed in action). The package includes copies of selected documents from the file that highlight and summarize an individual’s service, including enlistment, units served, family details, etc. Your request must include the name, service number, archival reference and volume number, which you can find by searching the Second World War Service Files: Canadian Armed Forces War Dead database.

Requests for a Genealogy Package can be submitted online via the Genealogy Inquiry Form or by mail or fax to:

ATIP and Personnel Records Division
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0N4
Fax: 613-947-8456

Lastly, to order military records from the First World War, please consult our past blog post entitled “Canadians and the First World War”.

Questions, comments or feedback? We would love to hear from you!

Summary of comments received in French up to September 30th, 2013

Summary of comments received in French between April 1, 2014 and June 30, 2014

  • An elderly client requests some assistance looking for their father’s service file of the First World War.

What’s New? The Launch of “Royal Canadian Navy Ledger Sheets” Database

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Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has recently announced the launch of a new online database, “Royal Canadian Navy Ledger Sheets”.

Through this online database, researchers can access more than 16,700 references to individuals who served in the Royal Canadian Navy and the Naval Reserve between 1910 and 1918. It also includes some records for those who enlisted between 1919 and 1941.

Access the Royal Canadian Navy Ledger Sheets database today!

For more information on recent announcements at LAC, visit “News”.

Published Histories: Discover what individuals or military units did during the war

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Are you curious to discover what battles an individual fought in? Or what a unit did during the First or Second World War? Or maybe what regions a person travelled through with their unit?

If so, you have two main options, Published Histories and War Diaries. This post will focus on Published Histories.

For an easy-to-read overview of the unit’s activities, we recommend starting with Published Histories. These books are often called “regimental histories.” They cover the history and activities of the unit. The level of detail varies for each history. Some books include a variety of information such as pictures, maps, lists of unit members, and quotes from unit members.

The Advantages of Published Histories:

  • easier to read than War Diaries
  • contain a variety of information
  • can usually be sent to your local library via interlibrary loan*

You can search for these on our Library Search database by using the unit’s name.

For other suggestions of books on military units, we recommend our online exhibition, entitled From Colony to Country: A Reader’s Guide to Canadian Military History.

Our next post will discuss your second option: War Diaries.

 

(*) Update: End of Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Services

 

ILL services at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) will end in December 2012. Users of LAC‘s current services should note the following dates:

  • November 13, 2012: End of loan requests from international libraries.
  • November 16, 2012: End of renewals. All items loaned after this date will be non-renewable.
  • December 11, 2012: End of loan requests, location searches, and ILL-related photocopying services.

LAC‘s ILL listserv (CANRES-L) and Canadian Library Gateway will also be archived in December 2012.

LAC will continue to facilitate interlibrary loan activities among other institutions through the ILL form in AMICUS, and through ongoing administration of Canadian Library Symbols.

Through our modernized service channels, LAC will emphasize increased digital access to high-demand content. LAC is working with Canada’s ILL user community in order to inform this approach to accessing the institution’s unique holdings.

For more information, please visit “Interlibrary Loan at Library and Archives Canada“.

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!