How To Research A Member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Through Campaign Medals

A Guide to Traditional & Online Sources compiled by Peter Broznitsky, Neil Burns, Richard Laughton, Dwight Mercer, and Brett Payne with invaluable and generous additional assistance from the Members of the CEF Study Group.

Every British 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and Victory Medal issued to a Canadian Recipient has their Service Number, Highest Rank Attained, Initial, Last Name & Unit first attached to upon arrival in France. This information can be found on the reverse of the 1914-15 Star and on the rim of the British War and Victory Medals. This is similar to the British custom regarding First World War Medals.

The CEF Study Group: An online forum where students of the Canadian Expeditionary Force can exchange information, research tips, reference book checks etc. With over 400 members and 19,000 posts the forum has become a hub for serious students of the CEF.

The CEF Study Group Matrix Project: Information on the structure of the CEF; details that are being assembled by members on individual units; links to and transcriptions of war diaries; and a host of utilities (definitions, reference lists, abbreviations, map links and summary tables).

The Great War Project: Highly useful research utilities and databases created by Marc Leroux.

Research Resources:

Attestation Papers: Library & Archives Canada Soldiers of the First World War(1914-1918)

These contain the name, address, service number, next of kin, physical description and unit attested to.
They can be searched by name or service number.
Although the attestation papers will give you the unit originally attested to (enlisted in), quite often soldiers were transferred to other units once they went overseas.
260 Battalions were raised but only 52 Battalions served in the Frontline.

How to order copies of First World War service files:

Service Records: Accessing Records of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF)

Full service records are not available online, but they can be ordered for a fee from Library and Archives of Canada.

Orders should be sent by mail or fax to:
Library and Archives Canada, Textual Records Reproduction Services, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N3, Fax: 613-995-6274

Must provide a payment method. The easiest format is a credit card. The Archives charge 40 cents Canadian per copied page.
These contain medical and pay records and give a more detailed and personal history of the soldier including what units served with overseas.

For examples of documents in a Service File, check Brett Payne's outstanding site: The C.E.F. Paper Trail

Casualties:

Additional information on those who died in service can be found on the following sites: Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Searchable by Name and Year of Death with an advanced search feature.
Will provide unit, service number, date of death and allow you to digitally view their name in the Book of Remembrance as well as provide burial or commemorative information.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Searchable by Name, nationality, branch of service, and date of death.
Provides burial/commemorative information and some next of kin information.

War Diaries:

Most Unit War Diaries are available online: War Diaries of the First World War

Since it is a digital scan, it is difficult to search but there is currently a project under way to transcribe the war diaries into searchable Word format by members of the CEF Study Group.
Once you receive the soldier's service records you can track their service overseas tracing where they were S.O.S "Struck Off Strength" or left a unit and where they were T.O.S. "Taken on Strength" or assigned to another unit.
Cross referencing the soldier's service history with the dates in the War Diaries can give you a clearer outline of his service.
The war diaries can be searched by unit and cover a specific block of time. By referencing the war diaries you can trace a soldier's service from rest billets to front line trenches. Unfortunately the diaries rarely mention anyone individually, except officers. The diaries normally list gallantry award recipients.

How To Research A Member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Through Campaign Medals

Research Resources:

How to order copies of First World War service files:

Casualties:

War Diaries:

Further Reading: