US / Canadian Veterans - WW I Files



Vets-canadian-poster-2In the 1910s with Europe in a wide-spread war, many Americans, some recent immigrants from Europe wanted to help fight the war. Since the United States had not joined the war efforts by sending troops in 1914, many fellows from America went north to Canada to join the Canadian military and serve.

 

You not even be aware if you have a relative who served from the USA in the Canadian military, but many did join. In fact even after America officially joined the war in 1917, those fellows who did not qualify the physical standards for the US military were accepted in the Canadian Army.

 

 

The database online “Library and Archives of Canada” has a section titled Service Files of the First World War, 1914-1918. It has the records for the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) which included soldiers, nurses and chaplains (Native Canadians and those from other countries). Vets-canadianNot all records are in digital form yet but are added to on a regular basis.

 

 

During a search, maybe starting with a surname, may yield results. If you know a relative did serve in the American forces, they may have first served in the Canadian military. Also a person had to be of a certain age. Figure from the birth date of early 1870s to 1899 as a range.

 

 

Each record can offer quite a bit of information. Name, birth, birth place, next to kin, occupation, any previous military service, physical description, their religion, plus their signature. Lick Them Over ThereOver the thumbnail of the digital image, if you see number 1 and 2 that means there is more than one page. Click on one or the other to enlarge each. Each image can be saved or you can save the complete forms in PDF.  

 

 

So check and see if you had a veteran serving for Canada during the 1910s.

 

 

Related FamilyTree.com genealogy blogs:

 

Ancestors in World War One

World War One and Resources

Photos – World War One

 

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