Researching the Canadian Expeditionary Force

Those of us researching Canadian soldiers of the First World War will inevitably want to learn more about the unit in which their soldier served. Regimental histories are excellent sources of information but if you don’t have access to the printed versions you will find that some are available online for free. The unit War Diaries have been online for many years and are a popular resource on the Library and Archives Canada website. A less well known but extremely helpful resource from LAC is their “Guide to Sources Relating to Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force“.

An example from the "Guide to Sources Relating to Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force"

An example from the “Guide to Sources Relating to Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force”

The guide consists of links to over 30 PDF documents that bring together references to primary research material related to almost every unit in the CEF. This valuable finding aid is probably the best place to begin your research even if you won’t be visiting the LAC in person. The guide provides useful background information, as illustrated in the example above. This excerpt is but a small part of the 170 pages devoted to Artillery units in the CEF.

Links to all the guides are listed below. For more information please visit the Guide to Sources Relating to Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force page on the Library and Archives Canada website:

 

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