Fairfield in the First World War
Fairfield in the First World War is my attempt to shine a light on the contribution made by the residents of my neighbourhood 100 years ago. It’s a micro history […]
A Field Message Book belonging to Capt. Cyril Norman, MC
Lieutenant Cyril Norman‘s Field Message Book offers a fascinating glimpse into the working life of an officer on the Western Front. His entries begin in August 1916 and end in February 1917 […]
Dating and Identifying Soldiers in First World War Photographs
My primary interest is in researching Canadian and British soldiers of the First World War. My projects often begin with a postcard or photograph but vary greatly in terms of background […]
Pte Arthur B. Colville – 7th Battalion The Royal Scots
“Then when the second collision occurred the bottom came out of the compartment, and he, along with Private Arthur Colville, Musselburgh, dropped down and crawled along searching for a way […]
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 […]
Who Goes There? Update: 7th Battalion Royal Scots
Since posting my original article on the Musselburgh Company of the 7th Battalion Royal Scots I’ve spent some time examining the newspaper photographs in John Duncan’s Newbattle at War photo gallery. Although the […]
Who Goes There? The 7th Battalion Royal Scots
UPDATE: please see the comments section for feedback regarding the names of soldiers shown in these photos. A year ago I picked up three wonderful real photo postcards of men […]
Valentine Hitchcock – Part 4
Valentine Hitchcock Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 5 | Part 6 On arrival in England the 67th Battalion (The Western Scots) were stationed at Camp Borden in Hampshire where on May 15th they learned […]
LAC to digitize all 640,000 Canadian Soldier Service files
Earlier today Library and Archives Canada announced that they will digitize the service records of all 640,000 members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. These digital copies will be available online free of charge. The project begins in March when servicemen whose surnames begin with ‘A’ through ‘D’ are digitized. Those […]
Pte Joseph Labreche – 139th Northumberland Overseas Battalion
The recent passing of my uncle has led to the discovery of a 1920’s photograph album that once belonged to my grandmother, Jean Paulin. Much to my surprise it contained […]
Doing Our Bit 