Search the World War I Canadian Expeditionary Force Database

Do you have family members who went to Canada before World War I ?

Library and Archives Canada have created a new database of records of the World War I Canadian Expeditionary Force. 

Initially, Canada offered 25,000 soldiers for service overseas but that grew during the war to 619,636, of whom, 424,589 served in Europe. 

Volunteers were questioned at the place of enlistment to complete the two-sided Attestation papers which included the recruit's name and address, next-of-kin, date and place of birth, occupation, previous military service, and distinguishing physical characteristics, and their signature. 

Conscripted men completed a far simpler one-sided form which included their name, date of recruitment, and compliance with requirements for registration. Officers completed a one-sided form called the Officers' Declaration Paper. 



Search the World War I Canadian Expeditionary Force database.

Hawick’s German Prisoners - Stobs Internment Camp in Global Context, 1914-1919

During World War I, Stobs military training ground near Hawick was used as a mass internment camp for 4,500 prisoners; German civilian ‘enemy aliens’ who had settled in Britain before 1914 and were considered potential spies, civilian passengers and sailors from captured enemy ships, and military prisoners-of-war captured in Europe or at sea.

Although the majority of internees were German, there were some Austrians and some Turks.

There’s a free conference next summer about the Stobs camp, an opportunity to hear experts who have researched Stobs as well as camps in England, the Isle of Man, Ireland and others around the world, to see camp artefacts and perhaps to identify them, and visit the site with the Council’s archaeology officer, Dr Christopher Bowles.

If you have family members that worked at Stobs, or you’re descended from someone who was interned in one of the camps, I think you’ll find this conference especially interesting. Dr Bowles would also like to hear from anyone that has memorabilia relating to the camp.

Provisional programme.

The conference is on 18th and 19th June 2016 at Hawick. If you would like to attend, I suggest you register now at archives@scotborders.gov.uk

How to use Berlin Directories before 1925

There's a very interesting article on the Worldwide Genealogy blog about Berlin directories.

I've failed to find people in the directory but now I realise I wasn't looking in the right place !

You need to read the whole article about Berlin directories but here's an excerpt:

"the Berlin directory sorts by surname and then occupation and then first name .... (mostly abbreviated),.... then by men, women ....
and Fräuleins."

What's worse is that the directories like almost everything I've seen before World War II is printed in the Gothic German font making it difficult for foreigners to read and also a very small type face.