Inserting New Soldier Records GuideBefore inserting new records, please do a search for the individual’s name to ensure they are not already a part of the database; as well check with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) to verify if the individual died in the war or not. Some records which are already part of the database are those of individuals who died in the war, but need to have their details completed. If entering a soldier known to have died in the war, you can find further details at the CWGC. Most attestation papers posted on-line by Library and Archives Canada (LAC) provide the details we are after, however, earlier forms were not as precise in some areas as the later versions became. If there are information fields which you do not have the information, please leave the box empty. If there is some doubt about the accuracy of spelling of a name, place, etc., indicate this by a question mark as (?).
Regimental Number : Enter the soldier ’ s serial number here. If the soldier was promoted from the ranks, enter his number, and indicate his status in the rank section which is further down the page. Some men have more than one number; in these cases, create a separate record, for this individual, noting only his number, name, last name, rank/units details, plus the Archives Accession Number. In these cases, include the cross referenced Regimental Number in the notes field. If the regimental number does not exist, as in the case of officers, please put “ NA ” in this field. First & Last Names : Enter all given names. If you have knowledge of names not mentioned in the National Archives attestation papers, please include them. For aliases, please mark them in the “ Research Notes ” section. Date of Birth : Enter in day, month, year format. Use the long form for year, ie. 1919. Place of Birth : If in Canada, please give the Province if not listed beside the town. Country of Birth : Enter their country of birth, i.e. "Canada" or "England".. Date of Death : Enter in day, month, year format. Use the long form for year, ie. 1919. Cause of Death : Choose one which reflects the soldier ’ s fate in the war. If uncertain, choose “ Not specified ” . Battle Died/Wounded : If you have details of the Battle or location where a soldier was killed or wounded, indicate it here. For a location, be sure to indicate the country. Address at Enlistment : Enter the address where the soldier was living when he enlisted. If the address of the wife is given in the next of kin box, and the soldier ’ s is not, it is safe to assume it is the same. The exception would be if the wife ’ s address was not in the same province or country where the man enlisted. Next of Kin/Address : Enter the name given by the soldier as next of kin, even if it is not a family member. Indicate the relationship if given. Give the address of that person. Married : Select one from the pull down menu. Enlist Conscript : Prior to the enactment of the Military Service Act which brought about conscription in Canada, men enlisted of their free will. In mid 1917, the Act was brought into law in Canada, and a new attestation paper form came into use. This form states “ Military Service Act ” ; any soldier with this form can be assumed to have been conscripted. If you are uncertain, select “ Not specified ” . Military Experience : Any man who served in some form of military endeavour (Army or Militia) prior to joining the Army should be considered as militarily experienced. Occupation : Mark down their job and any further details given, ie. Railway Conductor (for Canadian Pacific Railway). Cemetery : Enter the name of the cemetery the individual was buried in. Plot : This can be found in the man ’ s record held on-line by the CWGC. It is noted as the Grave/Memorial reference. POW : Prisoner of War. If known the soldier became a prisoner during the war, enter yes, if he was known to have never been a POW choose no, if uncertain select “ Not specified ” . POW Internment : Enter whatever details you have regarding the soldier ’ s time spent as a POW, such as the camp name, barrack number, town, or even dates of being a POW. Enlistment Date : Enter in day, month, year format. Use the long form for year, ie. 1919. Place of Enlistment : Enter City, and Province where the recruit enlisted. Commemorated : Enter the name of town or Memorial where the soldier is listed. If in Canada, please list the Province and outside Canada, the country. [SEE ADD RANKS AND UNITS ALSO]
Rank : List the rank a soldier achieved with his unit. In the case of men who served with more than one unit, list the rank achieved with each unit. If not known, leave the entry as “Not specified”. Force : Indicate which branch of the military the individual served. This could be Army, Navy or in 1918, the Royal Air Force. Regiment : For this enter the sub branch of the service the person was with and also the country. For example, for a soldier in the Canadian Army, this could be Canadian Infantry, Canadian Engineers, Canadian Army Medical Corps, etc. We ask for this since some men, for example, may have enlisted in the Canadian Infantry, then switched to another branch or even switched to Imperial (British) Infantry. Battalion : Please enter the Battalion which the man served in – we ask the full name be used rather than abbreviations (ie Princess Patricia ’ s Canadian Light Infantry rather than P.P.C.L.I.) and that numerals be listed as, i.e. 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd, 4 th, and so on. Due to the way the Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.) was reinforced, many soldier who enlisted in one Battalion did not necessarily see action with them at the Front. Most Battalions were broken up in Britain to supply existing units so in most cases the Battalion last served will not be the same as the original one. Enter the Battalion number you know was the soldier ’ s primary unit. The individual ’ s Regimental Number, in the case of the C.E.F., will give you his initial Battalion of service. Books such as Ted Wigney ’ s Serial Numbers of the C.E.F. will identify what numbers went with each Battalion. If in need of a look-up, the book section lists who has this book. Religion : Select the soldier ’ s religion from the pull down menu. Height : Enter the height in feet and inches; put the numbers in without using the shorthand for feet ( ‘ ) or inches ( “ ). Chest : Enter the chest dimension in inches; put the numbers in without using the shorthand for inches ( “ ). Expansion : This refers to the maximum chest dimension taken when the individual as taken an in breathe. Occasionally a figure is entered which is large than the Chest dimension; in this case subtract the difference and enter it. Put the numbers in without using the shorthand for inches (“). Saw service in : Select one of the options from the pull down menu. For men buried in France then the choice would be Europe. A soldier who was only awarded a British War Medal indicates he had seen service in Britain only. A recipient of the Victory Medal would have seen service in France. Approximately 10% of the soldiers who were in the CEF never left Canada. This is primarily those who were conscripted after June of 1918. If uncertain, choose the “ Not specified ” option. Ethnic Origin : Usually the attestation papers will give an adequate indication. If in doubt, choose “ Not specified ” . CWGC ID : For records of men who died during the war, and are already listed in the database, this box will have his Commonwealth War Graves Commission record (CWGC) ID. If entering an individual not listed in the database, you will find their ID listed in the address line used for their record on the CWGC – it is the number at the very end. For example: cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=178008 This man ’ s CWGC ID is 178008. You would enter this number here. What will happen is the completed record, upon review, will show the links to his Burial details on both the CWGC and Canadian Virtual War Memorial. NAC Reference : This is only applicable to soldiers from the C.E.F. whose attestation papers are on-line courtesy of the National Archives of Canada. Each soldier has a unique reference number which should be entered here. Research Notes : Use this section to record anything which pertains to the individual ’ s on-line files, such as incorrect spelling of the name by the NAC (along with the correct spelling), cases where more than one Regimental Number was used, cases where more than one reference number to an individual is used (one is usually shown without the attestation papers and is merely a duplicate put in by error). Notes : Use this to record any details you may have about a soldier such as family background; battle details; mentions in Battalion War Diaries; existence of Medals, Memorial Plaques , scrolls or Memorial Crosses; in short anything which adds breadthe of detail to the individual recorded. Add Ranks and UnitsThis area is used to enter additional ranks/units for soldiers (other than the one already entered in the main record) who served with more than one unit. Ideally, if you have access to a soldier’s full service file, you would enter all the units, even reserve units listed in their documentation. Enter all information as explained above for rank, force, Regiment, and Battalion. Company : If possible enter the company letter (in some cases, number), if known. From/To : If known, enter the dates the soldier served with a unit, doing so in day, month, year format. Use the long form for year, ie. 1919. Default : If this is the last Battalion a soldier served with, or if it is the Battalion that is normally associated with the soldier. Comments : Add any details which refer to the individual ’ s service with that unit. Adding an Image Here you may add a photo or document which relates to that soldier ’ s record. These images should not be taken from copyright sources. The image to be uploaded should be less than 50 Kb in size.
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