Collection search - Canadian Expeditionary Force personnel service documents [textual record]

Record information – Brief
1
Canadian Expeditionary Force personnel service documents [textual record]

Hierarchical level:

Series

Date:

[1914-1920].

Reference:

R611-52-8-E, RG150-3

Type of material:

Textual material

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

135278

Context of this record:

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Ministry of the Overseas Military Forces of Canada fonds

Canadian Expeditionary Force personnel service documents
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Record information – Details

Date(s):

[1914-1920].

Bilingual equivalent:

Click here

Place of creation:

No place, unknown, or undetermined

Extent:

3,206.0 m of textual records

Language of material:

English

Accession:

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CEF Personnel files [textual record]

Scope and content:

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The Canadian Expeditionary Force personnel files have been digitized. To access the digitized files please refer to the link provided in the Finding Aid section.

Series consists of Canadian Expeditionary Force service documents. Between the declaration of war in August 1914 and November 1918, 619,636 Canadian men and women enlisted for service in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Of this number, 424,589 served overseas.

A series of different personnel documents were created in Canada and overseas for each soldier and nursing sister. The service documents in this series consist of the individual documents selected for ongoing retention from the original documents series and files, principally to meet pension and disability claims. The remaining contents of the service files were destroyed after the Second World War.

The service documents of CEF members can consist of up to two or three dozen forms, dealing with enlistment, training, medical and dental history, hospitalization, discipline, pay, and discharge. The attestation paper is invariably present on the file. Completed at the time of enlistment, it indicates the recruit's name and address, next-of-kin, date and place of birth, occupation and previous military service, and distinguishing physical characteristics. Other forms commonly present on the personnel file include the Medical History Sheet, the Casualty Form - Active Service, the Field Conduct Sheet, and the Discharge Certificate.

Additional name(s):

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Canada. Canadian Army. Canadian Expeditionary Force

Finding aid:

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Textual records (Electronic) See the Personnel Records of the First World War (1914-1918) database on the LAC website at the link below. The Personnel Records of the First World War database is an index to those service personnel and their service documents and attestation papers, all of which are held by Library and Archives Canada. (90: Open)
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/personnel-records.aspx

Textual records (Electronic) Finding aid is a file list relating to volumes 14622--14625. 150-8 (90: Open)

Additional information:

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Source of title:

Title is based on the contents of the series.

Custodial history:

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The records in this series were produced at various locations during the First World War. Certain documents for each soldier or nursing sister were produced at the Military District Headquarters corresponding to where the man or woman enlisted. For members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force who served overseas, further documents were created and managed at the Overseas Ministry of the Forces of Canada in London, and if the individual was deployed to France, Belgium or one of the other theatres of operations, documents would also be produced in those locations. In addition, for both those who served only in Canada and those who served overseas, certain documents and cards were produced and maintained at the Department of Militia and Defence Headquarters in Ottawa.

After the war, the documents from these sources were consolidated in Ottawa at the Directorate of Records at Militia and Defence Headquarters. All these records, as well related ancillary records such as Part II Orders, Medical Records, and Death Registers were transferred to the Department of National Defence when it commenced operations in January 1923. In 1947, all records relating to military personnel were transferred to the War Service Records Division of the Department of Veterans Affairs, where they were used to support claims for pensions and health benefits. In 1971, the then Public Archives took responsibility for the ongoing management of the records as per Order-in-Council 1989-1971.

Arrangement note:

It should be noted that these records are not arranged by strict alphabetical order, but by phonetic ordering. Therefore names which are phonetically identical are sorted together, eg. Smith and Smyth, and Pop and Popp, and within a phonetic grouping of a family name the records are then sorted by given name and service number.

Exhibitions note:

Exhibition Title: Treasured Memories 5: A National Archives of Canada Exhibition. Curator: Michel Anne Crawley, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; 2001.01.22 - 2001.11.12 (Attestation Papers - RG150-3 - 1992/166 - Box 3876-50)

Accruals:

Further accruals are not expected.

Source:

Government

Related control no.:

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120-000165-6
1992-93/166 GAD
2004-01605-1
R611
RG150
RG150-3
RG24-C-1-a
RG24-H
RG38-A-2-a
RG9

Former archival reference no.:

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RG150-3
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

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Textual records

[Consultation90 Open]

Volume [RG150] 1--35

[Consultation 90 Open]

Volume [R611] 14622--14625

[Consultation 90 Open]

Terms of use:

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Copyright belongs to the Crown. These records are fragile and deteriorating and must be handled with care.

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