The Project:
Your Name:
________________________________
Soldier Name(s):
_______________________________
_______________________________
Students going to Holland, Belgium and France for the commemoration of the end of the
Second World War in Europe will be researching two Canadian soldiers killed overseas.
Each student will receive a soldier buried in a Canadian War Cemeteries in Europe
The research will be gathered into a cemetery booklet containing the profiles of soldiers
buried in the cemetery that the visitor is in. A copy of the finished work will be left in the
cemetery, a second will be given to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission office
in Ottawa and the students will be given a document containing all of the research from
our board.
For ease of editing I ask that the format provided be followed. Font will be 12 point and
the type of print will be Times New Roman.
The resources available to students range from the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission, the Archives and various printed material (official histories, books and
credible websites).
I have provided for you the various websites that will be of great assistance and the
format that is best suited for our project. For each section I have given the order in which
information should appear and provided an example with the relevant section bolded.
Remember accuracy is more important than content so do not include information that
you are unsure about!
Format for final product:
a) Contents:
Last Name; Rank; First Name/Initials; Awards; Unit; Grave (Roman Numeral, Letter,
Number); Date of Death; Service Number; Family information; Other data (From the
Attestation Papers; From the Unit War Diaries; From a book –quotation marks for
quotes!) Author, Title, Page Numbers in brackets; Name of Student who did the research
(in brackets)
b) Example:
Eberlee, Pte. George Hastings, 58th Bn Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment).
Grave: II. F. 17, Died April 23rd 1918, Age 21.Service No. 189311. From his Attestation
Papers: Born January 23rd 1897; Complexion: Clear; Eye Colour: Blue; Hair Colour:
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Light; Height: 5'8; Religion: Baptist; From Dresden, Ontario; Father: Chris Eberlee;
Status: Single; Occupation: Hardware Clerk. Enlisted at the age of 18 the 10th of
November 1915. From the Unit War Diaries: Casualties 1 OR. Killed. Wind 7mph south.
Battalion relived 116th battn. In St Emile sector, left sub sector. Headquarters at
N.7.b.65.15. B company moved from LIEVEN to left front line at N.8a.5.7..C company to
right front line at N. 8a.90.25. D company in support at N. 8a.a. 25..90. A company in
reserve at n.7.b.15.30. Relief Complete at 1 am. (Bianca Walsh)
Research tips for Canadian War Dead:
A) Finding their grave: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has an
excellent service that will allow your student to find the actual grave and location
of their soldiers. Keep in mind that sometimes there are “typos” so be flexible
with spellings if the one provided does not work. Also avoid full names. Some
soldiers did not have Service (or Regimental) numbers so where there are gaps so
be it. Regimental (or Service Numbers) are a great tool for finding the soldier’s
Attestation Papers.
1. Go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site at www.cwgc.org .
2. Click on Search our Records
3. In the “Search For” Box Click on “Casualty”
4. In the Surname Box put the soldier’s Last Name and initials of the deceased. (you can
leave initials blank if the name is rather unique).
5. In the War Box click on “First World War” or “Second World War”
6. Year of Death Box can usually be left blank
7. In the Force Box click on “Army” or other branch of the armed forces
8. In the Nationality Box enter “Canadian”
Note: The grave number is usually in the following format: Roman Numerals, Letter,
Number (example: IX.E.7)
Ensure that you record: the information that the War Graves Commission has on
The soldier: Full Name, Unit, Grave Number, Service Number, Hometown, Family, Medals
(Awards).
Example:
Eberlee, Pte. George Hastings, 58th Bn Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment).
Grave: II. F. 17, Died April 23rd 1918, Age 21.Service No. 189311. From his Attestation
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Papers: Born January 23rd 1897; Complexion: Clear; Eye Colour: Blue; Hair Colour: Light;
Height: 5'8; Religion: Baptist; From Dresden, Ontario; Father: Chris Eberlee; Status: Single;
Occupation: Hardware Clerk. Enlisted at the age of 18 the 10th of November 1915. From the
Unit War Diaries: Casualties 1 OR. Killed. Wind 7mph south. Battalion relived 116th battn.
In St Emile sector, left sub sector. Headquarters at N.7.b.65.15. B company moved from
LIEVEN to left front line at N.8a.5.7..C company to right front line at N. 8a.90.25. D
company in support at N. 8a.a. 25..90. A company in reserve at n.7.b.15.30. Relief Complete
at 1 am. (Bianca Walsh)
B) Finding Details about the soldiers.
Use the Archives of Canada (www.collectionscanada.ca) or other web or written sources to
fill in any other information on the deceased (often a veteran or amateur historian may have
written about the unit’s activities on the day the soldier was killed).
Attestation Papers: are the documents that soldiers signed upon enlistment. They contain
such information as the soldier’s physical features, birth date, home address, next of kin
(closest family member) and trade or calling (their job before the war). All of this
information helps to turn a name on a grave into a living person.
To find Attestation Papers: Go to www.collectionscanada.ca
Click On Military & Peacekeeping (Center of Screen)
Click On Databases
Click On Soldiers of the First World War, 1914-1918
Click On Search
Search either name or Service/Regimental Numbers
DATA: Personal Information such as Date of Birth; Complexion; Eye & Hair Colour;
Height; Religion; Place or Birth and Address; Next of Kin; Marital Status; Occupation;
Example:
Eberlee, Pte. George Hastings, 58th Bn Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment).
Grave: II. F. 17, Died April 23rd 1918, Age 21.Service No. 189311. From his Attestation
Papers: Born January 23rd 1897; Complexion: Clear; Eye Colour: Blue; Hair Colour:
Light; Height: 5'8; Religion: Baptist; From Dresden, Ontario; Father: Chris Eberlee;
Status: Single; Occupation: Hardware Clerk. Enlisted at the age of 18 the 10th of
November 1915. From the Unit War Diaries: Casualties 1 OR. Killed. Wind 7mph south.
Battalion relived 116th battn. In St Emile sector, left sub sector. Headquarters at N.7.b.65.15.
B company moved from LIEVEN to left front line at N.8a.5.7..C company to right front line
at N. 8a.90.25. D company in support at N. 8a.a. 25..90. A company in reserve at
n.7.b.15.30. Relief Complete at 1 am. (Bianca Walsh)
War Diaries: are written records of the daily events in the life of a military formation. An
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officer would record everything from casualties (killed; wounded & missing) to actions
(during major battles such as Vimy an Appendix at the end of each month would give greater
details). Even sports parades would be described (the Royal Montreal Regiment - during the
First World War the regiment was known as the 14th Battalion - kept baseball scores between
companies!). If any confusion arises about military terminology in the war diaries you can
contact either Eugene Michaud or myself. What we are looking for here is either a
description of the events that may have led to the soldier’s death or at least what was
happening that day. If the soldier died of wounds look in the preceding days for any
reference to wounded (seriously wounded). An example below refers to 1 O.R. killed
(meaning a non-officer). This soldier was killed during a “relief” which was when a group of
soldiers was rotating out of (or into) the trenches.
How to find the war Diaries: Go to www.collectionscanada.ca
Click On Military & Peacekeeping
Click On Databases
Click On War Diaries of the First World War
Click On “Search the Database” follow the instructions from this point
on, avoid using the date of the soldier’s death, it is easier to scroll down to
the relevant month and year.
A note of Caution! Many people often click on the WRONG UNIT! If your soldier is
from the 102nd Battalion, he was in the infantry! There may be a 102nd Pioneer Battalion
or a 102nd Reserve Battalion (their war diary would always describe training that the men
received)
Example:
Eberlee, Pte. George Hastings, 58th Bn Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment).
Grave: II. F. 17, Died April 23rd 1918, Age 21.Service No. 189311. From his Attestation
Papers: Born January 23rd 1897; Complexion: Clear; Eye Colour: Blue; Hair Colour: Light;
Height: 5'8; Religion: Baptist; From Dresden, Ontario; Father: Chris Eberlee; Status: Single;
Occupation: Hardware Clerk. Enlisted at the age of 18 the 10th of November 1915. From
The Unit War Diaries: Casualties 1 OR. Killed. Wind 7mph south. Battalion relived 116th
battn. In St Emile sector, left sub sector. Headquarters at N.7.b.65.15. B company moved
from LIEVEN to left front line at N.8a.5.7..C company to right front line at N. 8a.90.25. D
company in support at N. 8a.a. 25..90. A company in reserve at n.7.b.15.30. Relief
Complete at 1 am. (Bianca Walsh)
C) Other information: It is possible that either a book or website may mention your soldier or
at least give an idea of what happened that day. Cite these sources and quote them.
Provide an author, book title and page number. Also have the student place their name at
the very end of the entry in brackets. If a photograph of the soldier is found feel free to
include it.
Example:
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Eberlee, Pte. George Hastings, 58th Bn Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment).
Grave: II. F. 17, Died April 23rd 1918, Age 21.Service No. 189311. From his Attestation
Papers: Born January 23rd 1897; Complexion: Clear; Eye Colour: Blue; Hair Colour: Light;
Height: 5'8; Religion: Baptist; From Dresden, Ontario; Father: Chris Eberlee; Status: Single;
Occupation: Hardware Clerk. Enlisted at the age of 18 the 10th of November 1915. From the
Unit War Diaries: Casualties 1 OR. Killed. Wind 7mph south. Battalion relived 116th battn.
In St Emile sector, left sub sector. Headquarters at N.7.b.65.15. B company moved from
LIEVEN to left front line at N.8a.5.7..C company to right front line at N. 8a.90.25. D
company in support at N. 8a.a. 25..90. A company in reserve at n.7.b.15.30. Relief Complete
at 1 am. (Bianca Walsh)
Kemp, Tpr. Edgar. Three Rivers Regiment. VII C. 8. Died December 20, 1943. Service No.
D/36692. Son of Thomas and Nora Bella Kemp, of Alexandria, Ontario; husband of Mary
Kemp, of Alexandria. Lt. Melvin, Tpr. E. Kemp, J.B. Hughes, A.J. Rau and G.B. Steenhoff
killed on road near Cider Crossroads after crossing start line by remote TNT charge.
(Zuehlke, Ortona, 242) (Erika Teodoro)
Please ensure that the dead are grouped according to the cemetery they are buried in
and in alphabetical order. Please send a printed copy via the “Pony” and an electronic
copy to me (Patrick Easton at Lester B. Pearson).
Private Projects: Encourage them (poems etc like at Vimy and Crosses such as at Ortona
would be great)
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