Honouring My Military Ancestors

I have many military ancestors inlcluding my father, uncle, son, paternal grandmother's 5 brothers, maternal grandmother's 3 brothers, and more.

Here are some of those who gave their lives during war:

War of 1812

My 3rd great-grandfather Levi Peer's brother Stephen Peer fell at the Battle of Chippewa during the War of 1812, leaving behind a pregnant wife and young son.

World War 1
 

Philip Edgar Peer

All of my grandmother's brothers fought in WW1. Her youngest brother, Philip Edgar Peer (called Edgar by family), died in France in 1918 just days short of his 21st birthday.

Cecil Sandercock

My husband's great uncles Bill and Cecil Sandercock also fought in WW1 along with their father Samuel. Both Bill and Cecil were killed, one year apart. Bill was killed Aug. 23, 1917, his brother Cecil was at his side. One year later almost to the day, on Aug. 28, 1918, Cecil was killed.  

Bill Sandercock

World War 2

WW2 saw the death of my Uncle, James Nevin (aka Nev) Bonar. He died October 23, 1944 in Belgium at the age of 27.

Please take a few moments today to remember those brave men and women who fought and died, and those who are still fighting in Wars around the world.

WW1 ID Tags & Tributes

One of the  missions of Olive Tree Genealogy Blog is to reunite found items such as  Dog ID Tags, Medals, etc of soldiers with their descendants. To date my readers have worked on the following cases and been successful in reuniting soldiers’ dog id tags with family members.

We still have more cases coming in and we have old cases that have not yet been solved. If you have a moment would you read through one of the open cases and help find family?

Below are some of the tributes to the soldiers whose dog tags, medals or photographs we own.

WW1 Nursing Sister Gertrude Billyard Gertrude Billyard was born in Windsor Ontario on March 1, 1881. When Gertrude enlisted at the age of 34 on February 24, 1915 her mother Annie was living in Young Saskatchewan. This address was later changed to Winnipeg Manitoba as Gertrude’s pay was sent to her mother. Surprisingly, Gertrude enlisted in London England not in Canada.

Tribute to WW1 Soldier William Bulger Pte. W. R. Bulger’s name is stamped on the side of this Canadian WW1 Medal which my husband and I have in our WW1 collection. Pte. Bulger’s Regimental Number is difficult to read but it ends in 2369. He is noted as being assigned to 2-CMR which stands for 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles. A search for his Attestation papers online reveals that his full name was William Robert Bulger and his Reg. Number was 3032369. He was born Sept. 28, 1888 in Georgetown Ontario but was living in Toronto when he enlisted.

WW1 Soldier W. J. P. Bullock One of the framed photos of CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force) soldiers on our wall is labelled “Pte. W. J. P. Bullock” of Toronto Ontario. This young man enlisted on September 2, 1915, one year  after WW1 began in August 1914.

WW1 Nursing Sister Jean Cameron-Smith Jean Cameron-Smith was born in Perth Ontario on September 22, 1871. A search of the online Birth Registrations for Ontario provides a late registration dated 1933.  Her father’s name is given as Robert Ralph Cameron-Smith. Her mother is  Helen Mason.

Tribute to WW1 Soldier Walter Culbertson This WW1 Medal is stamped with the name of the soldier on the side. It reads 3056604 (Regimental Number) and GNR (Gunner) R. Culbertson C.F.A. We believe that CFA stands for Canadian Forces Artillery.

Tribute to WW1 Soldier Arthur Fitzgerald This is another Tribute for a Canadian soldier. His name and service number are given on the front of his WW1 ID Tag – A. Fitzgerald, Service Number 55422.

WW1 Nursing Sister Edith Mary Harston Edith Mary Harston was born in Warwickshire England June 5, 1886. On her CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force) Attestation Paper she provides her mother’s name as Mrs. Emily E. Harston of Stafford England.

Tribute to Ira Harry Huehn WW1 Soldier in PPCLI ra Harry Huehn was born 10 June 1895 in Toronto. He enlisted in the CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force) on August 15, 1915 when he was just 20 years old.

WW1 Soldier Douglas McNabb Private Douglas McNabb’s framed WW1 photograph hangs on our wall. We don’t know Douglas and we are not related. But he is one of several CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force) soldiers who we honour.

WW1 CEF Soldier Charles H. Welsh We own the Pay Book of Gunner Charles H. Welsh #335325 who attested on February 4, 1918. His pay book gives his next of kin as his father David H. Welsh, and his mother Mary Ann Welsh, both of Palmerston Ontario.

Canadian Military Ancestors & History

Olive Tree Genealogy is very excited to announce a new website for Canadian Military history. The Canadian Military Heritage Project at CanadianMilitaryProject.com is dedicated to presenting Canadian military history ~ the wars, uprisings and conflicts in which Canadians participated. Our goal is to preserve the records and memories of Canadians who served their country, and to ensure that their sacrifices are not forgotten. Through the Canadian Military Heritage Project we hope to maintain the tradition of remembrance and to foster pride in our military heritage.

Our pages will provide historical background as well as genealogy records for each conflict, chronological timelines, statistics, battles, weaponry, uniforms & equipment, famous Canadians, biographies of soldiers, heroes and their stories, contributions of women, other countries who participated, muster rolls for conflicts before 1900, Letters Home (from soldiers at the front), music and poetry, guest authors’ submissions, links to other online resources, and Research Libraries.

These pages will be of interest to educators, students, genealogists, military historians and those who are interested in the stories of the participants themselves.

Military Naturalization Records - Finding a Soldier Ancestor

An 1862 law allowed honorably discharged Army veterans of any war to petition for naturalization, without having filed a declaration of intent, after only 1 year of residence in the United States.

Variations of this special treatment continued throughout the years.

The wording of the 1862 Act stated that any alien, age 21 or up "...who has enlisted, or may enlist in the armies of the United States...."

It was designed to encourage enlistment during the Civil War. Aliens serving in the US military did not gain citizenship through service alone.

The naturalization of soldiers was performed under certain provisions of nationality law facilitating the naturalization of members of the US armed forces. These provisions waived the Declaration of Intention requirement and waived or reduced the residency requirement. Many soldiers filed petitions and were naturalized the same day.

See SPECIAL CASES: Military for more details

Instead of naturalization "first papers", some courts filed military discharges. Sometimes you will have to consult separate military indexes but you should start looking in the usual places first. Military naturalizations were included in the WPA Project indexes (You can read about the WPA Project and naturalization indexes, and view an online one for all of Arkansas for 1809-1906

If the naturalization took place in a Federal court, naturalization indexes, declarations of intent, and petitions will usually be in the NARA regional facility serving the State in which the Federal court is located. Some of these indexes and records have been microfilmed.

Naturalization records from county courts may be at the county court, in a county or State archives, or at a regional archives serving several counties within a State.

Some county court naturalization records have been donated to the National Archives and are available as National Archives microfilm publications. These are listed under the state in which they occurred, at NaturalizationRecords.com
Scroll down to the state list at the bottom of the page.

Veterans' Week - the Sandercock Family

Honouring the Sandercock family, Canadian soldiers in WW1.

Father Sam Sandercock, his sons Bill and Cecil all enlisted in the CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force) in WW1.

Sam lived and returned home but both his boys died on the battlefield.

Bill Sandercock 1897-1917

Cecil Sandercock 1898-1918

Sam Sandercock 1870-1949

Veterans' Week - Great Grandpa's Brother James

Honouring my great-grandfather's brother James Simpson, soldier in the U.K. military in WW1

Veterans' Week: My Uncle Syd

Honouring Uncle Sydney Simpson, Canadian soldier in WW1

Veterans' Week - My Uncle Clare

Honouring my uncle Clare, a soldier in the Canadian army WW2

Update on Digitization of CEF Service Files

The following is the latest update on Library and Archives Canada (LAC) project to digitize the service files from the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in WW1.

As of today, 266,634 of 640,000 files are available online via the Soldiers of the First World War: 1914–1918 database. Please visit the Digitization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Service Files page for more details on the digitization project.

Library and Archives Canada is digitizing the service files systematically, from box 1 to box 10686, which roughly corresponds to alphabetical order.

Latest box digitized: Box 4442 and Holland.

Eight Canadian First World War soldiers to be buried on May 13 in France

Eight Canadian First World War soldiers will be buried on May 13 at Caix British Cemetery in Caix, France. 

The soldiers, from Winnipeg’s 78th Battalion,  were found in 2006 and 2007. A few were identified - Lieutenant Clifford Neelands, Lance Sergeant Oscar Lindell, and Privates Sidney Halliday, William Simms, and Lachlan McKinnon. 

I did some genealogy research and found the following in the online CEF database. Their attestation papers, front and back are also available. In some cases the full file has been digitized and can be downloaded:

Attestation Papers Clifford Neelands

Name:

• NEELANDS, CLIFFORD ABRAM

Rank:

LT

Date of Birth:

• 1892-01-04

Place of Birth:

Barrie ON Canada

Enlistment Date:

1916-05-25

Place of Enlistment:

Winnipeg MB Canada

Unit:

90th Battalion

Reference:

RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 7251 - 27

Item Number:

557547

 

 

Name:

• LINDELL, JOHN OSCAR

Regimental Number:

• 147186

Date of Birth:

• 1884-12-27

Place of Birth:

Sweden

Enlistment Date:

1915-07-01

Place of Enlistment:

Winnipeg MB Canada

Unit:

78th Battalion

Reference:

RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 5649 - 60

Item Number:

531784

 

Continue reading this story at Eight Canadian First World War soldiers to be buried on May 13 in France.

Digitization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Personnel Service Files – Update of March 2015

As of today, 129,271 of 640,000 files are available online via Library and Archives Canada Soldiers of the First World War: 1914–1918 database.

I still have not see my relatives' complete files go online but I just have to be patient. I hope other genealogists are finding their family members' files going online.

Seamstress Hides Secret Message in Kilt in WW1

Hiding secret messages? World War 1?  Sounds like a James Bond Spy Novel - but it isn't quite. Recently a woman found a secret message hidden in the folds of a kit which had been in her family for many years. The kilt had never been worn and was obviously made for a soldier heading off to the front during WW1. 

The message read: "I hope your kilt will fit you well, & in it you will look a swell. If married never mind. If single drop a line. Wish you bags of luck, & a speedy return back to Blighty." Underneath was the name of Helen Govan, of 49 Ardgowan Street in Glasgow. 

Who was Helen Govan? Perhaps she was an unmarried seamstress hoping to hear back from a possible future husband. Perhaps she was simply a kind-hearted woman who wanted to brighten a soldier's day. 

Did Helen stuff a note into every kilt she stitched? Or was this a one-time occurrence meant specifically for a man who had ordered the kilt? There are so many unanswered questions but how wonderful if we knew what happened to Helen in Glasgow. 

Continue reading at Secret message found in WW1 kilt

Credits: Image  thardy1 on flickr,com
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

Never Before Seen Photographs from World War One Frontline

In keeping with Memorial Day weekend in the United States, here is a link to an interesting story with photos.  A Viscount in the Armoured Cavalry Branch of the French Army  left a collection of hundreds of glass plates taken during World War One that have never been published before. The images show the daily life of soldiers in the trenches, destruction of towns and military leaders.

In Pictures: Never Before Seen Photographs from World War One Frontline

We don't have Memorial Day in Canada but here are photos of some of my military ancestors. I thank them all for their sacrifices.

Corpses of WW1 Soldiers Found as Glaciers Melt in Italy

A recent story online Melting glaciers in northern Italy reveal corpses of WW1 soldiers explains how dead soldiers from WW1 battles are being found and reburied by local villagers.

As the story explains, the bodies are often mummified. The two soldiers interred in 2012 were blond, blue-eyed Austrians aged 17 and 18 years old, who died on the Presena glacier and were buried by their comrades, top-to-toe, in a crevasse. Both had bulletholes in their skulls. One still had a spoon tucked into his puttees — common practice among soldiers who traveled from trench to trench and ate out of communal pots.

There are several photos and a lengthy explanation of the area and the fighting on The Telegraph article and it is well worth the read. 

Credits: Image is a cropped screen dump from The Telegraph article.

War Widow Hunts for Missing Husband for 60 Years

This story is a tear-jerker. It's beautiful and touching and unless your heart is made of stone you will at the very least get misty-eyed.

No further explanation required - please take a few minutes to watch War Widow Hunts for News of Husband for 60 Years








Credits: Photo from Fotolia. For illustration purposes only

Unclaimed: A Soldier Left Behind as MIA, Found 44 Years Later Alive

 John Robertson was a soldier during the Vietnam War. He was shot down over Laos in a 1968 classified mission, declared MIA (Missing in Action) and then presumed dead. He was born in Alabama, married and had a family in the United States.

But for the past 44 years he has been living in a remote Vietnamese village with a Vietnamese wife and children.  Canadian filmaker Michael Jorgensen’s documentary Unclaimed,  introduces a slightly stooped, wiry 76-year-old man living in a remote village in south-central Vietnam who trembles with frustration or pounds his forehead when he is unable to remember his birthday or his American children’s names. He is only able to speak Vietnamese.

Unclaimed follows the dramatic quest of Vietnam vet Tom Faunce to prove that the man he was told about while on a 2008 humanitarian mission in Southeast Asia was indeed an Army “brother” who had been listed as killed in action and subsequently forgotten.  John is now back in Vietnam and has no desire to leave, having fulfilled his one wish: to see his American family once more before he dies.

Unclaimed will have its world premiere at Toronto’s 20th Hot Docs festival on April 30. It will be shown later at the G.I. Film Festival in Washington, D.C., in May.

Continue reading John's story and the making of Unclaimed at Left behind in Vietnam: John can’t understand why nobody came for him

I am definitely going to watch this as I'm very interested to see if DNA was used to prove John's identity.  It's a compelling and powerful story. And it raises many questions which I for one hope the film will address.