Canadian war records - find and explore world war records

Canada in the World Wars

Canadian forces served with distinction during both world wars. 

During World War One, the Canadian Expeditionary Force proved themselves as an effective fighting force, winning some significant victories through a combination of grit, courage and skill. 

Perhaps their most famous was the capture of Vimy Ridge and Canada's decisive action at Passchendaele during the Third Battle of Ypres, but Canadians took to the skies in the early years of aerial combat, and at sea, making a vital contribution in all theatres they fought in. 

Canada went to war again in 1939, and again made a big contribution to the eventual victory, serving on land, sea and air. The Canadians took part in several key operations, including the Battle of the Scheldt, an incredibly brutal battle in Belgium and the Netherlands that saw a huge number of casualties on both sides, the ill-fated raid on Dieppe, air raids over Germany and as naval escorts for the vital Atlantic convoys.

Canadian servicemen are commemorated at home and around the world, cared for in perpetuity by the CWGC.

Types of Canadian war records

War records come in all different shapes and sizes, and provide a wealth of information.

Canadian military records

In both world wars, the Canadian military kept war diaries. These were brief explanations of a given regiment’s daily activity, where they were based, whether they’d seen action, reports of injuries or deaths, and so on. 

Each of these records are succinct, but are a valuable resource in tracking the actions of a regiment, and often the timeline of an individual throughout the war. One entry, for the 1st Canadian Machine Gun Company, dated 1 April 1917 at Ecoivres, to the north west of Arras, reads: “A & B sections still on the line. ‘A’ section fired on roads etc. in the rear of enemy lines from 6pm to 3am. Corp. J Johnstone buried.” 

From this information, we can use the CWGC search tool to look for a Johnstone, from that regiment, who died on or around 1 April 1917. A quick search found Corporal Johnstone, who died on 30 March 1917 buried at Ecoivres Military Cemetery, alongside further information like his service number, and his CWGC burial records. 

Canadian burial records

The CWGC holds commemoration records for more than 110,000 casualties of the two world wars. 

These records can be found on our website using our Find War Dead tool. 

This tool allows you to search for any of the casualties commemorated by the CWGC by name. You can also make more general searches, using details like nationality, regiment or unit to filter your search and find details of the casualties you’re interested in. 

Each casualty has their own unique page on our website, listing details including rank, regiment and honours and a photo of their commemoration where possible. 

Depending on how and where your chosen casualty is commemorated, each burial record on our website can have Headstone Reports, Panel List, Grave Registration Reports and Concentration Reports. 

Headstone Reports describe what is inscribed on a casualty’s headstone. These are the forms used by the CWGC to manage the huge number of headstones we produced during the world wars. 

Grave Registration Reports cover the details of a particular burial site including listing the location of each burial by Plot, Row and Grave number. 

Panel Lists are similar, but are used when one of our casualties is commemorated by name on one of our Memorials to the Missing. Thousands of Canadian war dead are commemorated on our Canadian WW1 memorials and the Panel Lists associated with a casualty will help you find specific names on a memorial when you visit. 

During the world wars, casualties were often buried individually or in smaller plots. After the conflict, in many cases, these casualties were recovered and moved into larger plots or burial grounds, in a process known as grave concentration. 

If the casualty you’re looking at is one of these casualties, then their listing will also include a Concentration Report which covers where a casualty was originally buried, where they were moved to and the date of reburial. 

Canadian personnel service records

The Canadian military personnel records consist of a number of different documents, chief among them, a soldier’s attestation papers. 

These papers cover the soldier’s basic history and include the oath taken when signing up, declaring obedience to the King, as well as medical records, casualty forms, discharge papers and their last will and testament. 

Alongside these records will be details of promotions or reductions, medal awards, if the given person died in service, likely a record of their death, including copies of telegrams or letters sent back to the next of kin. 

Records from both world wars are held by the Library and Archives Canada. Digitised records covering all who served in World War One are available through their website, while only Second World War war dead records are available, dating between 1939 and 1947.

How do I find Canadian war records?

How to find Canadian military service records

The Library and Archive Canada has done a fantastic job in digitising large quantities of their records, which are now available to view through their website.

Not all Canadian war records are held here though. The records of some units, for example, the Royal Flying Corps, are held by the National Archive in the UK. Second World War personnel records are only available for those who died in service.

Commemoration records for all Commonwealth war dead are held by the CWGC, and are easily searchable online.  

How do I find a Canadian veteran by name?

The CWGC, Library and Archives Canada and the National Archive all have robust search engines allowing you to search their collection by name. 

It is highly unlikely that the person you are searching for has a completely unique name - so we always recommend finding out some additional details such as regiment or service number.

Canada war records WW1

You can search First World War Canadian personnel records in the Library and Archives Canada. 

The database search has some advanced options allowing you to search directly by name or to search for groups of service personnel from the same city or province, or even search for where and when they enlisted. 

Many of the entries will have digitised records, including enlistment forms, medical papers, pay records and wills. 

These entries do not include listings for Canadian airmen of the First World War. Canadians in the air services would have joined the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Air Force or the Royal Naval Air Services and as such, these files are held by the National Archives in the UK. 

Leo Clarke VC

Leo Clarke won his Victoria Cross in 1916 during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. 

Clarke and his section were tasked with capturing a section of trench, but found stiff opposition. Clarke and his men battled through but at significant cost, as Clarke was the only man left standing. 

Twenty German soldiers counter-attacked, yet Clarke was able to hold them off, despite taking a bayonet wound to his leg. Bracing himself in the trench, Clarke fired his pistol until it was empty, before using recovered German rifles to continue the defence. 

Looking at Clarke’s records, we can see that he was taken to No.1 General Hospital at Étretat, to the north of Le Havre. Clarke had sustained injuries during the battle of the Somme, rendering him paralysed. Clarke would die while receiving care, aged 24 years old.

Canada war records WW2

Canada’s World War Two war records are stored by the Canadian government and accessible through their website. 

The collection includes the records of members of the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force - although any Candians that transferred to the Royal Air Force will not be included in these records. 

Also absent from these records are Canadians who served in the armed forces of other countries, Newfoundlanders who served in units attached to British forces and Americans who served with the Canadian forces but then transferred back to the American forces. 

Douglas Bertram MacDonald

Corporal Douglas MacDonald dedicated his life to helping others. Aged just 14, MacDonald signed up to the 22nd Field Ambulance of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corp in Halifax Nova Scotia. 

He was also one of the earliest volunteers for the war, signing up the day before war was declared in 1939. He was shipped to Aldershot in 1940, and his records show he remained in the UK for much of the war, gaining promotion to Corporal and being awarded the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp in 1943. 

In June 1944, MacDonald joined his countrymen for the Invasion of Normandy, coming ashore on Juno beach. It was here that MacDonald was killed, but not before fulfilling his duty, providing medical care and attention to his comrades that had fallen on the sand. 

MacDonald’s bravery and devotion to duty in the face of enemy fire was recognised, and he was posthumously awarded the Military Medal, with the citation: “The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the following awards for gallant and distinguished conduct in the field.”

His records contain both the telegram that was sent to his mother, informing her that he had been killed in action, as well as a letter from Major-General H. F. G. Letson thanking her for his sacrifice.

Canadian war records FAQs

How many Canadian soldiers died in WW1 and WW2?

The CWGC commemorates more than 110,000 Canadian casualties of the world wars on our cemeteries and memorials. 

Just over 65,000 of the Canadians we commemorate died during World War One, 45,000 of whom are buried in our cemeteries around the world, with a further 20,000 Canadians who have no known grave commemorated on our Memorials to the Missing. 

We also commemorate more than 45,000 World War Two casualties, of which around 8,000 are commemorated by name on our memorials, and more than 37,000 buried in CWGC cemeteries. 

How many WW2 veterans are still alive in Canada?

The latest data, taken from the 2021 Canadian census, suggests that there are some 20,000 war service survivors still living in Canada today. 

Who is the most famous Canadian soldier?

One of the most famous Canadian servicemen of the First World War is the poet John McCrae, who served as a Medical Officer on the Western Front. 

McCrae is best known for his poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ which speaks about the casualties of the battlefields of France and Belgium, reportedly inspired by the death of a close friend during the second battle of Ypres. It is one of the most well known of the First World War poems, and is at least partly the inspiration for the adoption of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance. 

McCrae succumbed to illness in 1918 while working at the No. 3 Canadian General Hospital and is buried at the CWGC’s Wimereux Communal Cemetery. 

How do I find my grandfather's Canadian military records?

The first step in finding a family member’s military records is to gather some additional information. Unless your grandfather has a really unique name, the more information you can use to search, the better. 

A good starting point is rank and regiment as this will help narrow down the number of records you have to choose from. You may also have his Service Number, while these are not always unique, they will be of huge help in narrowing down your search. 

If you don’t already have this information to hand and your grandad is commemorated by the CWGC, because they died in service during the world wars, you can use our Find War Dead tool to discover these details, as well as where they are commemorated by us and the relevant commemoration records. 

Once you have this info, start your search in the Library and Archives Canada who hold a variety of personnel records including attestation papers and medical records. 

How do I find out what medals my grandad was awarded in Canada?

The Library and Archives Canada provides a searchable database of military medals, honours and awards dating back as far as 1812. 

You can search for your family members, including their regiment, rank and service numbers. 

Using our war dead search tool

You can discover more about our Canadian casualty records by using our Find War Dead search tool. This will allow you to search for individuals, members of a specific regiment or those buried at specific CWGC cemeteries or commemorated on our memorials. 

You can also find out more information about researching Canadian war dead, as well as the other Commonwealth casualties that are commemorated by the CWGC, by downloading our ‘How to research…’ guides. 

These bitesize guides are the best way to get started on your research project, with instruction on using the CWGC’s resources and some great places to start looking elsewhere.