Researching Canadian Soldiers of the First World War

Part 5: Casualties

By Michael O'Leary; The Regimental Rogue

Books of Remembrance

"The first Book of Remembrance created, and the largest of the Books, is the First World War Book of Remembrance. It contains more than 66,000 names." - History of the Books of Remembrance.

Research into a soldier of the First World War can often start with inquiries into how an ancestor died, and where he is buried. These inquiries, which can also lead to searching for their service records, will often begin with the various records for casualties, the dead, of the Great War.

The official recording of Canada's war dead is the Books of Remembrance which in the Memorial Chamber in the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill. Because not all Canadians, or descendants of these soldiers' families, have the opportunity to view the Books of Remembrance in person, we are fortunate that they have been digitized and images of the pages placed on line.

Part of a single page in the 1916 Book of Remembrance for the First World War.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

But the Books of Remembrance are not the most efficient starting point when using the Internet as our research tool. The best starting point will be the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Introduction and search form for the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Use the Advanced Search page when the specific date of death is known, or to search within a range of dates, or for a unit name.

As with the Soldiers of the First World War (1914-1918) database, searches for common names can result in a large number of similar results. The immediately visible details can include given names and date of death, but to investigate further will requre opening each entry to confirm details of unit, date of death and other entered information.

The first seven of 55 returned results of searching for MacDonald and John in the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Each record in the Canadian Virtual War Memorial opens to a new page, provding a number of details on each soldier as they have been recorded in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database, and then shared with the CVWM. Details in each record can include any of the following:

Official rank at the time of death. Some records may reflect an Acting or Temporary rank, which may be higher than this officially recorded rank.
Full name.
Service number.
Unit.
Honours and awards for bravery, meritorious service, etc. (These are awards the generally received service medals).
Date and place of birth.
Date and place of enlistment.
Family information (such as "son of", or "husband of").
The page of the Book of Remembrance on which the soldier is commemorated, and a link to a low-resolution scan of the page. (There is also a link for ordering a copy of the page.)
Links to images of photos or other related memorabilia. These have been uploaded by family, regimental or other CEF researchers and can be added to by anyone with relevant items to share.
Burial Information: Cemetery, grave reference, directions to the cemetery, and a link to an image of the cemetery plan.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial record for Sergeant John MacDonald, DCM.

The information available on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial can be used to add to that available in the soldier's service record. Families can also use the capabilities of the CVWM to share photos and images of information with others through the photo upload facility.

Photo upload form linked from the Canadian Virtual War Memorial record for Sergeant John MacDonald, DCM.

If you find discrepancies between the information posted on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial and your other research, and you can provide evidence that the CVWM is incorrect, use the Contact page to send your information to Veterans Affairs. They are always willing to examine such evidence and make corrections where needed.

Circumstances of Death Records

Aother source of information on the deaths of Canadian soldiers in the First World War are in a little known collection of files called the Particulars of Death forms. Filed separately from the service records, these are best accessed by finding a researcher in Ottawa who is familiar with them and can find and copy or photograph the particular page. The Particulars of Death forms can be a gamble, some will provide details not found in any other records, others will be cryptic and offer no extra information.

In late 2011, these records were made available on line in a digitized form - Circumstances of Death Registers, First World War. These documents are assembled in collections of images by file contents. Each collection of images has many alphabetized individual records. Some experimention within the structure of the image collection will be needed to find the right binder (check the names on the first page) and then you will need to move back and form among the pages using the navigation means at the bottom of the display to get to the right page (make large jumps using the page number box to get close to your objective). See the table below the following figures for the first surname in each file.

Index page for the Circumstances of Death Registers, First World War. Each link leads to a virtual stack of hundreds, up to a thousand or more, of individual page images.

The Circumstances of Death Register sheet for Sgt Walter Lowe, MM, The Royal Canadian Regiment. Note the Page Navigation options at the lower left and right of the image. Don't forget to check the following image (i.e., the back of the sheet).

Excerpt of Particulars of Death form for 477501 Private Henry William Krimmell. This example provides good detail on the death of Private Krimmel.

Excerpt of Particulars of Death form for 477550 Sergeant Walter Lowe, MM. This example offers no details on what caused Sergeant Lowe's death; his service record, however, reveals that he was killed in a grenade training accident while serving as an instructor at the Canadian Corps Bombing School. Note also that the image of the page is cropped in this captured image, the full sheet is observable in the LAC image collection.

Circumstances of Death Registers; First World War: First Surname in Each File

The following table shows the first surname in each of the 94 Circumstances of Death Register document sets on line with the Library and Archives Canada.

Serial	File number	First Surname in File	Serial	File number	First Surname in File
1	31829_B016711	Aaron	48	31829_B034748	Hesch
2	31829_B016712	Alexander	49	31829_B016746	Hoffman
3	31829_B016713	Anciello	50	31829_B016693	Horan
4	31829_B016714	Armstrong	51	31829_B016697	Hunking
5	31829_B016715	Babb	52	31829_B016696	Ibbetson
6	31829_B016716	Bark	53	31829_B016709	Jacks
7	31829_B016717	Bea	54	31829_B016695	Johannesson
8	31829_B016718	Bell	55	31829_B016692	Joiner
9	31829_B016719	Bernard	56	31829_B016705	Kachina
10	31829_B034746	Birch	57	31829_B016699	Kennedy
11	31829_B016720	Binyon	58	31829_B016698	Kingham
12	31829_B016721	Borden	59	31829_B016702	Larisey
13	31829_B016722	Brabant	60	31829_B016747	Lariviere
14	31829_B016723	Broad	61	31829_B016748	Leach
15	31829_B016724	Brubacher	62	31829_B016749	Lesperance
16	31829_B016725	Burbank	63	31829_B016750	Little
17	31829_B016726	Cabana	64	31829_B016751	Losey
18	31829_B016727	Canavan	65	31829_B016752	Mabee
19	31829_B016728	Catchpole	66	31829_B016753	Manseau
20	31829_B016729	Children	67	31829_B016754	Mathie
21	31829_B016730	Cleal	68	31829_B016772	Mee
22	31829_B016731	Connor	69	31829_B016771	Millar
23	31829_B016732	Corcoran	70	31829_B016755	Miron
24	31829_B016733	Crabb	71	31829_B016756	Moorhouse
25	31829_B016734	Crossley	72	31829_B016757	Mossman
26	31829_B016735	Dack	73	31829_B016708	MacAlpine
27	31829_B016736	Davy	74	31829_B016758	MacNaughton
28	31829_B016737	Deuel	75	31829_B016759	McCombs
29	31829_B016738	Don	76	31829_B016760	McDonaugh
30	31829_B016739	Duane	77	31829_B016761	McIntyre
31	31829_B016740	Ead	78	31829_B016762	McLachlan
32	31829_B016741	Ellis	79	31829_B016763	McNab
33	31829_B016742	Facer	80	31829_B016764	Naden
34	31829_B016743	Fight	81	31829_B016765	Nicholson
35	31829_B016744	Foden	82	31829_B016766	Oag
36	31829_B016694	Frayn	83	31829_B016767	Pacey
37	31829_B016691	Gabbott	84	31829_B016768	Paul
38	31829_B016690	Gaskell	85	31829_B016710	Phair
39	31829_B016689	Gidony	86	31829_B016769	Polley
40	31829_B016686	Godin	87	31829_B016707	Raaflaub
41	31829_B034747	Gougeon	88	31829_B016706	Rehder
42	31829_B016687	Grayburn	89	31829_B016704	Richelieu
43	31829_B016688	Groat	90	31829_B034749	Rodolph
44	31829_B016684	Hall	91	31829_B016703	Rowland
45	31829_B016683	Hannah	92	31829_B016701	Sabatino
46	31829_B016685	Harron	93	31829_B016700	Schoumik
47	31829_B016745	Head	94	31829_B016770	Shelter to Sims

Commonwealth War Graves Registers

Also newly digitized by Library and Archives Canada are their collection of First World War Commonwealth War Graves Registers. With a display organized similar to the Circumstances of Death records, these can provide further information on the burials of individual soldiers.

Index page for the Commonwealth War Graves Registers. Each link leads to a virtual stack of hundreds, up to a thousand or more, of individual page images.

The Commonwealth War Graves Register sheet for Sgt Walter Lowe, MM, The Royal Canadian Regiment. Note the Page Navigation options at the lower left and right of the image. Don't forget to check the following image (i.e., the back of the sheet). Note also that the image of the page is cropped in this captured image, the full sheet is observable in the LAC image collection.

Commonwealth War Graves Registers; First World War: Surnames in Each File

The following table shows the surname range in each of the 50 Commonwealth War Graves Registers document sets on line with the Library and Archives Canada.

Serial	File number	Surnames in File	Serial	File number	Surnames in File
1	31830_B016669	Aaron to Allan	26	31830_B016598	Doty to Dunbar
2	31830_B016673	Allanson to Angst	27	31830_B016602	Duncan to Edwards
3	31830_B016674	Angus to Astley	28	31830_B016601	Edworthy to Ezric
4	31830_B016672	Aston to Baker	29	31830_B016606	Faber to Fincham
5	31830_B016677	Bakys to Barrow	30	31830_B016605	Finder to Ford
6	31830_B016663	Barry to Beebe	31	31830_B034751	Fordyce to Freymuth
7	31830_B034750	Beech to Berner	32	31830_B016604	Fricker to Gaston
8	31830_B016668	Bernhart to Bittle	33	31830_B016609	Gate to Gingras
9	31830_B016662	Bjarnason to Bolger	34	31830_B016608	Ginn to Gotze
10	31830_B016667	Bolin to Bowes	35	31830_B016607	Goucher to Green
11	31830_B016666	Bowhay tp Briden	36	31830_B016611	Greenaway to Gysin
12	31830_B016665	Bridge to Brown, I.F.	37	31830_B016610	Haas to Hancox
13	31830_B016671	Brown, J. to Buist	38	31830_B016675	Hand to Harty
14	31830_B016670	Bulbick to Bytheway	39	31830_B016676	Harvey to Helms
15	31830_B016591	Cabana to Canning	40	31830_B016680	Helps to Hildreth
16	31830_B016590	Cannon to Cave	41	31830_B034451	Hill to Holmden
17	31830_B016589	Cavell to Christmas	42	31830_B016679	Holmes to Howles
18	31830_B016594	Christo to Cobley	43	31830_B016678	Howlett to Hutson
19	31830_B016593	Coburn to Coogan	44	31830_B034447	Hutt to James
20	31830_B016592	Cook to Cotton	45	31830_B016681	Jameson to Johnsson
21	31830_B016595	Cottrell to Crewe	46	31830_B034450	Johnston to Juteau
22	31830_B016596	Cribbes to Cyrs	47	31830_B034449	Kaar to Kernick
23	31830_B016600	Dabate to Dawson	48	31830_B016682	Kerr to Knibbs
24	31830_B016597	Day to Dickie	49	31830_B034448	Knight to Landymore
25	31830_B016599	Dickins to Dostie	50	31830_B034452	Lane to Leach

Grave Photos

In researching a soldier who died in the First World War, a common result is a desire to acquire a photograph of the soldier's grave. While not everyone has the opportunity to visit the Commonwealth War Graves Cemeteries in France, Belgium or other countries around the world, there are other options for acquiring a grave photograph. These include:

The British War Graves, although focussing on graves of British servicemen, has many photos of Canadian graves in their files. They are provided free of charge, and if they can help, ask them if there are any cemeteries in your local area that still need some graves photographed for their project. (You may be surprised if you ask, I have been able to provide them a few photos from cemeteries in southwestern Ontario.)
For a small cost, grave photos are also available from the War Graves Photographic Project.
Another option is to ask on the First World War forums if anyone is visiting the cemetery where your soldier lies. I have had wonderful support from members of the Great War Forum and the Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group in gathering the grave photos of soldiers of The Royal Canadian Regiment for my own website project.