War Time Newsreels

Updated from Dec 2015

Those with ancestors that were in one of the World Wars may be interested in watching some Canadian Army Newsreels that are being uploaded to Library and Archives Canada's YouTube channel.

Our ancestors that were at home during the wars would have watched the newsreels in the movie theaters. 

The Canadian Army Newsreels were 10 minute films made by the Canadian Film and Photo Unit who were trained in combat the same as all soldiers. The films were distributed each week to the Canadian troops, the National Film Board and Canadian, British and American newsreel companies.

Canadian Army Newsreel No 1 (1942)

At Internet Archive there are 266 newsreels of different countries, including Britain, America, Australia, Japan and Italy.  Use the index on the right to find the ones you want.

Will you see your ancestor in one of these films?



Relevant Links

Canadian Army SWW Newsreels

Canadian Army FWW Newsreels

British War Reels

German WWII Newsreels

WWII Newsreels at Internet Archive

Serendipity Sunday - Men of New Jersey in Wars

Well... look what popped up while I was researching booze! 
Can you guess why?

Records of Officers and Men of New Jersey in Wars 1791-1815

These are the wars covered...  

• Expedition against the Indians in 1791
• Pennsylvania Insurrection in 1794
• Naval War with France, 1798-1801
• Naval War with Tripoli, Africa, 1801-1805
• War with Great Britain, 1812-1815
• Naval War with Algiers, Africa in 1815

For each War the soldiers are listed by company with name, rank, date entered service, length of service, date left service and remarks (killed, promoted, missing, etc). There is also an alphabetic index at end of each chapter.

At the beginning of each war chapter there is a summary of why the war was being fought.

Relevant links

Records of Officers and Men of New Jersey in Wars 1791-1815

Related post: Two Wars of the 1700s

CIA Nazi War Crimes Dataset

At Internet Archive there was uploaded a set of zipped files on people that the CIA were investigating for WWII war crimes.  Description for this dataset:

"This information sheds important historical light on the Holocaust and other war crimes, as well as the U.S. Government’s involvement with war criminals during the Cold War. These records include operational files of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Central Intelligence Group (CIG), and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)."   

Nuremberg Trials

Some of the files contain genealogical information and, if lucky, photos. In some cases the CIA noted not only the subject of the file, but his family, who they were married to, birthdates, etc. 

Most of the files you can just click and "view the contents" while others have to be downloaded and unzipped to view. If it is a file you want, save it and unzip on your computer. 

The files that start with Aerodynamics are operations, reports and plans. Scroll down until you get to obvious names. Click "view contents", to open click Allow. Click on the folder, which contains pdf files. Some folders have only a couple, usually because once checked out there was nothing to find that interested the CIA. But then you get a folder with only three files like this first page for Benno Jehle ...

Jehle, Benno pdf.1

... the second page describes in detail how to get him into France under another name.

Other folders have many files with a personal history including what school they attended, employment history, trips out of the country, their close associates and perhaps their history.

Some were not Germans, as in the case of Paul Marion, who was deemed a French collaborator.

Paul Marion, Secretary General of Information and Propaganda, pdf.3

Member of French Committee of Waffen SS, 1944, pdf.11

Files are at the National Archives. In each section, click on Name Files to see lists of names that were released, and where to find their files.



Relevant Links

Nazi War Crimes dataset (50,000 files)

Records of the CIA at National Archives

CIA Website

WWI Casualty Clearing Stations

My great uncle Alexander George Mavor was wounded at "The Bluff" at Ypres, Belguim in the First World War. He was in the trenches and hit in the stomach with a bullet that ricocheted off a periscope. He was taken to the No 17 Casualty Clearing Station where he died the following day.  That is all I knew from his military records.

From research I found out two things: 

 - that No 17 Casualty Clearing Station is not a place, it is one of a number of medical units set up at different places where most needed throughout the war.

 - that Remy Sidings were sidings constructed from the main railway line to allow ambulance trains to get to these medical stations that had been set up at a farm called Remi Quaghebeur. Some sidings went to base hospitals.

Entrance to Remy Hospital and Cemetery 1920

A member of the Great War Forum (Diane, username Bardess) has transcribed all the war diaries for the No 17 Casual Clearing Station at Remy Siding.  You can view the transcriptions without registering...  

...and if you register as a member for free and ask nice she will be happy to give you a copy of the specific page. 

Alexander George Mavor, age 24, was laid to rest in the cemetery at Remi Station, now the Lijssenthoek Cemetery, Poperinge, Ypres... Section VI  Row B  Grave 8A .

Remi Siding Cemetery, Lijssenthoek, Ypres

RIP Alexander George Mavor 1891-1916

The UK CCS War Diaries link below includes Australian CCSs. To get only Australian type Australian in front of casualty clearing station in the search box top left. 

  

Relevant Links

Great War Forum, member post No 17 casualty clearing station Remy Farm

Locations of British Casualty Clearing Stations

Location of Hospitals and Casualty Clearing Stations in The Great War, by place

Surgery at a casualty clearing station 1918

Australian Casualty Clearing Station Memorials

No. 1 Casualty Clearing Station Mobilized

No. 1 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station at BIFHSGO

LAC War diaries - 1st Canadian Casualty Clearing Station (click Digital Objects)

LAC War diaries - 2nd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station (click Digital Objects)

LAC War diaries - 3rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station (click Digital Objects)

LAC War diaries – 4th Canadian Casualty Clearing Station (click Digital Objects)

Military Hospitals Admissions and Discharge Registers WW1 -UK

National Archives UK online collections – Casualty Clearing Station War Diaries

Related Post
Military - Medical

Canada 150 - War Time Trade Board - Price Fixing

During our country's 150th anniversary celebration of confederation I will write posts titled Canada 150 with a link to a publication or website I find that may help you tell the story of your Canadian ancestors.
Click on the Canada 150 label on the right or at the bottom to see all the posts.

Today I have for you...

Report of The Wartime Prices and Trade Board 

The War Time Prices and Food Board was established at the beginning of the war, in 1939 to regulate not only the prices of food, but what food would be exported and what is kept at home for domestic use. The government publication explains how they chose which products to provide subsidies to keep the price low for the average consumer, and fixed maximum prices for others. I am using the following examples from the 1943 Report.

Meat Products 1943, pg 33

Rules were added, amended and revoked throughout the war, as were war taxes and duties on products. 

Besides food and other trade products, the Board had control over many services, such as plumbing, dressmaking, undertaking, harbour services, etc.. In 1941 all real property other than farm land was under the control of a board, including restaurants and room rentals. 

Rental Controls 1943, pg 63-65

There is a Directory of Officials for the governing board and for the associated companies and local offices.

Directory of Officials 1943, pg 73-76

Relevant Links

Report of The Wartime Prices and Trade Board 1939-1946 w/ directory of officials

War Time Food Production Posters




Note:  The US had the War Industries Board. In Australia price fixing came under the War Precautions Act.

Canada 150 - The Siege of Quebec

During our country's 150th anniversary celebration of confederation I will write posts titled Canada 150 with a link to a publication or website I find that may help you tell the story of your Canadian ancestors.
Click on the Canada 150 label on the right or at the bottom to see all the posts.

Today I have for you...

The Siege of Quebec

"Memoirs of the siege of Quebec, capital of all Canada and of the retreat of Monsieur de Bourlemaque, from Carillon to the Isle aux Noix in Lake Champlain : from the journal of a French officer on board the Chezine frigate, taken by His Majesty's ship Rippon, compared with the accounts transmitted home by Major General Wolfe and Vice-Admiral Saunders, with occasional remarks." – 1761

The Battle on the Plains of Abraham took place 13 September 1759, and was a turning point during the Seven Year's War leading to the surrender of Quebec to the British. New France became a British colony with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763. 

Articles of Capitulation, pg 32,  mark 36

And also...

"A Journal of the siege of Quebec: to which is annexed a correct plan of the environs of Quebec and of the battle fought on the 13th September, 1759 : together with a particular detail of the French lines and batteries, and also of the encampments, batteries and attacks of the British army… drawn from the original surveys taken by the engineers of the army: engraved by Thomas Jefferys." - 1760

The camp at Montmorency, mark 32

What is believed to be the first accounting of the battle was published in Boston in 1759, and reprinted a few times.  This is from 1913.

"A Journal of the expedition up the River St. Lawrence : containing a true and most particular account of the transactions of the fleet and army under the command of Admiral Saunders and General Wolfe, from the time of their embarkation at Louisbourg 'til after the surrender of Quebeck" -  1759

Aftermath, pg 113, mark 503

The book about The Life of Major-General James Wolfe tells of his battles, including at Cullodon (see index) and the "Heights of Abraham", where both Montcalm and Wolfe died. 

The National Battlefield Commission website, Plains of Abraham, has a database of soldiers who fought there.  There was a Nolin assigned to the Languedoc Regiment... Francois Nolin dit Jolicoeur, who was later granted land in Terrebonne, but the file says he returned to France in 1763.

Will you find one of your ancestors in the database?

Relevant Links

Memoirs of the siege of Quebec 1761

A Journal of the siege of Quebec with maps 1760

Journal of the Expedition up the river St Lawrence - 1759/1913

Battle of Quebec as told on British Battles website

Plan for the proposed citadel to be builtin Quebec by the British in 1767

The Life of Major-General James Wolfe

Journal du marquis de Montcalm durant ses campagnes en Canada de 1756 à 1759

Database of the Soldiers at the Plains of Abraham

Descendants of Wolfe and Montcalm battle it out

Treaty of Paris 1763 - English

Traité de Paris 1763 - Français

Publications of the Armed Forces

The Maple Leaf was a newspaper for the Canadian Armed Forces stationed overseas during WWII. There are not many copies of the first years editions, though some may be found in libraries. Issues from January 1944 to May 1946 are available online.

At the end of the war they printed The Maple Leaf Souvenir Album containing a few of the top stories, photos and articles. I uploaded to my drive some pages that contain names of photos. One of these days I will scan them all in. 

The Maple Leaf

Some of the publications have lists of births, marriages and deaths...

United Service Magazine UK 1847, pg 417

Relevant Links

The Maple Leaf, Canadian Army Newspaper -info

The Maple Leaf on Google Newspaper Archives

The Army and Navy Magazine, UK

The United Service Magazine, UK

The Illustrated First World War

The United service magazine, with which are incorporated the Army and navy magazine and Naval and military journal

The Naval and Military Magazine UK (incl/prize money and personal announcements)

Air Force Magazine, US WWII

The United States Army and Navy journal and gazette 1863-1903

Yank, The Army Weekly

Aussie, The Australian Soldier’s Magazine

Army News, Australia

The Recuperator : official magazine 1st Australian Convalescent Depot WWII

The East India United Service Journal and Military Magazine 1838

VRI Magazine     

Canada 150 - The Twelfth

During our country's 150th anniversary celebration of confederation I will write posts titled Canada 150 with a link to a publication or website I find that may help you tell the story of your Canadian ancestors.
Click on the Canada 150 label on the right or at the bottom to see all the posts.

Today I have for you...

The Twelfth, also called Orangemen's Day

The Twelfth of July is the day celebrating the Glorious Revolution and the victory of the Protestant king William of Orange over the Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne. The battle took place across the River Boyne near the town of Drogheda in the east of Ireland.

The Orange Order is headed by the Grand Orange Order of Ireland, established in 1798, and which records the first parade as having been held in 1791.

According to the Grand Orange Lodge of Canada, "Most historians agree that Orangemen were in Canada previous to 1812 and by 1822 the 12th Parade in Toronto had become the most popular event of the day."

Orange Parade Toronto, c1860s

Relevant Links

Vancouver County Orange lodges :fiftieth anniversary of the formation of order in BC

Anniversary of Battle of the Boyne July 12 – Toronto 1902

Report of the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of C.E., of the Loyal Orange Association: at the semi-annual meeting, held at Aylmer, C.E

Report of the twenty-ninth annual session of the Grand Lodge of the Loyal Orange Institution of British North America assembled in the Public Hall of the City of London

Reports of the fifty-first annual sessions of the Provincial Grand Orange Lodge of New Brunswick: held respectively in the Orange Halls, St.John and Fairville, N.B

Wartime Hospital Ships

Canadian Women's Hospital Ship Fund WWI

During WWI Women's groups all over the world held concerts, teas, bazaars and card parties to raise money for their Hospital Ship Fund. Their names and amounts were often printed in the local newspapers, to encourage others to donate.

Ottawa Citizen, 25 August 1914, pg 2

On 27 June 1918 the Canadian Hospital ship Llandovery Castle was sailing from Nova Scotia to Liverpool when it was torpedoed by German U-Boat off the coast of Ireland. Only 24 persons survived out of 258 medics, nurses and crew.

This was one of two hospital ship sinking cases presented at the Leipzeig war crime trials after the war and considered one of the worst atrocities of the war.

The Leipzeig Trials 1921

During WWII the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine, on 14 May 1943. Of the 332 medical staff and crew 268 lost their lives.

Australian Hospital Ship Centaur 1944

Relevant Links

Sinking of the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle

Sinking of the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur (scroll down for link to list)

The Leipzeig Trials, 1921

Military Hospital Ships and Ambulance Transports

List of hospital ships sunk in WWI

History of Hospital Ship Fund Canada

The American hospital ship"Maine" fund, 1900

Welcome to the U.S.N. Hospital Ship Tranquillity, WWII

New Zealand Hospital Ship Fund donations (NZ Herald), 1915

Photos New Zealand Hospital Ships, WWI

The Red Cross Databases and Reports

The British Red Cross, Australian Red Cross, and the International Committee of the Red Cross have online databases. I pointed this out to the Canadian Red Cross and they replied, “I have forwarded on your email to our website team so they can look into this process.” I'm not holding my breath, but I may bug them about this from time to time. I also sent them the link to funding guidelines from LAC.... you never know!

International Committee of the Red Cross

The Red Cross not only supplied nurses and medical supplies during times of war, but they visited Prisoner of War camps to give the inmates food packets and clothing and helped with letters to and from home. They tried to see that prisoners were treated with humanity. 

Prisoners of War Bulletin, Vol 2 Aug 1944

Relevant Links

Australia Red Cross Records from the First World War

Article by Pauleen Cass at Family history across the sea - Accessing the Red Cross records

Database of First World War Red Cross Volunteers, UK

American Red Cross

Prisoners of War Bulletin WWII, American Red Cross

International Committee of the Red Cross, WWI Prisoners of War

League of Red Cross Societies Bulletin (world)

Bulletin of the Canadian Red Cross

Canadian Red Cross and the First World War

Report Of The International Committee Of The Red Cross On Its Activities During The Second World War(September 1, 1939 - June 30, 1947) Volumes 1-3

American Red Cross Report of war relief activities 1917-1919

Neuvième Conference internationale de la Croix-Rouge tenue à Washington mai 1912. Index of names at the back

Turkish prisoners in Egypt, 1917

Reports on British prison-camps in India and Burma,1917

Related Posts at Red Cross