Canadian O.E.F.

[R. Joshua Myers]

I have a complete history of Harry Morris in England, Canada and the U.S., but his service in the Canadian O.E.F. is a blank. Can I get information on his unit, commanders, etc. so I can look them up in a history book and briefly describe what my great grandfather did and where he was in WW1?

Here's information on Harry Morris. He was born Dec. 31, 1881 in Bolton, Lancashire, England. He was married in Bolton Sept. 7, 1906 to Beatrice Alice Leeder. They had two children in England then immigrated to Canada in 1910 or 1911. He lived in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, had two more children there, and worked for the Prudential Insurance Company fromn 1910-1918, when he enlisted in the Canadian Army. I don't need a lot of detail, just enough to answer the basic questions my family will ask me. Thanks,  Josh

[R. Joshua Myers]

Sorry, I forgot something. I was checking the Canadian archives and got this information on Harry's regiment: Regimental # 690306, RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 6389-11. I got the idea this was important for tracing Harry's military career, but I didn't know how to use this informatiuon or even what is is. Thanks, Josh

[kmart66]

He was in the 173rd Battalion (Canadian Highlanders) CEF. Found him listed on a website. You should be able to google that battalion to find some more details.

Kevin

[R. Joshua Myers]

Thanks, Kevin. That's exactly what I was looking for.  Josh

[Helenap2401]

Josh,

If you click the link, on the Harry Morris name in the army records and then click on the Front of Form, Back of Form this will give you the image of his Attestation paper. This gives you the basic details and a description of him on the date of enlistment.

Good luck.

Helen

[R. Joshua Myers]

Thank you, Helen. Thank you all so very much.  Josh

[Jacquie in Canada]

Sorry, I forgot something. I was checking the Canadian archives and got this information on Harry's regiment: Regimental # 690306, RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 6389-11. I got the idea this was important for tracing Harry's military career, but I didn't know how to use this informatiuon or even what is is. Thanks, Josh

You can use that information to order a copy of his military file. The cost depends on the size of the file. On the same page that has the links to his attestation papers, there is also a link that says "How to consult a file on-site or order a copy of the complete file". That link goes to instructions on ordering the file.

Jacquie

[R. Joshua Myers]

Jacquie, You helped me before. Thanks again. I found a site called canadiansoldiers.com, where you can leave questions, not about particular soldiers, but battalions and regiments. Harry's group was the Canadian Highlanders. They were used as replacements for two other Canadian battalions that arrived in France earlier, and had massive losses in the trenches. They might be a good resource for you to refer people to if they know their ancestor's battalion # or you can find it. They specialize in the history of Canadian batallions in every war and can tell you what work a particular unit was engaged in. There's a long chart with every battalion in Canadian history you can use to find the battallion if you know the date a person served and the region he came from, or the date and region if you know the battalion. Thanks, Guys for all your help.  Josh

[valeriec]

If you order his complete military file, the information will contain his pay documents, transfers within battalions, medical information, discharge information, etc. When you know the battalion that he actually served with after absorption, you can check the war diaries at LAC and you will be able to pinpoint what battles he was actually at. The information as to when he was taken on strength and off strength is quite complete on the records. Many of the soldiers were transferred to more than one other battalion as they were absorbed. The last time that I ordered military files it cost $66. for 3 complete files. Two of the files had 30 pages while the other had almost 50. I was able to determine where my grandfather was injured, the battles he was in, how long he was at casualty stations before being sent to a hospital back in England.

www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/index-e.html
You can access information on the Soldiers of the First World War and the War Diaries

www.cefresearch.com/matrix/contents.htm
The Matrix Project is one of the best sources for information on the First World War.

There is a military museum in Hamilton and the Public Library has "Ask a Librarian" section.

You also may want to change your subject to read CEF as he was in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

There was a really good site for Hamilton's Great War but the link appears to be broken.