As the National Archives continue to digitize their WWI Military Personnel Files, I have been able to learn quite a bit about the sacrifice of my ancestors. We always knew about the contribution… Continue reading
These past two months have been pretty emotional for the family; the time finally came for my grandma Betty to sell the family home. It was built in the early 1960s by my… Continue reading
In reviewing my Great Uncle Bill’s Second World War military personnel file, I’m struck by the number of leaves he took and how many times he was transferred and posted to different places. … Continue reading
Nearly two years ago, I wrote a piece on my Great Uncle William – I was trying to understand the Canadian WW2 term “zombie” and to understand if he met the definition and… Continue reading
The past few years, I have tried to complete my own Week of Remembrance by sharing something from my family’s rich military history. Despite receiving three WW2 personnel files for family members, this… Continue reading
After thinking it over for a few days, I have decided to share most of the contents of my grandfather’s letter home, dated January 3, 1945. As mentioned in the earlier post on… Continue reading
While reviewing my Gpa Mike’s and my great uncle Jimmy’s WW2 personnel records, the document I find most shocking is the “Department of National Defence Statement of War Service Gratuity” form. Jimmy gave… Continue reading
One of the greatest surprises of the year was to learn from my Great Uncle Jimmy that a letter my Gpa Mike had sent to their aunt, had come into his possession. He… Continue reading
I’m pretty sure the title of this post strikes most of you as odd, even for those of you that know I have a pretty long standing connection to UofT. UofT is where… Continue reading
Recently my mom and her cousin Eleanor got together to catch up. Of great surprise, Eleanor brought with her a bunch of old photos, and amongst these were some of my Gpa Mike… Continue reading
When I was a kid, there was an old, hardcover book with a blue cover that was my favourite book. It was called HERBIE! and I thought it was a cartoon book. Little… Continue reading
While researching our family history, one ancestor really stood out for me: Laura Harman. She is my first cousin, three times removed. She serves as the most tragic reminder that life at the… Continue reading
We still have a few more years of centenary anniversaries related to the First World War and it reminded me that in late 2004, during my genealogy research, I came across family members… Continue reading
Last year (March 12, 2015) I uploaded an entry on “this night ten years ago night“, sharing some of the thoughts that were going through my head, the last night that my Gpa… Continue reading
I’m embarrassed to say that I have just tonight, for the first time, gone through my grandpa Norman’s WWII Royal Canadian Air Force personnel file. The files have been in my possession for… Continue reading
