After spending considerable time searching for some online evidence of my grandfather's Canadian military service I came to an inescapable conclusion: Sometimes all the persistence in world makes no difference - the information just isn't available...
Not online at any rate.
To be fair, it needs to be acknowledged that in May of 1940 my grandfather was 3 months shy of his 45th birthday and therefore not eligible for active duty. He spent his war service instructing the young men of the 25th Reserve Regiment. I searched for information about the 25th Reserve Regiment but found nothing. However, I did finally come across information that appears to shed some light on the curious absence of online records.
Apparently, service records ARE available for servicemen from World War II. The problem with these modern records is that they're protected by the Access to Information and Privacy Act. Full service record information can be obtained by the actual serviceman who served. But if the serviceman has died and a researcher is trying to obtain information the TWENTY YEAR RULE applies.
This means that the researcher must provide proof that the serviceman has been dead for a period of twenty years. Proof must also be given of the relationship between the person requesting the record and the dead serviceman. The requestee must also prove that they are a Canadian citizen or living in Canada. If any of these criteria are not met information supplied will be limited and some information from the records WILL NOT be supplied to the researcher.
The same information and restrictions apply for Korean War personnel service records.
I've not yet decided whether I'm going to pursue this rather complicated and time-consuming task. My grandfather's recollections of his service in the military are rich with detail and substance. I think I may prefer to let his words stand for themselves.
TODAY'S QUESTION:
- Can I find a record of my grandparents birth?
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