52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 47 (SOLDIER)
It all begins with a family story you hear growing up. Or maybe you ask Grandma about relatives as Remembrance Day approaches. Or maybe you discover Grandpa fought in the war. Or maybe you find a package with war medals. Or maybe you find out a relative died for your freedom.
Researching military records can be exciting.
When I was growing up I was fascinated by the swastika stamped release papers my grandfather had received after being a Belgian Prisoner of World War II. I learned what the acronym POW was at a very young age. I also knew Grandpa wouldn't talk about his experience. He did share the Belgian prisoners weren't treated as badly as the Jewish people because they were seen as good farmers so were put to work in the fields. He shared that he and his fellow farmers could eat dirty uncooked potatoes if they were careful to not be seen so weren't as hungry as others in the camp. On the day they were released he and his Belgian comrades accepted the boots for their long walk home. They accepted nothing else from their captors. Later when I was researching the Holocaust I often viewed through the lens of what little of Grandpa's experience I knew.
*my step-dad's father
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| Frans & Emma Boogemans |
Shortly before turning 50 my Ancestry DNA results showed one of my great grandparents was European Jewish.
Everything that I thought I understood about the Holocaust shifted.
Now it was personal.
My great grandfather was a guard at the Kananaskis Prisoner of War Camp during WWII. During WWI Thomas was with the 8th Battalion, Royal Scots.
*my dad's mother's father
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| Private Thomas Thomson, Veterans Guard of Canada with X1 & X2 great granddaughters |
Private Thomas Thomson, Veterans Guard of Canada, born May 10th 1880 in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland and died November 19th 1940 in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada. He's buried at the Burnsland Cemetery in Calgary.
We Remember!
Harry Dendy born November 24th 1874 in Balham, Surrey, England, and died December 5th 1916 in France.
Frederick Herbert Dendy born January 26th 1896 in Wandsworth, London, England, and died November 19th 1916 in France.
Both were born in England, but fought for the Canadian Military after immigrating to Canada.
*my mom's mother' side, her uncle and great uncle
My father is retired career military. He was a Peacekeeper in Cyprus in 1965.
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| my dad, early 1970s |
I was born on a military base in Quebec, and started school on a military base in Alberta. I believed that Santa arrived on a helicopter since that is how he arrived to every Christmas party I went to before starting school and learning differently.
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| Dad with my brother and myself |
If you are searching for information on anyone who served in the Canadian Military Library and Archives Canada is a fantastic resource.
The instructions on this website have examples of how to search the Library & Archives Canada website. You will also find many other articles.
http://regimentalrogue.com/misc/researching_first_world_war_soldiers_part1.htm
*****A cautionary tale*****
Searching military records is not for the faint at heart.
You may discover things about your relatives that you honestly didn't want to know.
Finding his military medical record online I now know that my
X grandfather's publicly available military medical record notes that he had:
wound, abscess, swollen glands, syphilis,
gonorrhea X2, and X2 ulcers on his penis
This relative was 18 years old, single, and married my X__ grandmother 8 years later.
My exact relationship to this ancestor is redacted to protect his reputation and anyone who adored him and may still be living.
The things you can't unknow, now that you know!
This is why I search -
Cause ...
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***
Sources:
Dendy, Frederick Herbert, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved November 23rd 2019 from
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1567107/dendy,-frederick-herbert/
Dendy, Harry, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved November 23rd 2019 from
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/27659/dendy,-/
Military Heritage, Library and Archives Canada, Retrieved November 23rd 2019 from
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/Pages/military-heritage.aspx
The Regimental Rogue, Retrieved November 23rd 2019 from
http://regimentalrogue.com/
Researching Canadian Soldiers of the First World War, Michael O'Leary; The Regimental Rogue, Retrieved November 23rd 2019 from
http://regimentalrogue.com/misc/researching_first_world_war_soldiers_part1.htm
Thomson, Thomas, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved November 23rd 2019 from https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2849835/thomson,-thomas/
Links:
Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/
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Please & Thank you!
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