Backgrounder: Canadian Great War Project
A decade ago, Marc Leroux began hunting for information about his grandfather, who had served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. His search led to the development of the Canadian Great War Project.
The soldier service records within the Canadian Great War Project are drawn from an array of other sources including Library and Archives Canada (LAC), the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and private collections. The LAC maintains a database of personnel records of the First World War including location of enlistment and place of birth. The Canadian Great War Project includes more information than that, including photos, letters, newspaper clippings and transcribed documents, as well as the service records.
A more rigorous and consistent search engine now covers discrepancies in spelling or punctuation. For instance, if someone searches by regiment, all entries will appear for Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry whether identified as “Princess Patricia legion” or “PPPCL” or even “Princess Pat’s.”
The UVic Special Collections and University Archives is home to an extensive digital collection on military history, primarily on the First and Second World Wars and including the Veterans Oral History Project (with over 700 recordings of Canadian veterans including reminiscences of Passchendaele and Vimy Ridge); The World of Mary’s Wedding – Reminiscences of World War One (related to an opera—which premiered in Victoria in 2011—based on the play, Mary's Wedding); Birth of a Regiment (about Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry); and A City Goes to War (about Victoria and other cities during the Great War).
Kempling led the latter two projects and turned at the time to Leroux for assistance with underlying data but, over time, their collaborative effort led to discussions about how best to ensure the long-term preservation of Leroux’s project. In 2015, Leroux agreed to transfer his site and all its data to UVic at no cost in order to ensure free access, technological enhancements, academic oversight and the continued involvement of community researchers.
The UVic History Department, supported by the Humanities Computing and Media Centre at UVic, also has a comprehensive inventory of digital history and online historical work related to the First World War.
< Back to ReleaseThe soldier service records within the Canadian Great War Project are drawn from an array of other sources including Library and Archives Canada (LAC), the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and private collections. The LAC maintains a database of personnel records of the First World War including location of enlistment and place of birth. The Canadian Great War Project includes more information than that, including photos, letters, newspaper clippings and transcribed documents, as well as the service records.
A more rigorous and consistent search engine now covers discrepancies in spelling or punctuation. For instance, if someone searches by regiment, all entries will appear for Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry whether identified as “Princess Patricia legion” or “PPPCL” or even “Princess Pat’s.”
The UVic Special Collections and University Archives is home to an extensive digital collection on military history, primarily on the First and Second World Wars and including the Veterans Oral History Project (with over 700 recordings of Canadian veterans including reminiscences of Passchendaele and Vimy Ridge); The World of Mary’s Wedding – Reminiscences of World War One (related to an opera—which premiered in Victoria in 2011—based on the play, Mary's Wedding); Birth of a Regiment (about Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry); and A City Goes to War (about Victoria and other cities during the Great War).
Kempling led the latter two projects and turned at the time to Leroux for assistance with underlying data but, over time, their collaborative effort led to discussions about how best to ensure the long-term preservation of Leroux’s project. In 2015, Leroux agreed to transfer his site and all its data to UVic at no cost in order to ensure free access, technological enhancements, academic oversight and the continued involvement of community researchers.
The UVic History Department, supported by the Humanities Computing and Media Centre at UVic, also has a comprehensive inventory of digital history and online historical work related to the First World War.
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Keywords: Jim Kempling; UVic Libraries; History; digital collections; First world war; WWI; Great War, community, research
