This spring, we were delighted to announce the launch of our new website, History in the Making, to showcase the rich history of Kitchener and the Region of Waterloo as well as the stories of the communities and individuals who have called this area home. Now, we want to help you get the most out of this fantastic new resource!
Over the next six weeks, we will explore the different collections and types of material that you can find on HITM and take a close look at how these resources can help you to learn about the people and places that have shaped our city! In this first post – and in honour of Remembrance Day – we will be focusing on our collection of Soldier Information Cards from World War I and World War II.
During the First and Second World Wars, staff members at the Kitchener Public Library wanted to recognise and honour the courageous men and women of Waterloo County who served Canada in those conflicts. In order to do so, they created a Soldier Information Card for each local service person recording basic information such as their name, rank, civilian occupation, birthplace and more.
KPL staff created the cards during and shortly after each conflict using photographs and information supplied by newspapers and magazines as well as members of the soldiers’ families. In some cases, the soldiers themselves even contributed to the cards when they returned home!
In total, they created individual cards for nearly 8,000 local service men and women. While some of these cards provide only basic information about the soldiers, many also feature photographs, reports on their achievements and anecdotes that serve as a reminder that each card represents a real person who served their country during these defining moments in history.
These small black or white cards can, therefore, be very helpful for both family history research and more general research into the World Wars themselves. They not only provide useful genealogical information like the names of parents, spouses or children and dates of birth or death, but can also offer an insight into the diverse wartime experiences of local men and women, both at home and overseas.
These card sets are now more than 75 years old and are, therefore, very fragile, so access to the physical collection is highly restricted. Thanks to the tireless efforts of more than 100 library volunteers, however, we were able to digitize and transcribe our entire collection of Soldier Information Cards from both World War One and World War Two, so that we could make this invaluable resource available online.
Quick Tips
- Looking for a relative who served in World War One or World War Two? Try searching for their name or regiment to see if we have information on them in our database.
- Interested in the wartime experience more generally? Try browsing our World War One or World War Two data sets for insights.
- Our WWI Soldier Information Cards often contain markings that might tell you about the soldier and their military career at a quick glance.
- A red cross indicates that the individual was killed in action.
- A red slash indicates that the individual was wounded or fell ill while serving. If more than one slash appears on the card, it means that they were injured more than once.
- A red star indicates that the individual received a medal for their service.
Questions?
If you have any questions about our WWI and WWI Soldier Information Cards, please feel free to give us a call at 519-743-0271 ext. 212, send us an email at gsr@kpl.org or visit us in person the next time you are in the library! Check back next week to learn more about our collection of historic photographs and postcards!
Chiara Fallone, Senior Library Assistant, Grace Schmidt Room