The British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) will host its monthly hybrid meeting tomorrow, November 18, starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time.
9:00 a.m. — Back to Basics: Military Service by Ken McKinlay
This first presentation is part of BIFHSGO’s British Isles Back to Basics series.
Finding records of those who served in the British military can be challenging due to record keeping issues, the loss of many First World War personnel records during the Second World War due to fire, and also privacy restrictions. In this Back to Basics session, Ken will look at where to find those surviving records.
10:00 a.m. — We Will Remember Them (Family stories from times of war)
One family’s military service 1916 to 2015 by Susan Davis
When veteran Bob Davis stopped to count how many members of his extended family had served in the military, he came up with 32 mini-bios of those who had served in the First, Second or Korean wars or on NATO missions.
Remembering Uncle Melbourne by Sue Lambeth
Sue Lambeth has always wanted to know about her Uncle Melbourne and his life. Her cousin Mel Fearman (Uncle Melbourne’s namesake) felt the same way. Mel and Sue had a few old photographs and a small amount of memorabilia related to Uncle Melbourne’s service in World War I. Could they put together these clues together to write a story in remembrance of Uncle Melbourne’s life?
Ernest Alfred Polley, aka James Brett, an ANZAC by Linda Reid
Linda Reid’s Irish grandfather deserted the Australian navy to join the Australian army under an alias and his request for a pardon after the war provided the details of the places where he had fought.
A Cyclist’s War: A Grandfather and a Great-Uncle in the Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion by Mary-Lou Simac
Two of Mary-Lou Simac’s relatives answered the call to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the First World War. Both joined the Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion, serving in France and Belgium. Her grandfather spent much of his time overseas in an unexpected way and her great-uncle suffered a fate that became all too common. Mary-Lou will relate their stories using original photographs, war diaries, personnel records, and family memorabilia.
My Grandparents’ War or Why I’m a Canadian by Barbara Tose
When Olive Burdick married Thomas Tose, she expected to live in England for the rest of her life, but two events of WW I changed all that.
You can watch the presentations online or attend in person in Ottawa at Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar and Elgin) in Geneva Hall. Use the Garden Entrance on Elgin Street.
Registration
To watch the presentations online, register here. The registration covers all presentations.
YouTube
If you missed Ken McKinlay’s first Back to Basics presentation on England and Wales research, you can watch it on BIFHSGO’s YouTube channel.
