Finding an Ancestor in Canadian WW2 Records

Janet asked about a Home Child and WW2 Canadian records

I am trying find out what happened to a family member who came to Canada as a home child. The information I have is:

Name, Walter Micheal Green, born England 1911,
Sent to Canada 1924, at age 13 by the Catholic Church orphanage, Coventry,England, arrived at Quebec and sent to Ontario
Lived at 62 North St, Goderich, Ontario before marriage
Married Mary Alice Thibodeau in 1944, in Chatham, NB, she was born at Palmer Rd, PEI, to Jacques and Ida Marie Thibodeau of Palmer Rd, PEI

I have't found any records of him since 1944 and I also wonder if he joined the Canadian Air Force because his last address was 2 miles from the temporary base near Goderich and he married in 1944 in Chatham near another base . Do you know if I can find persons listed in the second WW. I have searched casualties already, also cemeteries and other death records and looked for birth records for any children they may have had.

Ask Olive Tree Genealogy response: Janet, It's a shame your ancestor didn't arrive in Canada as part of Barnardo's Homes. Their records are available on request. For the Catholic Church Orphanage you might want to try to find out if their records exist and if they are open to descendants. I suggest you try Young Immigrants to Canada and see if you can find the orphanage that sent over your ancestor.

However to find your ancestor during WW2 you can request a search of the Canadian records. Just go to Library & Archives Canada and follow their instructions for ordering a search.

FInding WW2 Records for English Soldier

This question about WW2 English records came from Hannah, age 14

Hello, me name is Hannah and I am 14 years old, I live in the UK. I am looking to find out, if possible, how my relative died or any more information about him, this is his record from the Commonwealth Grave Commissions website. Please please help, any more information would be greatly appriciated. Many thanks, Hannah

1TULLOCK , THOMAS PATTISONPrivate439286111/06/194427Green Howards (Yorkshire Regiment)United KingdomXI. K. 21.BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY

Hello Hannah - It's wonderful that you want to learn more about your relative.

To find out more about his death your best bet would be his service records from WW2. You can do this by going to Veterans UK and downloading the forms you need to fill out.

The following address should be used for family members wishing to access records of deceased soldiers

Army Personnel Centre,
Historical Disclosures,
Mail Point 555,
Kentigern House,
65 Brown Street,
Glasgow,
G2 8EX

I had a look online and found a bit more about Thomas. I hope this helps you in your search.

Source: UK, Army Roll of Honour, 1939-1945
Name:Thomas Tullock
Given Initials:T P
Rank:Private
Death Date:11 Jun 1944
Number:4392861
Birth Place:Middlesborough
Residence:Middlesborough
Branch at Enlistment:Infantry
Theatre of War:Western Europe Campaign, 1944/45
Regiment at Death:Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales' Own Yorkshire Regiment)
Branch at Death:Infantry

and also this:

Initials: T P,
Nationality: United Kingdom,
Rank: Private,
Extra Info: Son Of John E. And Lily Tullock, Of Middlesbrough, Yorkshire.,
Regiment: Green Howards (Yorkshire Regiment), Unit Text: 6th Bn.,
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead,
Grave Reference: XI. K. 21.,
Cemetery: BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY

Also FindAGrave.com has an entry with a photo of the cemetery.

Pvt Thomas Pattison Tullock
Birth: unknown
Death: Jun. 11, 1944

Note: Private, Green Howards (Yorkshire Regiment). Age: 27.

Burial:Bayeux War Cemetery
Bayeux
Basse-Normandie Region, France
Plot: XI. K. 21.

UPDATE: Reuniting a MIA American soldier's dog tags with family

Recently I was asked for help finding an American MIA from WW2 whose dog tags were found in Germany.

Alex in Germany wrote to tell me about his find for the serviceman Thomas J. Lillard of San Antonio Texas. I am thrilled to announce a happy ending to the story of the hunt for Thomas' family.

Please see We did it! Reuniting a MIA American soldier's dog tags with family for full details

Photo of American Lieutenant MIA, Dog Tags Found

I'm adding this rather grainy photo from the San Antonio Light Newspaper dated May 26, 1946. It is the missing American Lieutenant T. J. Lilliard, whose dog tags were found by Alexander in Germany.

See the original query and readers' comments.

WW2 American Soldier's Dog Tags Found

Another Lost & Found WW2 Dog Tag for an American Soldier! Alexander wrote to say

i am from germany and found an american dog tag. The stamps are:

THOMAS J.LILLARD
01319902 T42 43 0
ANNA LILLARD
1710 W.CRAIG PL.
SAN ANTONIO.TEX.C

Can you help me to know more about the person hows wearing this dog tag?

We had great success with our previous Dog Tags belonging to American Soldiers. Can we have a hunt for Thomas Lillard and his family? If you respond in the COMMENT section please don't post any information about living people. You may send that to me privately (olivetreegenealogy@gmail.com)

Lost & Found WW2 Dog Tags Still Not Home

We have one happy family with the return of Randall Packard's lost WW2 dog tags to his daughter in Nebraska.

I wonder if we can make another family happy? Stanley Thompson's dog tags from WW2 have still not made it home.

our wonderful readers found Randall's wife, son, daughter and grandchildren. I know they can do the same for Stanley.

Help Find a WW2 Soldier from Illinois

The Olive Tree Genealogy Blog has another interesting little puzzle. Jill in Australia found another Dog Tag belonging to an American WW2 soldier. Please drop by and read the story. Maybe you can help get the Dog tags back to a descendant.

Is This My Father?

Today's AskOliveTree post is a bit different. It's my own question about a photograph. I hope readers will be kind enough to share their own opinions.

My father died Christmas Day many years ago. I had just turned 14 one month before his death. Over time my memory of his face has faded.

There are very few photographs of my dad. Those few (a handful) that exist are grainy out of focus images. Except for one. I have a studio portrait of my father taken during WW2, long before I was born.

At an auction recently I bid on and won a group photo of soldiers who were in training in Guelph Ontario in 1942. My dad lived in Guelph and was in training there when he joined the Army. This is a cropped portion of that group photo.



As soon as I saw the photo, I thought that the soldier seated to the right of the officer with the swagger stick (front row) could be my dad! It looks so much like him to my eyes. He is the 5th man counting from the right side.

I scanned and enlarged that soldier and have placed it below beside the WW2 studio portrait of my father. What do you think? Is it him?

I did notice differences as soon as I enlarged the photo. But my husband pointed out that the unknown man (left) has the sun in his eyes so he has shadows on his face that distort his features. He is also squinting a bit, further causing distortion. His face is turned slightly further to the side than the one I know is my father.



Please take a look and give your opinion. I want this to be a photo of my father so much that I am not sure I can judge objectively! Perhaps someone knows who the men were in No. 1 Platoon Basic Training in Guelph in July 1942. Even if no one knows for sure, your opinions and thoughts would be appreciated.

Continuing the Quest to Find American WW2 Soldier

Well, through group effort we have found a lot of information on Stanley Thompson, whose WW2 ID (dog) tag, Jill found in Australia. Please join us, I'd really like to find a descendant!

Here is a timeline of what we have found through our group effort so far. I'm not listing who found each item in this blog post, as you can read the comments on the two previous posts. You can also read yesterday's post recapping our findings with the listing of what was found and by whom. The first post showing Stanley's Dog Tag is here

Timeline for Stanley Plummer Thompson

10 May 1896. Stanley Plummer Thompson born Nelsonville Ohio (as per census and WW1 Draft Registration)

1900 Census Nelsonville Village, Athens, Ohio. 4 year old Stanley with his parents Douglas Thompson born Oct. 1874 Ohio and Leota born Feb. 1877 Ohio. Douglas and Leota were married ca 1896

1910 Census Fairfield Ohio. 13 year old Stanley with his parents Douglas and Leota M. as well as brothers Darryl W, 8 years old and Frank W. 6 years old

June 5, 1917 WW 1 Draft Registraion. Stanley Plummer Thompson of Fairfield Ohio. He is a shoe clerk and has a wife (unfortunately her name is not given! If he told the truth then he had a wife before Sydney and before Mable Chambers as per census and marriage records)

1920 Census Fairfield Ohio. Douglas and Leota with sons Darryl and Frank, but Stanley is not with them (WHERE IS STANLEY IN 1920??)

circa 1921. Stanley marries Sydney (surname not known)

circa 1923. daughter Betty born to Stanley and Sydney

1930 census Seattle Washington. Stanley P. Thompson age 34 born Ohio, Window Trimmer (married at age 25, thus circa 1921), wife Syd[ney?] age 27 born Tennessee (her parents also born Tennessee) and daughter Betty E(?) age 7 born Kentucky

1930 census Seattle Washington. Jennie Chambers, 56, widow and her daughter Mabel M. Reynolds age 34 married, born Ohio (she later married Stanley Thompson), grandson Richard Reynolds age 7 born Washington.

1936. Seattle Washington Marriage Certificate for Stanley P. Thompson and Mabel M. Reynolds

1944. Stanley P. Thompson a 1st Lieutenant in 321 Squadron (Bombs Away) Residence 205 W. Lee St. agrees with Dog Tag found by Jill in Australia

May 12, 1946. Seattle Washington Death Certificate for Stanley Thompson age 50 wife Mabel Chambers, parents Douglas Thompson and Leota Sheridan.

May 14, 1946. Obituary for Stanley Thompson. Survivors wife Mabel, daughter Mrs. Jeanne Zetterlund of California, brothers Frank of California, Darrell of Ohio and mother Leota of California.

Please join in and contribute if you think you can find Stanley's children or grandchildren or more details about his life

Finding an American WW2 Soldier - What We've Found So Far

To recap what teamwork has found out about Stanley Thompson (see Help Find a WW2 American Soldier ) there have been many responses!

Many generous and helpful genealogists have been sleuthing and here's what we have all come up with so far:

Death Record for Stanley Thompson found by Larry of Hesch History Blog: Stanley age 50, son of Douglas Thompson & Leota Sheridan, wife Mabel Chambers died Seattle Washington 12 May 1946

Obituary for Stanley found by Barbara Cummings in May 14, 1946 issue of The Seattle Times, p. 26: Stanley, 50 years old living 4138 Midvale Ave. He was born in Ohio and lived in Seattle for 20 years. He was a window display artist and a member of Ballard Lodge # 827 Elks, and Retail Clerks Union #1404. Left a widow Mabel, a daugter Mrs Jeanne Zetterlund, his mother Mrs. Leota Thompson (Jeanne and Leota living Long Beach California) and 2 brothers Frank T Thompson of Long Beach and Darrell T. Thompson of Lancaster Ohio

1900 Census Nelsonville Village, Athens Ohio found by Lorine: Stanley born May 1896 Ohio with his mother Letoa born Feb 1877 Ohio and father Douglas born Oct 1874 Ohio

1910 Census Fairfield Ohio found by Lorine: Douglas and Leota M. married 13 years with 3 children: Stanley P, 13, Darryl W, 8 and Frank W 6

1930 Census Long Beach Los Angeles California found by Lorine: Douglas 54, born Ohio owner of Grocery Store, wife Leota M, 53 and brother Charles H. Thompson 63

Military record found by an anonymous reader:
Thompson, Stanley P.
1st Lt., 321 Squadron (Bombs Away)
Home of record in 1944:
205 W Lee St.
Seattle, Washington

Jack Coffee had previously indicated that the serial number indicated that Stanley was an officer. The military record provides an address of 205 W. Lee St and Jill read the Dog Tag address as “205 W__RE St” So we can see that it can be read as W. LEE

So we have confirmation of several facts – Stanley whose dog tag was found, had the middle initial “P”, he was born in Ohio in 1896 to Douglas and Leota, he married Mabel Chambers and had one daughter Jeanne. Since Jeanne was married by 1946 (per Stanley’s obituary), we might assume she was born at least by 1930. She may or may not show up in the 1930 census, but we should be able to find Stanley and Mabel!

I think we can find more – what happened to Stanley’s daughter Jeanne? Did she have children? Does Stanley have grandchildren who might like to know that Grandpa’s dog tags have been found?

Sam found a marriage certificate for a Stanley P. Thompson and Mabel M. Reynolds in Seattle Washington in April 1936 but no ages or parents’ names are provided. Is this Soldier Stanley’s second wife?

I’d like to find Stanley in 1920 and 1930 census records but so far all I’ve come up with is a Stanley Thompson born Ohio circa 1896 also married to a woman named Mabel. This Stanley had sons Judson born ca 1914, Warren 1916, Howard 1918, Ford 1922 and Dick 1925. This family lived in Pleasant Hill, Miami Ohio in 1920 and 1930 but Stanley the soldier’s 1946 obit states he lived in Seattle Washington for 20 years (since 1926).

It seems our Soldier Stanley and this Stanley are two different individuals and in fact an online family tree shows this individual as Stanley Mike Thompson married to Mable Mae Engle. I just want everyone who is joining in on the search for Soldier Stanley to know that this family exists.

And so the quest continues! Everyone has done an amazing job, without this kind of teamwork we'd be struggling!

Help Find a WW2 American Soldier

Jill wrote to ask my help finding a WW2 American soldier. I am hoping that someone reading this query will be able to offer ideas or find Stanley! There are several men with this soldier's name in the WW2 database on Ancestry.com, and I cannot determine with certainty which might be the right one.

This soldier (Stanley Thompson) lost his Dog Tag in Australia. We know his next of kin was Mabel, but we don't know if she was his wife or mother or.... This will take a team effort I think to find information on him!

Here is Jill's information and a photo of the dog tag (ID tag) she found

I found one dog tag while fossicking around a WW11 site in the Northern Territory Australia. It is obviously in poor condition actually in two pieces.it is for a Stanley Thompson

075022_ 14_ 8
Mabel Thompson
205 W__RE St
Seattle Wash P

I was wondering if there is any way I can find out any information about this soldier?

Finding an ancestor who was MIA

Roberta's Question:

Hi, hoping you can help. My great aunt's husband was in WW2 and was killed. She got a telegram saying he was dead. But I can't find his death and she said no one ever told her where he was buried. Can you help? His name was Jimmy Cunningham

Olive Tree Answer: Hello Roberta. I think your best bet is to check the online World War two MIA (Service Personnel Not Recovered Following World War II) and Service Personnel Buried at Sea During World War II for your great uncle. Be sure to check under the name James, as Jimmy would be your family's nickname for him.

Finding Merchant Marine Records

Ray asked

I am looking for records of my Father, Alexander Arsenault born June 10, 1893 in Margaree, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in Canada. In particular I'm looking for records of his time spent in the Merchant Marines during WWII and his time as a street car condutor in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Olive Tree Answer: Hi Ray, You're in luck, as Merchant Marine records are available. Wartime records for the Merchant Navy, 1939-1947 and 1951-1953, are held by:

Merchant Navy Registry
Veterans Affairs Canada
PO Box 7700
Charlottetown, PEI
C1A 8M9
Tel.: 1-888-289-8512
Fax: 1-902-368-0564

For more details on what is available see the Merchant Marine section of Library & Archives Canada