Help understanding Canadian WW2 service records

Hello. I'm new here so I hope this post is OK. I've recently received my grandfather's WW2 service records and, despite hours of Googling, am having a hard time figuring out what a lot of the abbreviations and numbers mean. I've found a few in some documents containing abbreviation meanings but feel at a loss for the rest. Could anyone help me decipher what these mean or even just point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance!

 

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

I asked the forum moderators to slightly amend your topic title to hopefully attract Canadian members.

I’m sure you’ll get a response from the likes of Temujin & dryan67 and other members with an interest in Canadian Army at the end of the working day over there.

It might help them to help you if you can clarify if it’s specific entries you require help with or if it’s the whole of the posted documents?

From my reading it appears he was a late war enlistment in Canada who came to UK in the last days of the war in Europe and only reached the Canadian Army in Europe after the German surrender and therefore didn’t earn any active service campaign medals such as 1939/45 Star.

Steve

 

Thank you Steve. I will ammend my post with the few things I have figured out. Yes, that's correct about my grandfather's service in the war. Still I am a proud granddaughter who is curious about my grandfather's time in Europe. He often spoke of his time in Holland and his Sargeant phoned him every year on his birthday until he passed away. Thanks so much for your help!

 

Sorry, I'm not sure if this where I put the information but the things I have figured out(I think) are :
He did training in Lake Utopia, NB
TOS- taken on strength
SOS struck off strength
A coy is a military company?
I have read about what x4 means
I know he was in the Carleton York regiment and it appears also the A&S HIGHRS
I see the date where he received his CVSM medal
He had days of leave

I know there is a lot in the attachments and some of it is hard to read. I wasn't aware that fire fighting was part of training. I guess just mostly I'm wondering if any of the information shows where he was in Europe and if there's a way to know what units he served in during that time or what his service entailed. Thanks very much.

 

Hi,

You’re welcome.

Even though your grandfather served in Europe after wars end there was still some risk of injury or death in accidents etc.

BTW I have a slight interest (but limited knowledge) in Canadian forces in WW1 & WW2 as I had an English born great uncle by marriage who was a pre WW1 Canadian immigrant working in the BC Coal mines in the Crows Nest Pass on the border of Alberta/BC.

He was conscripted April 1918 and was sent to UK April 1918. He reached the CEF in France 9th November 1918 - 2 days before the armistice. He served in France & Belgium until May 1919 when he returned to UK and on to Canada for demobilisation at Vancouver late June 1919.

His son served RCAF in Canada 1941/43 and latterly in England, France, Belgium, Holland & Germany as a fighter pilot attached 263 Squadron RAF 1944/45.

Steve

 

I don't take the firefighting as training, that looks like what are now called 'domestic operations', Army personnel called out to help with a fire. R&D is probably Rations and Duty, that Govt Department was responsible for feeding him and assigning work. Later RAF Depot attachment for R&Q, Rations and Quarters

#70 CABTC - #70 Cdn Army Basic Training Centre Frederiction

From above, guess FMH is Frederiction Military Hospital

A-30 CITC - A-30 Canadian Infantry Training Centre (Camp Utopia) - advanced training

3 CITR and 5 CITR - Cdn Infantry Training Regt for reinforcements

2 Battalion Inf General Unallotted and 13 Cdn Base Reinforcement Battalion - Forward reinforcement units

CYR - 1st Cdn Infantry Division
A&SH of C - 4 Cdn Armoured Div
10 Independent Machine Gun Company (New Brunswick Rangers) - 4 Cdn Amd Div
3rd Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (MG) - 3rd Cdn Inf Div

1st Div and 4th Div were not involved in the Occupation Army after VE Day so were making long preparations to return home

Camerons of Ottawa were part of 3 Cdn Inf Div which did provide the troops for occupation duty. Their 3rd Bn was created for this purpose

7 Cdn General Hospital

Looks like he was to be posted to the x4 list of the Cdn Army Occupation Force but this was cancelled due to his hospitalization. He was on occupation duty from Nov 45

Might be missing a final page detailing his return home, occupation troops were wound down in early 46

Locations for those units would probably require digging into war diaries for individual units

 

Thanks so much for the information, it is very helpful! I was reading about war diaries but I’m not sure where to even start. This is great though and much appreciated!

 

Googling "argyll sutherland highlanders canada regiment war diary"

returns this link from Library and Archives Canada, the primary repository
Collection search - The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)

here for 3 CHO
Collection search - 3rd Battalion, Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Machine Gun) (Canadian Army Occupation Force)

and both appear to cover at least part of your date range. Date coverage can be spotty.

Note the Location in the first column of the daily summary.

Nothing apparently digitized at LAC for CYR or 10 Ind MG Coy but you may look more deeply than I did for other sources.

I doubt you'll find much for any others

 

Ashort appraisal of 3rd Camerons of Ottawa.

 

That's wonderful, thank you!! I am looking forward to seeing what information exits.

 

Thanks so much!

 

T always find this site useful for abbreviations, even though it is British, I understand it also applied to Canadian forces. See: WW2 Abbreviations and Acronyms | Researching the Lives and Records of WW2 Soldiers Note entries cannot be copied.

If you search online with his unit(s) if known or later, so for example: "XXth Anti-Tank Regiment" site:ww2talk.com that may identify threads mentioning them, at a glance without adding much. If you drop the 'th' more may be found. Locations too can be searched.