A few clicks in a national archive can bring a family’s history back into view. We recently learned that Library and Archives Canada has two sites where Canadians can search for information about family members who fell during the First and Second World Wars.
In minutes, a member of our team found an image of a handwritten letter to the Department of National Defense. It was written by a grieving mother who had learned that her son was not coming home. She was asking that her son’s remaining belongings be returned to the family. Anything she could get her hands on.
The letter’s writer was his great-grandmother. The fallen soldier was our team member’s great uncle.
And uncovering the letter brought the past into the present in a way that would otherwise have been lost through generations.
More than a million Canadians served in the Second World War. Veterans Affairs Canada reports that more than 45,000 of them died. It often took time for families to learn what had happened to a son or brother. Without today’s technology, the news came by letter, and many families wrote letters of their own, like this one.
At MVP Wealth, we spend a lot of time talking about legacy: a client’s own lineage and what they want to pass on. Those archived pages are a reminder that some of the most important things we inherit aren’t financial at all. They are the names and stories of those who never rejoined the family.
If your family has a connection to either World War, these records are worth exploring:
My thanks to our client, John Yemen, for directing us to these archives and for the reminder of how many families carried these losses.
On November 11 at 11 a.m., we’ll pause and remember.
Lest we forget.
#RemembranceDay #LestWeForget #Canada #FamilyLegacy
Mike MacMillan MBA, CIM
Portfolio Manager, Q Wealth
Managing Partner at MVP Wealth
