Prisoners of War, 1914–1919, 1939–1945

CEF service records make little reference to an individual’s status as a prisoner of war. Upon returning to England, however, all prisoners of war were interviewed by officials of the Canadian War Records Office for intelligence gathering, and to assess the conditions under which internees had lived and worked. POWs released at the conclusion of hostilities were interviewed at a special reception centre established by the British government at Ripon, England, where they were given a medical exam, new kit and clothing, their pay, and up to three months’ leave in the United Kingdom. They were also identified for priority return to Canada.

In 1918, the British government established a Committee on the Treatment by the Enemy of British Prisoners of War. More than 3,000 British and Commonwealth POWs were interviewed about their experiences in captivity. Some files include individual reports and forms such as “Statement of Extraordinary Experiences in German Internment Camps,” as well as handwritten reports, correspondence, and, occasionally, a small postcard- sized document recording the name and rank of the POW, his place and date of capture, the names of any hospitals and camps in which he was confined, and the duration of his stay at each location.

The Committee’s records — held at the National Archives of England and Wales and described as the War Office: Miscellaneous Unregistered Papers, First World War (War Office 161) — include interview transcripts and references to more than 300 Canadian POWs. The database is searchable online by name, and files can be downloaded free of charge to registered users. POWs are identified by their full name, regimental number, date and place of enlistment, residence of next-of-kin, and the camp or camps where they were held captive. A selection of these records is available at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) (RD 9-D-1, volumes 4731, 4737 – 4740, and RG 24, volume 23189).

Several lists of the names of POWs, compiled at various times during the War, are available at LAC, and generally include name, rank, regimental number, unit, country of birth, where incarcerated, who escaped, who was repatriated, and who died in Germany and in occupied France. A third file in the same volume is a list of the missing, 76 pages in length, documenting men who were thought to be POWs — although some had probably been killed in action (reference: LAC, Record Group 24, volume 23189, file “CEF POWs to July 31, 1918” and “CEF POWs”).

To find basic information on Canadian POWs, the place to start is Edward H. Wigney, Guests of the Kaiser: Prisoners of War of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1915–1918 (CEF Books, 2008). The book contains an alphabetical list of all POWs, including full name, service number, rank, unit, date when taken prisoner, date of release, where discharged and, in some cases, date of death, even if death occurred decades after the War. Wigney also includes a list of all memoirs published by Canadian POWs, as well as short biographies of the 100 men who escaped during the War. Note that Canadians who served with the British flying services and subsequently became POWs are not included. Guests of the Kaiser is available for consultation in the Canadian War Museum’s Military History Research Centre and may also be available at other libraries.

As early as August 1914, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had established an International Prisoner of War Agency in Geneva, Switzerland, to collect and disseminate information on prisoners of war from both sides of the conflict. Its records — Prisoners of the First World War, the ICRC Archives — are searchable by surname and are available online. The site includes a list of camps in Germany and in occupied France, ICRC reports on camp conditions, some requests from families for information on a POW, and additional reference material.

Although the ICRC also has records relating to Second World War POWs, these records are not available to the public.

Two major collections of information held by The National Archives of England and Wales contain information relating to Canadian POWs. These have been digitized and are available on ancestry.ca, as noted below.

Directorate of Military Intelligence: Liberated Prisoner of War Interrogation Questionnaires, 1945–1946 (WO 344) listed online by ancestry.ca as the UK and Allied Countries, World War II Liberated Prisoner of War Questionnaires, 1945–1949. The Questionnaires contain considerable personal information for a POW, including name, rank, service number and unit (regiment, squadron, ship, etc.), date of birth, place and date of enlistment, profession, home address, capture date, and where held. This database includes information on Canadian POWs.

The following databases are also available on ancestry.ca:

1. UK, British Prisoners of War, 1939–1945

Based on information originally produced by the Naval and Military Press, this database is an index only and does not include any original documentation. More than 2,000 Royal Canadian Air Force POWs are identified by name, rank, service number, POW number, camp, and location.

2. UK, World War II Allied Prisoners of War, 1939–1945

This draws upon information from several classes of records at The National Archives of England and Wales, including: AIR 40: Rolls of POWs 1939–1945; WO 392: POW lists 1943–1945; WO 361: Casualties and Missing Personnel 1939–1945; and WO 345: Japanese Index Cards of Allied POWs 1942–1947.

Sources vary, and results may be a list of names with some identifying information, or actual records as in the case of the Japanese index cards.

Researchers should consult the website of The National Archives of England and Wales for the detailed guide: British and Commonwealth Prisoners of the Second World War and the Korean War.

For POWs captured at Hong Kong and held by the Japanese, the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association (hkvca.ca) includes detailed reports on each and every member of what was known as “C” Force — including photographs, personal information, and camps where individuals were held and when. The website features diaries, letters, newspaper clippings, and additional reference material on all members of “C” Force, not only those who were POWs.

The service files of Canadians held as POWs may also be helpful. These records are held by LAC, and requests should be made using the Access to Information and Privacy Act, as outlined on the LAC website: Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP). To research those who died in captivity, or who perished prior to the end of 1947, please see the Canadian War Museum research guide: Canada’s War Dead and Missing at warmuseum.ca/mhrc.

The archival resources stored at LAC are invaluable for research on any aspect of the First and Second World Wars. Researchers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the LAC website, Collection Search, and its guides to research both world wars: “Personnel Records of the First World War” and “Second World War.”

Of special interest for Canadian prisoners of war are the war claims records of the Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property (reference: R1213-0-9, RG 117). Many of the files were created in the 1950s when Canadian POWs could claim compensation for maltreatment. These records contain information about circumstances of capture and imprisonment, and can be searched by name in Collection Search. They include applications from members of the Canadian military held prisoner by Germany or Italy, but not by Japan, as well as claims from other Canadians detained by enemy countries, including Japan, and for wartime losses due to enemy action.

The records are open but must be consulted on site.