First and Second World Wars
Learn about the people and events of the two world wars.
- Last updated: February 13, 2021
LIBRARY DATABASES
Access these resources using your WVML card.
Your first stop for all your genealogy searches. This is a made-for-libraries version of the popular Ancestry.com database.
Access Information: Temporarily available offsite for West Vancouver residents only.
Click here if you are using Ancestry Library Edition at the library: https://www.ancestrylibrary.ca/
Articles, biographies, diaries, speeches and more from World War I, the Great Depression, World War II and the Cold War. A great place to start for social studies and history assignments.
Access Information: Licensed for West Vancouver residents only
Articles, biographies, diaries, speeches and more from the First World War. A great place to start for World War I school assignments.
Access Information: Licensed for West Vancouver residents only
Articles, biographies, diaries, speeches and more from the Second World War. A great place to start for World War II school assignments.
Access Information: Licensed for West Vancouver residents only
ON THE SHELF
Check these out the next time you’re in the Library.
Research packages that contain a brief history on a soldier, questions to guide your reading, and copies of real papers, documents and photos from local soldiers' service records.
Browse these books, ebooks, CDs and DVDs about The Great War. Includes both fiction and nonfiction.
Explore these books, ebooks, CDs and DVDs about World War II. Includes both fiction and nonfiction.
on the web
These recommended websites are free and easily accessible! All you need is an internet connection.
The seven Books of Remembrance commemorate the lives of more than 118,000 Canadians who have died while serving their country in uniform.
An ongoing work-in-progress, this website provides a database of Canadian soldiers who served in World War I, as well as timelines, articles, statistics, war diaries and letters from the front.
Explores aspects of the World War II as they pertain to Canada, including various battles and campaigns and the home front.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission honours the 1,700,000 men and women of the forces of the Commonwealth who died serving in both world wars. This organization cares for cemeteries and memorials at 23,000 locations in 154 countries.
From A&E Television Network’s History Channel, this regularly updated site includes articles as well as numerous images and videos about the causes, events and people of World War II.
Library and Archives Canada has extensive records relating World War I and World War II, many of which are featured in databases, research guides and virtual exhibitions. The records include muster rolls, military service files, unit war diaries, medal registers, photographic collections, documentary art and posters, as well as published sources.
Examine an online archive of the Canadian war experience, from any war, as told through the letters and images of Canadians themselves.
Archive of international primary documents (treaties, diaries, images, etc.) from World War I.