Clarification of Question by
fairfield-ga
on
08 Jul 2003 09:15 PDT
Thank you for your latest information although we were aware of the
National Archives Ottawa address, we don't have direct access to go to
Ottawa, we would be checking various government files of related
interest, in person, but this option is not open to us, etc. [we would
love to do exchange research here in UK for Canadian research in
Ottawa]. We realize you are in the UK too. We would like you to
continue to search for the two specific items we have asked for -- we
are impressed with your previous answers/comments in this service and
the client's responses. A side note: the bulk of Canada House Law
Library was packed into boxes and went to [year?] Senate House,
University of London, and still is in boxes, still unpacked, and not
indexed [2002] -- and no public access. All personal files would have
made their way to National Archives Canada. Recommend one book worth
reading, Wilson [National Archives] and Stacey [Official gov't
military historian] Half a Million Canadians in Britain, 1939-1945
(University of Toronto Press, 1986), two chapters within are
pertinent. The Imperial War Museum has also been a goldmine of
nuggets.
We are trying to establish the "nationality issues" of various
Canadian military dependent children, born in the UK to Canadian
servicemen during the war: not for the sake of it, but to ascertain
the legal status of military dependents:
(1) born in wedlock, those born out of wedlock [due to being a war
zone, soldiers were shipped to the front, before a wedding could be
arranged, some soldiers not knowing if they would survive the war,
others not knowing at all, all kinds of impediments, like various
military regulations (Canadian troops were under British law during
the war, but the American were not), in addition, military personnel
had to have their commanding officer's permissions to marry, arrange
leave passes, etc.];
(2) we also have children that never emigrated to Canada; others that
did emigrate to Canada via "repatriation" [which is not recognized in
Canadian law apparently];
(3) ... the problem that arises, is the Canadian government itself did
the paperwork, first as the Minstry of Mines and Resources and then
under the Dept of Defence in 1944, paid the passage over; some early
cases came over to Canada on military hospital ships during the war
and the bulk after the end of the war, 1946 ... covering the period,
1942-1946 -- in all, some 44,000 war brides with 22,500 children ...
who ever heard of the 2,500 CORB children (Children Overseas Review
Board) sent very early in the war. 1939 -, to Australia, NZ, SA,
Canada, U.S. and most returned before 1942, everyone heard about them,
but this bigger group, virtually nil all part of the 4,000,000
evacuated during WWII in the UK;
(4) to continue, and then, we have another subset, those who stayed in
Canada for the remainer of their lives, and those who returned to the
UK, ("before" the lst Canadian Citizenship Act and "after" this Act).
We are making some headway, currently trying to contact those with
"born abroad" connections to Canada and there is a class of several
individuals currently before the court, not clear at what stage these
individuals are at, just going to court, had their day in court, still
to being researched.
We have done extensive research and would be able to make more
progress following the answer to our questions. Having limited access
to direct Canadian resources, being in the UK and few brief visits to
Canada, not to Ottawa itself, has not helped. We have used War Bride
websites for some queries but replies are few and far between, if at
all, <http://members3.boardhost.com/warbride/>. Looking for hints of
where next to go, has been a probably with our research too. Have
helped a few on the way ...like " Bowden/Gibert" find his father.
If further questions arise, we would again post answers for "cath-ga"
attention only. (assuming that you are still interested enough in this
topic to continue -- and good luck with your op.) Once again thank you
for your efforts to date.
,
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