Perspectives On The Front

While this blog is about Life at the Front, with a particular focus on men (and women) killed in the war, I have a personal interest in the 16th Battalion Canadian Scottish. My research, therefore, covers both a broad range of subjects that inspire ideas or evolve a story, as well as very focused research on the Canadian Scottish.

A lot of blogs about the First World War contain a list of websites (and links) that provide the foundation for researching the War. Some of these are well known, such as various national or territorial archives which are typically the first step in researching anything about the War; others are very specific to a certain topic – a particular battalion, as an example, or a certain type of record, like trench newspapers, city directories, land grants etc. . . These are endlessly helpful . . . and there are a lot of them. However, lists like these tend to grow exponentially with the amount of research a person does and can become quickly overwhelming.

Rather than falling into the trap of creating an endless list of links I want to stay true to this blog and tell a story. To me, research is a journey – one that entails discovering small treasures of information with branches along the way. Some may be a distraction – a side road – others may lead to new discoveries and critical to moving a story along. And in my own research travelogue I will capture hints and suggestions to help learn more about Life at the Front.