WWII: what is a genealogy pack?

In Canada, most Second World War military files are only available on request. In this blog, I’ll explore the difference between ordering a complete file and a genealogy pack by looking at two requests for the same records for the same person.

If you’re new to Canadian military files, see my posts Exploring First World War Files online at LAC: A Top 10 List and Requesting Second World War Files from LAC in Oct 2021: what you need to know now.

Background

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is the repository for Canada’s Second World War files. Only those who died during the war have their files online, and I’ve been requesting these files for almost a decade. If you’ve ever made a military file request, you may remember there is an option to get a “genealogy pack.” (Note that many researchers refer to this as a “genealogy package.”)

What is a genealogy pack?

Is it very different from a complete file?

What is the difference between the two types of files?

A military file is a record of an individual’s military service, and is unique to that person. In Canada, access to Second World War files for war survivors¹ is restricted and may only be acquired by filing a request through the Access to Information and Privacy Act, otherwise known as an ATIP request.² ATIP defines a Genealogy Pack and a Complete File as follows,³

• genealogy pack (copies of selected documents that highlight or summarize the individual’s service; available only for records after 1919)

• complete file (file may contain multiple copies of administrative documents, medical and dental records and performance evaluation reports)

In this case, I’m examining the Second World War military service file of my uncle, Pte. Dake Wing Yip, who served with Force 136 in India, 1944-1945. I filed for the Genealogy Pack in 2018 (received 2022), and for the Complete File in 2025.⁴ In the next section I’ll compare the results.

Table of Records Comparison

The first key difference between the Genealogy Pack and the Complete File was the size: 22 records versus 82 records. The second noticeable difference was that the 2025 file had been scanned using a high-resolution scanner, while the 2022 file appeared to have been photocopied, then PDF’d, with a visible drop in clarity and legibility.

In the below table, see which records were included in both files, and which were only in the Complete File.

Contents	Genealogy Pack	Complete File
Enrollment and Attestation Paper – 1944	yes	yes
Record of Service -1944	yes	yes
Personnel Selection Record – 1944 (3 pages)	yes	yes
Particulars of Family of an officer or other rank of the Canadian Army – 1944 (2 pages)	yes	yes
Record of Promotions, Reductions, Transfers, Casualties, Reports, etc.- 1944-45 (2 pgs)	yes	yes
Service and Casualty Form Pt. 1, MFM 4 (Part 1) – 25 Feb 1945 to 2 Nov 1945 (2 pgs)	yes	yes
Discharge Certificate – 1946	yes (but only front page)	yes
Medical Board Proceedings – 1946 (4 pgs)	yes	yes
Confidential (Special / Employment Training) – May 1946 – 2 pgs	yes	yes
Awards – 1949	yes	yes
RECORDS ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE FULL FILE
Covers, Jacket cover, file covers, index cards	no	yes
Canadian Artillery Individual Training Record (Mobile and Survey) – 8 Nov 1944 – 2 pgs	no	yes
Certificate of Medical Examination – 1944 (2 pages)	no	yes
Backs of forms, blank forms	no	yes
Authorization of Training Allowances – 1 Oct 1946 (4 pages)	no	yes
Clinical Report and Account – May 1946 (2 pgs)	no	yes
Oral Examination and Dental Record Chart – May 1946 (8 images total)	no	yes
Canadian Dental Corps – May 1946 – 6 pages	no	yes
WSR File compiled 1954 – 25 pages	no	yes
Contents	Genealogy Pack	Complete File

Key docs missing from a Genealogy Pack

Since this is an exploration of what’s provided in a Complete File, I’ll describe the records that would not be included in a Genealogy Pack, which seem to fall under the categories of dental, medical, and post-war records.

WSR [Wartime Service Record?] File (1954)

The Complete File held a copy of Dick’s WSR [Wartime Service Record?] (25 pages). The WSR appears to have been compiled post-war, from about 1945-1954. It contained dental and medical records; the forms Application for War Service Gratuity (wages), Confirmation of War Service, and Computation of War Service Gratuity. A few summary records showed Pte. Yip was “Attach. FAP [attached for all purposes] to British Army.” Altogether, these 25 pages provided details on what happened to Yip after the war. In my opinion, they are worth having.

Authorization of Training Allowances, Department of Veterans Affairs (4 pages)

The four page Authorization of Training Allowances gave me insights into Yip’s life immediately after the Second World War. I was interested to see his youthful aspirations, and the education he was entitled to receive as a result of his wartime service. He was approved for two tiers of schooling, including university, but ultimately chose a different path to success.

Discharge Certificate (verso)

The Discharge Certificate was a core document for all Second World War personnel. It was considered so important that lost certificates could be returned to the Department of National Defence without postage. The certificate contained a soldier’s full name, military service number, dates and places of service and discharge, awards, and a physical description. Only a Complete File contained copies of the Discharge Certificate’s front and verso. The verso of a Discharge Certificate said that discharged soldiers had to carry the certificate if wearing a uniform, and set a limit on the number of days after discharge that a uniform could be legally worn (thirty days). For me, this answered a lingering question I had: Could soldiers wear their uniforms after the war? The answer is yes, but for a short time only.

Concluding Thoughts

Should you order the Genealogy Pack or the Complete File? My rule is: If there is an option, always ask for everything. A professional can tell you what should be on a form, but none can say what might also be included. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found the most important clue where I wasn’t looking for it. It could be a handwritten note on the edge of a form, an update for a will’s next of kin, or a cross-out on a ledger. If you’ve got all the documents, you can decide for yourself their importance.

An interesting side note to this file is that since Yip was seconded to the British Army, most of his military files were not held at Library and Archives Canada. Almost none of his Special Operations Executive Force 136 military service was in his file, but rather at The National Archives at Kew, London. I now have most of them, from Canada and England, but that’s a story for a future blog.

Thank yous

Thank you to the men and women who served Canada then and now.

References

1. Not every Second World War military file is available at LAC. See my post, “Requesting Second World War Files from LAC in Oct 2021: what you need to know now,” 4 Nov 2021, section “Not every soldier’s file is at LAC,” Past-Presence.com: accessed 6 Apr 2025. ↩︎
2. Government of Canada, “Make an ATIP request,” last updated 8 Oct 2024, website, Government of Canada: accessed 6 Apr 2025. ↩︎
3. Government of Canada, “Find the right ATIP request form,” last updated 3 Mar 2025, website, Government of Canada: accessed 6 Apr 2025. ↩︎
4. There used to be two types of requests available: the informal and the formal. An informal request was a set of forms that you either filled in online or printed and mailed. This was the common way to file before 2019. LAC does not appear to accept informal requests today. A formal request is by filing for information under the Access to Information and Privacy Act, or ATIP, and costs $5. Anecdotal evidence suggests people who filed informal requests circa 2019-2021 (the covid years) are still waiting for their files. ↩︎