Do you have any relatives who may have served overseas?  We were recently contacted about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial website, which contains entries for men born and raised in Orkney but who emigrated and joined the Canadian forces.

For example, a search on the name Drever found five entries.  We clicked on Thomas Inkster Drever’s records, which told us that he was the son of William Drever of Backaskaill, Sanday and Elizabeth Millar Drever.  He was born on 1^st July 1893, and died aged only 24.  He is buried in France, at Pas de Calais.  The records also have a copy of his attestation papers, which tell us he hailed from Westray.

This site contains thousands of records on the men and women who fought for Canada, and many Orkney names crop up.  Some have photographs of the men or women themselves, as well as pictures of their paperwork (very handy, as they often say their place of birth), photographs of their gravestones or of their homes or families.

The site is particularly keen for interaction from the public, so if you have a piece of information on anyone listed they’d love to hear from you (as would we).