Web portal to military historical documents open to the public
June 11, 2024 - Defence Stories
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Researchers accessing the Directorate of History and Heritage library make use of the card catalogue, seen here, from the Kardex Collection in order to find files relevant to their research. The Kardex Collection holds papers from the former historical sections of the Army and the RCAF, with the bulk of the files dating from 1939 to 1964.
A continually expanding digital archive, DHH Archives DHP - DHH Home Page (inmagic.com), provides Canadian military historical documents to support research.
Maintained by the Directorate of History and Heritage (DHH), the portal allows researchers to view what the archives hold and request archival files not yet digitized.
Currently, the number of digital archival files is limited. In future, more records will be available via the portal, for download, partially reducing Access to Information (ATI) requests and enquiries.
Significant historical information is available from post-Second World War, the Korean War, the Cold War, peacekeeping missions, as well as other operations, exercises, and the development of the Canadian Forces (CF), including records regarding the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force and unified CAF.
The DHH library has about 15,000 books and roughly 450 hardcopy periodicals. General and campaign histories, some technical works, official histories of allied and enemy forces, as well as many Canadian and British regimental histories are also in the collection. The library collection may be accessed in-person at the Reading Room.
The mandate of DHH is to preserve and communicate Canada's military history. DHH 2, the History and Archives section, gathers, preserves and maintains intellectual control over the historical record to support the research and writing of official histories. DHH 2 is responsible for fulfilling its primary role of researching and writing official histories of the Department of National Defence and the CAF, including the maintenance of the archives and library collections.
You can access the archival files not yet digitized and the library collection at our Reading Room. It is located at 2429 Holly Lane, and it is open by appointment only on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Please contact AHR-RHA@forces.gc.ca to book an appointment.
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