Welcome to the website of the Nanaimo Family History Society. Our society was formed in 1981 and is one of the oldest family history societies in British Columbia.

Our society strives to create a friendly atmosphere where people interested in genealogical research and family history, not only in Nanaimo, but also across Canada and around the world can come together. We promote, foster and encourage members to learn the principles, methods and effective techniques of genealogical research. We also collect, preserve, display and share information that may lead to a greater understanding of genealogy.

Our meetings are held on the third Monday of each month (except July and August) at 7:00 p.m.  If a statutory holiday falls on the third Monday our Events tab will have the updated information in regards to date and if the presentation is zoom only or hybrid.  All our meetings are presented on Zoom and are hybrid (in person) for the months of April, May, June, September and October unless otherwise stated.  Our hybrid meetings are held at the Beban Park Social Centre, Room 8, 2300 Bowen Road, to Nanaimo, BC.  If you are interested in an upcoming zoom presentation please contact us on our Contact page.  Guests can participate in one session for free.  

We hope you enjoy your visit to our site.

Glenn Wright of Toronto, Ontario – Last Sacrifice: Researching Canada’s War Dead 1914-1919 and 1939-1945

Every November 11, we gather at local memorials to remember those who died in service to their country in times of war. Researching Canada’s war dead whether a member of your family or community can be, in itself, an act of commemoration. Basic information about Canadian fatal casualties in both the First and Second World Wars is easily accessible at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial. This website incorporates the database of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and provides the name of the soldier, date of death, age, unit, next of kin and place of burial or commemoration. In addition, the Virtual War Memorial allows one to add information to an individual’s entry, i.e., photographs, newspaper clippings, letters and more. In this sense, it is a living memorial to our war dead.

We are blessed with a number of diverse and informative resources, both online and published. In this presentation, we will explore these resources that allow us to document – and remember — those who died in either World War as fully as possible.

This is Zoom only meeting.