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Subseries consists of records pertaining to the Soldiers’ Benefit Fund Committee, which was created by Hamilton City Council during the First World War to administer the fund and provide assistance to the dependents of soldiers killed overseas. The committee consisted of the mayor and the treasurer along with five citizens of Hamilton, who met monthly at City Hall to review the applications made by or on behalf of dependents. Claimants would apply to the fund and their applications would be thoroughly investigated by an officer of the committee, and then reviewed further at the meetings by all the members, to determine whether the application would be approved or denied. The subseries consists of the meeting minute book for the committee, which records the bylaws, polices, reports, examinations of individual claims, as well as the decisions to approve or deny the claims. The examinations determined whether or not the individual had other forms of insurance, was truly dependent on the soldier who had died, and if approved, what amount the person would be entitled to receive. Most of the claimants were granted payments, which were payable on the third day of each month in the amount of either $15.00 in the case of unmarried soldiers, or $20.00 if the soldier was married. Some individuals received other sums depending on the results of the review of their circumstances and the money available. The records indicate that some individual claims were denied if the person was unable to prove true dependency, or relation to the soldier. The subseries also includes a few accounts payable volumes that alphabetically record the names of the dependents of soldiers (most of whom are female), and in the case of the large ledger, the page number that corresponds to the specific account page that lists the details of payments. There are also a few other insurance account books.

Series consists of a casualty list alphabetically recording the name of the soldier along with his rank, service number, the place where he lived, and notes or remarks concerning his status. Entries include but are not limited to, killed in action, missing overseas, died of wounds after a specific air or ground operation, presumed dead, severely wounded, killed at Dieppe, wounded in France, etc., as well as the date. This material is restricted and unavailable to the public until the year 2045, one hundred years after the end of the Second World War, due to privacy issues.

Series consists of city records pertaining to the First World War, which were kept and maintained by city staff. The records include Victory Bond purchases made by various city departments and employees that participated in the campaign, including but not limited to, City Hall, Board of Health, Cemetery, Jail, Parks, Library, Fire Department, Police Department, Hydro, Hospital, and Public Works. Most of the entries record the names of the departments, but some entries record the names of individual employee contributions along with the name of the department they represent. The bonds were mostly purchased weekly and monthly and the amounts ranged from $2.00 to $500.00, with the higher amounts coming from the “General Salaries” account. The series also contains an index to casualty books, which alphabetically lists the names of the soldiers killed along with the page number that corresponds to one of 3 volumes that contain more detailed information. The series contains volumes 2 and 3, but volume 1 was not included with the material donation. The casualty books contain newspaper clippings glued to the pages, which pertain to individual Hamilton and area soldiers killed in action, died of war wounds shortly after, or who died of diseases like influenza and pneumonia while on active duty. The articles are short write-ups about the individual soldiers, and contain information such as rank, battalion, manner of death, previous battles or military operations participated in, prior injuries sustained, former workplace, place of residence, the family they left behind, and if they were originally from another country. The series also consists of a few Honour Rolls of the men who died in service, some of which include the soldier’s name, service number, rank, address and place of residence, as well as records pertaining to the Soldiers’ Benefit Fund Committee.

The material consists of 13 volumes of records created by the City of Hamilton pertaining to the First and Second World Wars including Victory Bond purchases, casualty lists, Honour Rolls, as well as Soldiers’ Benefit Fund documents such as meeting minutes and insurance benefits payments. The volumes pertain predominantly to the First World War with the exception of a casualty list for World War Two, which is restricted material.