Document Record

Creator

Canada. Dept. of National Defence.

Title

Third Army Central Registry

Identifier

lac_mikan_135831
155553
RG 24 C 1 c
R112-554-1-E
R112-554-1-F
Papers
Military
oocihm.lac_mikan_135831

Document source

Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada

Description

In January 1923, the Department of Militia and Defence, which had been responsible for the Canadian military between 1906 and 1921, became the Department of National Defence (DND) as a result of the prior amalgamation of Naval Services, Militia and Defence, as well as the merger of the Air Board into the department. By bringing the organizations under the control of a single minister, the government recognized the need to maintain a multi-service force, but hoped to realize certain administrative economies, and a degree of unification in the administration and direction of the forces. The Second World War saw a major expansion and restructuring of the department. Although individual service departments were not created in law, a minister of national defence for air was appointed in May 1940 and a minister of national defence for naval services was created in July of that year to lessen the burden on the Minister responsible for defence. In practice, this meant that there were three separate ministries. After the war, in 1946, the department’s organization reverted to prewar form. In February 1968, the three services (army, air and navy) were unified into the Canadian Armed Forces. In October 1972, the civilian and military branches in Ottawa were merged into the single National Defence Headquarters. Including military and civilian personnel, DND has been the largest government department since 1945, while its operating budget has consistently been among the three highest.
The Canadian Army is the army of Canada and the term “Canadian Army"only came into official use beginning in 1940. From before Confederation until the Second World War the official designation was "Canadian Militia". During the Second World War, the army was supplemented by the non-permanent militia.
This collection consists of records relating to all matters of Canadian Army and defence activities from the Second World War until the mid-1960s.

URL

https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_mikan_135831