During the 1900s and 1910s large numbers of young men emigrated from the slums of English cities to start new lives in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
When in 1914, War broke out, these men enlisted with their local regiments, and returned to Europe to fight for King and Country.
While 2/3 of the WW1 army service records of English regiments were destroyed in the blitz in WW2. The service records of Australian, Canadian and New Zealand regiments have survived complete and intact, and have now been digitised online, where they are free to view.
The website Canadian Great War Project provides a wealth of sources on all soldiers who served with Canadian regiments. Both those who died, and those who survived.
The National Archives of Australia have released all their regimental records on their website.
The New Zealand National Archives have also produced all regimental records on their website