AGWR Posted 17 July , 2004 Share Posted 17 July , 2004 Having spent yet another gruelling Saturday in the PRO, bemoaning the fact that no one saw fit to move the other ranks' records outside London during the Second World War, I was wondering what everyone else's hit rates were, when researching men from the same regiment. Presumably, some regiments fared better than others? If so, which ones? Also, which regiments seem to have come off particularly badly? Regards AGWR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Hesketh Posted 18 July , 2004 Share Posted 18 July , 2004 Can't answer the regimental question, but I've looked up a couple of hundred men and my hit rate is c. 10%. The accepted wisdom is that I should be hitting c.40%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGWR Posted 18 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 18 July , 2004 That pretty much tallies with my own experience, although I do know of one chap, who found 19 out of 20 Sherwood Foresters! Surely, it wouldn't have cost that much more to have created a basic index (name, number and regiment) when putting the surviving records on microfilm? Regards Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRIAN TALMER Posted 18 July , 2004 Share Posted 18 July , 2004 I'm researching the Oxford & Bucks and of approx 40 names I have searched for I have drawn a big zero for soldiers who died. I have found a few records to survivors but remain convinced the bomb landed on the OBLI filing cabinet. 40% seems unattainable for me. However another forum member searched for five names in one day and found four! Andy are you volunteering to dedicate the rest of your life to creating and alphabetical index of surviving records? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGWR Posted 18 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 18 July , 2004 are you volunteering to dedicate the rest of your life to creating and alphabetical index of surviving records? Brian, I am more than happy to do this (provided I win the lottery first!). And there was me thinking that the bomb must have landed on the Middlesex filing cabinet... Regards AGWR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Thompson Posted 18 July , 2004 Share Posted 18 July , 2004 Also, which regiments seem to have come off particularly badly? Having looked up circa 300+ Hampshire Regiment fatalities (primarily those listed on local war memorials) my hit rate is extremely low (less than 5%). Of those that I have found, the majority were posted to other units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmsk212 Posted 18 July , 2004 Share Posted 18 July , 2004 With Machine Gun Corps I am getting about 15% success rate, which considering the disasters that have befallen their records is not too bad. It seems to go in spates, for several weeks I don't find any and then the next time I find 2 or 3. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 18 July , 2004 Share Posted 18 July , 2004 I have totted up my researches for the last 4 months, out of 132 look-ups I have found 24 service records, so just less than 20% hit rate. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted 18 July , 2004 Share Posted 18 July , 2004 There were 4 guys from my village who served in the REKMR. I found all their service records. I wondered whether there was a high percentage of their unit's survival or maybe I trod in something outside the PRO. Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock Bruce Posted 18 July , 2004 Share Posted 18 July , 2004 WO363 is really bad for 5th Seaforth and not that good for Seaforths in general. I get well under 10% and those are usually guys who ended up in something else. See this link for some thoughts on hit rates http://www.btinternet.com/~prosearch/tomspage55.html Jock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Miller Posted 19 July , 2004 Share Posted 19 July , 2004 I scored one hit for the Devonshire Regiment out of about 150 attempts, and have never found any DCornwallLI, or SomersetLI out of much less attempts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 20 July , 2004 Share Posted 20 July , 2004 I scored one hit for the Devonshire Regiment out of about 150 attempts, and have never found any DCornwallLI, or SomersetLI out of much less attempts. Interesting your comment about the Devons - I have hit 5 men who served with the Devonshire ILCs. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 20 July , 2004 Share Posted 20 July , 2004 Having sent my eyes goggly by scanning past hundreds of sets of papers, it seems to me that there is an over-representation of Labour Corps and Army Service Corps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGWR Posted 20 July , 2004 Author Share Posted 20 July , 2004 Thanks for all the posts and thanks for the link (Jock). From forum members' observations, it would appear that a soldier's regiment/ battalion does indeed have a bearing on the likelihood of unearthing his record today. It's also interesting that no one seems to get anywhere near the 'mythical' figure of 40%. Does anyone know how the records were originally filed? Was it by regiment, then service number? Regards AGWR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Miller Posted 20 July , 2004 Share Posted 20 July , 2004 I scored one hit for the Devonshire Regiment out of about 150 attempts, and have never found any DCornwallLI, or SomersetLI out of much less attempts. Interesting your comment about the Devons - I have hit 5 men who served with the Devonshire ILCs. Ian Ian Please could you explain what ILCs are? Thanks Jon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 21 July , 2004 Share Posted 21 July , 2004 ILCs = Infantry Labour Companies. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Johnson Posted 21 July , 2004 Share Posted 21 July , 2004 In my, somewhat limited, experience I have found very few service records for those I have researched. However, I was extremely fortunate to find the Service Records for BOTH of my grandfathers, which, apparently, is verging on a miracle! Paul J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 21 July , 2004 Share Posted 21 July , 2004 In my, somewhat limited, experience I have found very few service records for those I have researched. However, I was extremely fortunate to find the Service Records for BOTH of my grandfathers, which, apparently, is verging on a miracle! Paul J You '%&**$£""&' Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Miller Posted 21 July , 2004 Share Posted 21 July , 2004 Thanks Ian To be honest, I can't remember if I found anything in DevonsILC, know I found Labour Corps for somebody. However, all the desired battalions, 1st, 2nd, 6th, 8th and 9th were all missing bar one record. Jon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted 22 July , 2004 Share Posted 22 July , 2004 I think the hit rate very much depends on the reason you're looking. I have found much higher hit rates for war memorials and family historians than I have for medals that I own. This is because I've probably been sold the medals because there is no service record. Dealers can get a higher price if the medals are sold with service records and collectors probably hold on to their items which have more information available Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy Posted 22 July , 2004 Share Posted 22 July , 2004 Probably because they are the most which I have tried to obtain, but men of the Buffs East Kent Regiment papers have been fairly numerous, in stark contrast to those of the Rifle Brigade ie Nil. Along with other forum members I had hoped to be able to find far more than the number that I have done so far, reading various articles over the last few years it would seem that nobody knows the true extent of the percentage of records that have survived, which range from 30% to 55%, my own success rate is only about 17%, having read the posts on this thread I am left feeling jaded, "both grandfathers" what a result! David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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