phoenixfly7 Posted 12 July Share Posted 12 July Hello I am researching my family history and have got a lot of ancestors that died in the First and Second world wars, my question is please does the MOD have WW1 service records of the soldiers or have they transferred them to the TNA? If so do I do a Freedom of information or is it paid researched to get the records? Many Thanks Den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Strawbridge Posted 13 July Share Posted 13 July (edited) I am surprised that no one has yet mentioned it. Many WW1 service records were lost in WW2 when the storage facility in London was hit by an incendiary bomb during the blitz. Whatever records survived, often called the burnt papers, are available through the National Archives. Three main ways of researching your WW1 relatives. The attestation and service papers (if they still exist), medal cards and rolls (limited information here but can reveal their regiment, service number and period of service) and unit war diaries. WW2 paperwork has not been released for general consumption (yet) but I believe that access can be made available to next of kin (but not to any old relative that asks). As a starter go to "The Long, Long Trail" by clicking the topic in the heading and this will gently help you through. I hope that this helps. Edited 13 July by Jim Strawbridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 13 July Admin Share Posted 13 July Surviving records are also on Ancestry and Find My Past, subscription sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 13 July Share Posted 13 July For WW1 service record see https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/how-to-research-a-soldier/how-to-find-a-soldiers-service-record/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffnut453 Posted 13 July Share Posted 13 July (edited) Although Ancestry and FMP are subscription services, you may find your local library has free access (assuming you live in the UK). Do you have any details of your family members (names, birth dates, where they lived, regimental numbers, photos etc)? If so, feel free to post them and the wonderful GWF family may help get you started. Good luck with your research! Edited 13 July by Buffnut453 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolt968 Posted 13 July Share Posted 13 July There are one or two exceptions to the loss of soldiers' service records in World war 2. All the foot guards regiments kept copies of their soldiers' records. The records of the Grenadier, Coldstream, Irish and Welsh Guards have been transferred to the National Archives at Kew and should be available eventually. The Scots Guards records are available through Find My Past. A number of unit attestation registers are available in places. The Scots Guards register is available through Find my Past. RM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 13 July Admin Share Posted 13 July 3 hours ago, Buffnut453 said: Although Ancestry and FMP are subscription services, you may find your local library has free access (assuming you live in the UK). Do you have any details of your family members (names, birth dates, where they lived, regimental numbers, photos etc)? If so, feel free to post them and the wonderful GWF family may help get you started. Good luck with your research! Presumably these men Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixfly7 Posted 13 July Author Share Posted 13 July Thanks everyone for all the information, I will researching them on Ancestry and posting all I know about the soldiers later. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 13 July Share Posted 13 July 14 hours ago, phoenixfly7 said: does the MOD have WW1 service records of the soldiers or have they transferred them to the TNA? It's work in progress, but quite well advanced: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/our-role/plans-policies-performance-and-projects/our-projects/ministry-of-defence-service-records/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 13 July Share Posted 13 July If there is a surviving service record for a WW1 fatality, you will be able to view it online via FindMyPast, Ancestry or similar. I see you have a list of WW1 fatalities on the other thread. The records for the deceased and the demobilised were transferred to the central location at Arnside Street in the interwar years, as I understand it. For those British Army other ranks' soldiers whose service continued past 1920, they were retained by the Ministry of Defence, but are in a state of transition as they are transferred to The National Archives UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixfly7 Posted 14 July Author Share Posted 14 July Thanks to everyone, got lots of info will start researching them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now