up, Soldiers Died is available online on several genealogical websites so ... the doctor who examined him and noted ...
As its centenary approaches, Phil Tomaselli looks at the best way to uncover the stories of your British Army forebears who served their country during the Great War
Find your
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First World War ancestors Who Do You Think You Are?
WW1 ANCESTORS
M
ore than 8.6 million men and over 57,000 women served in the British Army during the First World War – it was by far the biggest of the armed services. However, tracing what a soldier ancestor did can be more complicated than for members of the Royal Navy or the flying services as so many soldiers’ records were destroyed during the Blitz. It’s generally reckoned that only 40 per cent of the service records survived. This means that, unless you’re lucky, there’ll have to be a bit of sleuthing done to locate useful information.
What you will need It helps to have as much information as you can gather on the individual before you begin your research. A full name and date of birth are usually essential; where born and where living around the start of the First World War can be very useful, too – try checking the online 1911 census. Findmypast.co.uk has details of soldiers serving abroad so you can check if he was already a serving soldier, or possibly a reservist, in 1914. If you own any of your ancestor’s medals, then you should be able to see his regiment and service number
around the rim; letters or paperwork may also mention the regiment or service number and these are vital in identifying your man on surviving records. Cap badges seen in any photographs that you might have can identify the regiment they served in and rank badges such as sergeants’ stripes can also narrow down the search. Ask other relatives if they have any information – it’s amazing sometimes what they have tucked away. Family stories might mention where he served, that he was wounded, won a bravery medal or some other clue that will help you identify his records. It’s sad to say, but you’re more likely to find information on a soldier if something nasty happened to them. If a man kept his head down, his nose clean and survived without a scratch, then you’re less likely to find material.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) If a soldier was killed, he’s likely to be recorded on the CWGC website at www.cwgc.org. Though diligent researchers have identified a few thousand men who were killed but not recorded, the vast majority of men who died are here. There’s a simple name search facility
(on surname and initials) but for common surnames the Advanced Search allows you to search on first name and surname and to narrow the search by regiment, rank, and service number. You can even put part of their home address in the Additional Information box (the town will usually do) as many men have a small amount of information added by their next of kin. Once you’ve found your casualty, the CGWC will not only tell you where he’s buried, or commemorated if he has no known grave, but date of death, rank, regimental number, age and unit serving with when killed (so you can find their war diary). Information added by the next of kin, may include mother, father or spouse and address, to confirm it’s who you’re looking for. When researching my old school’s war memorial, I was pleased, on one man, to find the additional information “A Queen Elizabeth Hospital Old Boy”.
Soldiers Died Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-19 was a series of small books published in 1921 from casualty rolls produced by the War Office. The rolls were issued by regiment or corps giving basic details of every soldier who died Who Do You Think You Are?
in service, including their first name and surname, place and date of birth, regimental number, rank, whether they were killed in action, died of wounds or just died and when and where they did so. Though you used to have to know a man’s regiment to look him up, Soldiers Died is available online on several genealogical websites so you can search using name only. As it was one of the first sets of First World War records to be digitised, some local and family history groups may still have it on CD-Rom.
Service records If you know he survived, start by trying to find your ancestor’s service record, even though the
chances of succeeding from records held are against you. If you by the Ministry of can find it, it will save Pensions. They can be a lot of further work. searched separately. In the past they Soldiers records were only available originally comprised online via Ancestry. the man’s enlistment co.uk but are now also document which was A chaplain writes letters home for wounded viewable on findmy then used as the outer British First WW1 troops in Cambrai, France past.co.uk, who have file cover for other recently re-indexed the records and highlighed documents. The initial enlistment form included previously hidden documents. There are two basic details of the recruit and where and when sets of surviving records – the “Burnt Records”, he enlisted, with a physical description by those which made it through the Blitz which the doctor who examined him and noted can be in a poor state and only partly survive distinguishing marks and appearance. and the Pension Records which were created The enrolment forms may vary slightly but
MEDAL INDEX CARD There are four types of Medal Index Card though they are basically the same – this one could be taken as a fairly typical example
Soldier’s name Unusual in this case it is just an initial. Fortunately, the surname is uncommon.
The Regiment(s) served in
Rank
There could be more than one. The one at the top is the first regiment served abroad with and is the one that should appear on the medals. Unfortunately, the battalion number is usually only included on cards for men who went abroad with the original BEF in 1914.
The asterisk at the top is placed by the Medal Office to indicate this is the rank to be engraved on the medals (Acting Warrant Officer I).
Regimental number(s) The man’s individual number in the unit he was serving in.
‘Disemb’ This stands for Disembodied, meaning he was stood down as a Territorial Force soldier having come to the end of his agreed service period. Other notes you might find include K in A (Killed in Action).
The reference for John Bottcher’s 1914/15 Star Medal Roll. These references are usually written in red ink.
Theatre First Served In In this case, 2b (Balkans) means Gallipoli, with the date first served there.
Territorial Force Efficiency Medal The award of a Territorial Force Efficiency Medal quoting the Army Order (AO 101 of 1914) under which it was authorised. The TFEM Roll is in the course of being released to The National Archives but isn’t there at present.
Medal Roll reference References for the Medal Roll for the British War Medal and Victory Medal. Type K/2/102B12 into TNA search engine and it gives WO 329/ 1377, the Roll with John Bottcher on it. These references are usually written in blue.
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Medal reference
WW1 ANCESTORS generally include a Military History sheet giving brief details of service at home and abroad, certificates of education gained, medal entitlement, whether wounded and how, details of any noted acts of gallantry, next of kin, wife and any children. There is usually a Medical History sheet, too. In this ‘file’ you may find an earlier attestation document showing earlier service in the army, correspondence from his family, a ‘Casualty Form – Active Service’, which acted as a kind of résumé of his movements, though everything is recorded as a casualty, most of the time it refers to a movement abroad, transfer within the army or being allowed to go on leave. You may also find the paperwork that was sent out with his medals after the war, including the paperwork he had to send back to confirm receipt. Depending on the amount of documents he generated, the file can run up to more than 30 images, but many are duplicates or just digitised scraps. Go through the information carefully checking that it’s all in date order and try to write out a sequence of events by date, even if you don’t know what the many abbreviations and scribblings mean. The Long Long Trail website (1914-1918.net) has a good list of abbreviations that will help you decide what things mean. Once you’ve identified the man’s unit you can start to look for relevant war diaries and other useful material. Records of the Household Cavalry are held at TNA in the WO 400 series. This series contains surviving records of service for non-commissioned officers and other ranks in the Life Guards, the Royal Horse Guards and the Household Battalion, and whose army service concluded in these regiments. These are still held as original records but have been indexed online on TNA’s website (www. nationalarchives.gov.uk). Records for the Guards Regiments are held by the regiments themselves, though they had their own fire during the Second World War
FIRST WORLD WAR OFFICERS Officer ancestors are generally easier to research than “other ranks” but there can still be pitfalls here. Officers’ service records were virtually all destroyed during the Blitz. Two series were created by collecting papers surviving elsewhere – WO 339, relating to Regular, Temporary or Reserve officers and WO 374, papers for Territorial Force officers. Both series are at TNA and aren’t digitised, but their indexing is steadily being improved to help locate an individual’s file. Contents vary from (literally) three pieces of paper, to volumes of material, depending on how much paperwork survived. Usually there’s a Protection Certificate giving year of birth, address, civilian career and their last unit served with. If they were wounded, there are usually (sometimes gruesome) medical reports; if captured, there’s sometimes a report by the officer himself on the event. There may be a “Casualty Form – Active Service” detailing their postings between units. If they’d been promoted from the ranks (many officers were) there’s usually their original enlistment documents with details of their service. If you’re having problems finding an officer’s file (some are still only indexed by first initial), there’s a downloadable index on TNA’s website in WO 338 which will give you the original file number to help find them. If there’s a reference beginning with a P next to their name it means they served after 1922 (many young officers served again in the Second World War) so their service record is still with the MoD). Officers also appear in the Army List, published monthly, quarterly and annually, with different details in each. Every list is indexed, making searching easier. You can trace each officer’s promotions and career on a monthly basis and, after the war, there’s sometimes a brief career résumé. There are free downloadable Army Lists for the whole First World War period online at archive.org/details/nlsarmylists (thanks to the donated material by the National Library of Scotland. You can also trace an officer’s career using the Gazette’s website at thegazette.co.uk/allnotices. The website has changed recently and may need some effort to learn the new system if you were used to the old one, but searching using the officer’s full name seems to work. If you know their unit, army regulations said that war diaries should record officers by name and rank in capital letters so they’re useful for tracing what they were doing on a day-to-day basis, including commanding detachments, going on leave or taking part in fighting. There’s a useful guide to tracing First World War army officers’ at nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/ looking-for-person/officerbritisharmyafter1913.htm.
that caused some to be lost. You’ll need to write to the relevant Regimental Archivist at Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk, London, SW12E 6HQ asking for the form you’ll need to complete for them to make a search. There is a fee. If you’re unable to find a service record, turn next to the Medal Index Cards.
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Medal Index Cards
A watercolour painting of British Army uniforms worn by the 1st (Royal) Dragoons in 1914
Soldiers who served abroad were entitled to at least one campaign medal, usually two and sometimes three. Men who served abroad on garrison duty only got the British War Medal (BWM). Men who served abroad in a theatre of war after the start of 1916 received the BWM and Victory Medal. Men who served on land in France and Belgium in 1914 were awarded the 1914 Star and those who served elsewhere in 1914 or 1915 the 1914-15 Star. Every man with a medal entitlement (and
quite a few that didn’t but applied mistakenly) had a Medal Index Card made out for him to aid the army clerks issuing the medals. Soldiers’ Medal Cards are available online at TNA’s website in their Documents Online section at nationalarchives.gov.uk/ documentsonline/medals.asp. The records can be searched using first name, last name, corps (you can also put the regiment name in here) and other keywords such as rank. They are also available at Ancestry.co.uk. The main problem with the Medal Cards (frequently the only surviving records for First World War soldiers) is that they generally only exist for men who served overseas and even then only record information on service after they went abroad. Those that do exist (more than five million of them) can be a goldmine of information, even if they’re the only surviving record of the soldier. Who Do You Think You Are?
Each card records the soldier’s surname and (usually) first name and, if they’re known, other initials or names. It depends on what information he provided on enlistment. Very occasionally, on the back, there’s a contact address but only the cards on Ancestry will show this. It gives the regiments or corps he served in, with the number he had in each. Soldiers numbers changed if they moved, so a man can have several numbers – and numbers aren’t unique so men in different regiments can have the same number. The unit at the top of the list is the one he first went overseas with, the others follow in sequence. If he went overseas before the end of 1915, the date is usually on the card. If there’s no date then he served overseas from 1 January 1916 onwards, but no specific date is usually given. You can normally assume he served first in France or Belgium but if there’s a number, or a number followed by a letter, he may have first served elsewhere – both TNA and The Long Long Trail websites have details of what these codes mean.
If he was killed in action it might have “K in A” noted. Among other occasional notes you might find are if they were a prisoner of war, whether their medals returned on issue, whether they were commissioned from the ranks or received a Silver War Badge. Having gathered all we can from the Medal
Card and Case Study on pages 22-23) is H/2/103B20. Searching using this gives us WO 329/681. You can check if this is the correct reference by seeing if the page reference number on the card appears in the page range on Discovery. If it does, you know that you’re ordering the correct file. The Medal Roll is important because, in the case of infantry regiments, it tells you which battalion(s) your ancestor served in. For George Pepper, it proves he served in France with the 2nd County of London Yeomanry, and also with 1/5th King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment (KORL) and the 8th Battalion (KORL). Without a service record this does at least give you some idea which war diaries you should look at. It’s unfortunate that for corps, such as the Army Service Corps or Royal Artillery, the Roll rarely breaks down their service into company or battery; the only corps which gives a little more information is the Royal Engineers, who do specify whether a man served in Inland Waterways and Docks, Railways, Roads and Quarries or Transportation companies; but it doesn’t say which individual Company. The Medal Roll should also tell you when your man was discharged from the army and why. Usually men were discharged to Army Reserve Z which gave them a residual duty to recall during the peace talks with Germany. Some are noted as discharged as physically unfit.
Medal Rolls should tell you when a man was discharged from the army and why Card we need now to turn to the Medal Rolls.
The Medal Rolls There are references on the Medal Card to a Medal Roll. These are held in bound volumes in the WO 329 series at TNA and aren’t online. Type the numerical reference on the Medal Card in the box marked “Roll” into TNA’s Discovery ‘Advanced search’ section, into the box marked “exact word or phrase”, press search and the reference for the Medal Roll should appear. Don’t include the page number, which appears in a separate box on the card. The reference for George Pepper (see Casualty
Silver War Badge There was no shortage of interfering busybodies presenting physically fit looking men with the legendary “white feather” to indicate their supposed cowardice. Many thousands of men, who were discharged with
ALAMY
Top tip!
The 9th Scottish Rifles follow their officer out of a trench during the Battle of Arras on 6 April 1917
Online records indexing is never perfect so, if there are two sets of the same records available, it’s best to check both. I always do this with Medal Cards, especially as Ancestry.co.uk doesn’t have the gallantry or women’s cards and because with some unusual units the indexing can be eccentric. This will apply when the service records go online with other providers. As with all family history, don’t assume that the first record you find is your ancestor.
Who Do You Think You Are?
WW1 ANCESTORS
SILVER WAR BADGE Awarded to soldiers who were discharged with wounds to prove they had ‘done their bit’, the roll is at TNA and Ancestry.co.uk
Regimental number and rank
Last unit served in
These are Royal Engineers so ranks include Pioneer, Sapper and Driver. Name, number and regiment or corps combined are the way that a soldier is uniquely identified.
This can also show the unit the man was discharged from. For men wounded abroad this will usually be a depot or base in Britain, but at least he’ll have a Medal Card which will tell you which unit he served abroad with. For men who served only at home, this is likely to be the only location that you’ll have to go on.
Dates of enlistment and discharge
Reason for discharge
These are all men who enlisted in 1915. They will be volunteers, not conscripts, many of them discharged before the Silver War Badge was created so were awarded it retrospectively.
Most are discharged under Paragraph xvi (No longer physically fit for war service) Pioneer Mulvoy under Paragraph iiicc was probably discharged because of his age and health.
A First World War British Silver War Badge bearing the Royal Cipher in the centre
wounds or who were discovered to be unfit for other reasons were being challenged so, in September 1916, the War Office introduced the Silver War Badge, worn to indicate that a man had already “done his bit.” The men were discharged under King’s Regulations under Clause 392, usually under paragraph (xvi) ‘No longer physically fit for war service’ though there are many other paragraphs including: (iii) ‘Not likely to become an efficient soldier’, (vi) ‘Having made a mis-statement about his age on enlistment’ and (xiii) ‘Having been sentenced to be discharged with ignominy’. A complete list of paragraphs is available on the Long Long Trail website. Badges were individually issued and the roll of recipients is available on Ancestry.co.uk. The great value of the roll is the Silver War Badge was issued to soldiers who were discharged at home who’d never served abroad – and so wouldn’t have a campaign medal card. Their cards are different from the cards issued for campaign medals but contain the same details. Having established the units that the soldier served in using either the service record or medal card, it’s time to turn to the unit war diaries.
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Searching for war diaries The war diaries that have been digitised as part of TNA’s project are only diaries for units that fought in France and Belgium, though a few others may have been digitised individually and be available because of this. For war diaries in more distant theatres, such as Gallipoli, the Middle East, Mesopotamia and East Africa, you’ll need to visit Kew or have TNA make you a digital copy – however, the latter is an expensive business! Army Orders explained clearly what should be in the diary, including movements,
important matters relating to administration, weather, summaries of information received and copies of all important orders and decisions taken. As regards casualties, the names and ranks of officers, and the number of other ranks and followers, and animals should be noted though I doubt it was intended to sound quite as callous about ordinary soldiers (other ranks) as it sounds to us today. The regulations weren’t always followed and there was some latitude in the regulations themselves, so there are no hard and fast rules about what you’ll find. Some are noted down in pencil and obviously written at the time; others are neatly typed up and
Location This shows whether they served abroad – most of these men did, but two only served at home.
possibly written later. They were supposed to be updated daily, or as soon as possible, but I’ve seen a diary that was written four years after the events described (the retreat from Mons, which makes it perhaps excusable). Officers’ names and place names were supposed to be written in CAPITAL LETTERS but this isn’t always the case. It is, unfortunately, rare to find individual soldiers below officer rank mentioned by name in the diaries, though some contain occasional battalion muster rolls and lists on men engaged in particular incidents. For many non-fighting units such as transport, veterinary, engineer and supply Who Do You Think You Are?
units the diaries tend to just say something like “Normal duties performed” day after day, but they’ll at least tell you where they were at any given time. Don’t just read the day-to-day schedule of events but look closely at the Appendixes at the back – though Army Orders specify exactly what should be included with the
diary they don’t specifically exclude anything. As a result the officer compiling the diary might have included lists of individuals joining or leaving the unit or casualties – Rifle Brigade units seem particularly keen on doing this. There may be details of medals awarded, results of sporting events held and mentions of promotions. During periods of heavy fighting,
the day-to-day diary is likely to be sparse but the Appendices frequently include a narrative description of events, sometimes in great detail. Though ordinary soldiers are rarely mentioned by name in the daily diary they’re more likely to be named in the Appendices. The Appendices for 55th Division units for the battle they fought at La Bassee Canal in
GEORGE PEPPER’S CASUALTY FORM Found amidst the service records, each casualty form is unique but they share certain basics. This is the second page of George Pepper’s, covering the bulk of his service.
Regimental numbers George’s regimental numbers (2835 and 203002); though there seems to be some confusion!
Hospital Sent to 18th General Hospital.
Dates
Regiment
Training
Stamp
Dates of embarkation and landing overseas, showing that he can’t have been entitled to an earlier medal.
This shows that he served with 1/5th Kings Own Royal Lancasters.
George’s training with the Tank Corps, which remains a mystery (see page 23).
The stamp of the County of London Yeomanry, showing he served with them.
Repost
Appointment
Reposted to 1/5th KORL after a brief spell at the Depot.
Appointed unpaid Lance Corporal, 28 July 1918.
Wounded Gassed in the field on 20 February 1918.
Reposted Reposted to 8th KORL on his return from the Tank Corps.
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WW1 ANCESTORS 1918 include reports written by Sergeants, Corporals and even Privates often referring to their fellow soldiers by name. You never know what you might find until you actually look! If, after all this, you still can’t find details of a soldier’s service, there are other sources you can try, which are also useful additional sources if you already have some details.
Rolls of Honour A huge number of Rolls of Honour were produced by towns, schools, universities, employers and other organisations. Some only detail those men killed, but many also give information on men who served, with details of their units, battles, wounds and awards. Many have been transcribed by genealogical websites so you can search for your ancestor.
Absent Voters List The 1918 Representation of the People Act gave votes to all men over the age of 21 and there was an election in December, before demobilisation had begun. Men who were away from home on service (including men who were based in Britain) could be registered on the Absent Voters List. This can be a valuable resource for locating an ancestor for whom there is little information easily available, particularly if they had a name like Albert Smith or Edward Jones and you don’t know their regiment. The serviceman’s relatives completed a form giving basic details (including their infantry battalion or, importantly, their company or battery if they served with a corps) which was used to send a voting paper to forces in Europe; men elsewhere got a proxy vote. If you know a man was over 21, and have a likely address they’d have registered at, the Absent Voters List could fill a big hole in your research. Some Absent Voters Lists are free online; some available on subscription or payment and others are at local Record
Watch out!
The Royal Naval Division (RND) fought as soldiers but remained part of the Navy. The army’s Royal Flying Corps (RFC) became part of the RAF. RND records are online at nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/ royal-naval-division.htm. RFC service records are indexed in AIR 79 at TNA but not online. The Volunteer Corps resembled the Second World War’s Home Guard, but were not soldiers. Surviving Volunteer Unit records will be held locally.
CASE STUDY
George Pepper – his WW1 service George Pepper was my wife’s grandfather. He’d died in 1966 and rarely talked about the war, but, speaking to the family, we learned a few useful clues. His grandson had George’s two medals. There was also a cloth badge with them, of a red rose (with 55 DIV on the back, we later realised) and we found a photo of George in uniform. We heard that he’d served in the Westminster Dragoons, had machine-gunned Germans at La Bassee Canal, been in the concert party; been gassed and wounded in the leg and ended up, at the war’s end, in Brussels. This is all we had to go on. Research started with the medals and we discovered the Second London Yeomanry (engraved around the rim) was the formal name for the Westminster Dragoons. But the cap badge on the photograph wasn’t for them. The only badge that matched was for the Royal Lancaster Regiment. The photograph has a piece of a shoulder badge showing, too – from the Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment. George’s Medal card also shows he’d served with both the Second County of London Yeomanry and the King’s Own. We used the references on the card to find his Medal Roll which showed he’d served in the King’s Own 1/5th and 8th battalions. We thought he’d been wounded so might have a surviving service record and he does, in the Pension Records collection. The online record even includes the letter my wife wrote to the Ministry of Defence when trying to obtain the record in the early 1990s. We discovered 1/5th KORL had published their own Battalion History and obtained a copy. We looked at their war diary (WO 95/2930/1) for George’s period with them, as well as for 8th KORL for his brief spell with them (WO 95/1436/1). The service record said he’d been sent to the 18th Chicago General Hospital after being gassed and we were lucky to find a brief résumé of his time there in MH 106/1148. We found memoirs of officers and men who served with him, and a previously unknown photo of him from 1918. We know he enlisted in the Westminster Dragoons in October 1915 and did his basic training with them before embarking at Southampton on 5 April 1916, landing in France the next day. He transferred into 1/5th KORL because the army had a surplus of cavalry and took part in the Somme battle advances to capture the village of Guillemont in August and attacks around Ginchy near Delville Wood, and Guedecourt in September. The battalion moved to Ypres and began training for the big new offensive as part of 55th West Lancashire Division. On 31 July 1917, he went “over the top” on the first day of Passchendaele. He then did some training with the Tank Corps but returned to the 8th battalion KORL, was gassed in the field on 20th February 1918 and sent to the 18th Chicago General Hospital. On his release he went back to 1/5th battalion and fought in the Battle of the Lys in April – which is where he machine-gunned Germans at La Bassee Canal. He took part in the 1918 advance and posted to Divisional HQ and did indeed end up in Brussels! We’ve walked the ground where he fought, seen his comrades’ graves, his Division’s Memorial and stood on the exact spot where his photo was taken in 1918. We were lucky to find so much material and there’s still a mystery about the Tank Corps training period, but with hard work and diligence you may also be able to find similar information about your ancestor.
Who Do You Think You Are?
Offices or Central Libraries. There’s a list of ones known to survive on The Long Long Trail website. If you trace one for the locality you’re interested in that isn’t on this list, please contact the website to let them know.
Medical records There were something like two million wounded British soldiers during the war and a small percentage of their medical records survive in TNA’s MH 106 series. Records include admission and discharge registers from hospitals and casualty clearing stations, field ambulances, an ambulance train and a hospital ship. There are also medical sheets, selected to illustrate the diversity of diseases contracted, injuries received and treatments prescribed and medical cards relating to individuals in selected regiments, together with means of reference to the various types of record. The Admission and Discharge books are invaluable if you can find your ancestor in one. Not only do they give the dates of admission and discharge and their wound or illness, but their battalion and the company within it if in the infantry or their battery, squadron or company if in the cavalry, artillery or a corps like the Army Service Corps or Royal Engineers. These
are levels of detail that Medal Cards and surviving service records are unlikely to provide. One piece of good news; Forces War Records (forces-warrecords.co.uk) are transcribing the records and, though this is likely to be a longterm project, it’ll be a valuable addition to available online records.
Pension cards
looking for. The cards also apply to men who were sick or injured at home, for whom there may not be a Medal Card so can be invaluable for tracing them if there’s no service record. The WFA will, for a fee, look up an individual’s card on request (see their website at westernfrontassociation. com/great-war-currentnews/pension-records. British PoWs return from Germany html). They are currently
investigating methods of digitising the cards so they can be made more publically available.
to St Pancras Station, London
The MoD has released its collection of Pension Cards to the Western Front Association. Every wounded or sick serviceman or woman, or the family of those killed, may have been entitled to a pension and a card was created for each. There are
Prisoners of war More than 180,000 soldiers were captured by the enemy during the war, about half of them in the German offensives of 1918. Records for them are scarce, but some do exist and may include men for whom there are no service records. A list of Officer prisoners was compiled by Cox & Co and published as List of Officers Taken Prisoner in the Various Theatres of War Between August 1914 and November 1918. Several websites have a searchable version. The army questioned many PoWs on their release about conditions they’d suffered. Only a small number of records were retained but they’re online at nationalarchives.gov.uk/ records/prisoners-of-war-ww1.htm. The Foreign Office set up a special department to deal with PoWs and there’s much information about conditions in German and Turkish camps in their records, as well as files on some individuals. These are in the FO 383 series at TNA. They’re not online but the general file headings have been indexed so a name search on TNA’s catalogue might produce something. Unfortunately, many individuals named with camp reports aren’t indexed, but if you know the camp they were in, a search might reveal a file mentioning them. Tracing PoWs of all sides was carried out by the International Committee of the Red Cross who held record cards on each man. Individual cards were typed up for each name and updated if the prisoner was moved, received medical care or died. The ICRC is having its archive digitised and it’s promised that it will be online in the near future. Many regiments and towns had committees formed to provide relief to PoWs and their records, if they survive, are likely to be held locally.
some six million cards which hold a variety of information, including date of wound or death, unit served with, regimental number, next of kin and address(es). This allows us to be certain that it’s the correct individual we’re
FIRST WORLD WAR MEDALS British War Medal
Generally, soldiers serving abroad were entitled to the British War Medal (BWM) and Victory Medal, with either the 1914 Star or 1914/15 Star if they had served abroad earlier in a theatre of war. Campaign Medals were issued from 1917 until well into the 1920s. Unfortunately, many have gone missing. Because the BWM was relatively pure silver it was targeted by scrap
Victory Medal
1914-15 Star
dealers almost from the day it came out and many were sold out of necessity. For many years, the Army Medal Office replaced medals genuinely lost but the policy of the Ministry of Defence Medal office is: “After the First World War, all campaign medals were automatically issued to the medal earner or, if deceased, to the next of kin. The MoD Medal Office is not able to
1914 Star
provide replacement First World War medals. You can purchase replicas or original named medals from a reputable medal dealer or a private medal company. “If you can prove a medal was not issued (officers had to apply for theirs and some didn’t) or was returned undelivered when issued (shown on the Medal Roll) they may consider issuing another.”
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Two million British soldiers were wounded during WW1
WW1 ANCESTORS
USEFUL SOURCES The National Archives nationalarchives.gov.uk Almost all original WW1 records available online through other websites can be accessed free if you visit Kew itself. TNA has digitised many war diaries, women’s service records, Prisoner of War reports and conscription appeals at: national archives.gov.uk/records/army.htm.
British soldiers enter Lille, France, after the ‘Big Push’ of October 1918
Local newspapers Though there was some media censorship relating to military operations, local papers in particular were free to publish details of local men and units, often in the form of letters sent from the front (which had already passed the Postal Censor). The North Wiltshire Herald, for example, was a weekly newspaper covering North Wiltshire, South Gloucestershire and part of Berkshire. In the first five weeks of 1915 it ran casualty lists for the three County Regiments, naming hundreds of men, many of whom were wounded and who wouldn’t appear on the Commonwealth War Graves register. It had details of Distinguished Conduct Medals awarded to the Gloucestershire Regiment, a brief description of life in the trenches sent home
by a named soldier, it names performers at a regimental concert given by a Wiltshire battalion at the front and a long list of members of the North Berkshire Football Council teams who’d volunteered for the army and the regiments they volunteered for. This list is organised by village. Local newspapers frequently carried photos of soldiers (particularly when they’d become casualties), recorded local events involving soldiers and are one of the few sources for information on the Volunteer Corps. Findmypast.co.uk is digitising thousands of local and regional newspapers and has a fully searchable database. Cymru 1914 – The Welsh Experience of the First World War (cymru1914.org) has digitised many Welsh local and regional newspapers and, again, has a searchable database.
Women’s service records
ALAMY
Top tip! There may be another reason than the Blitz why you can’t find a service record. Thousands of men rejoined the army for up to four years in 1919, taking them beyond the date for release of their service records, which are retained by the Ministry of Defence in Glasgow. If you’ve any evidence your man served after 1920 you can apply for the record via www.gov.uk/requestsfor-personal-data-and-service-records though there are rules as to who can apply.
The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was founded in March 1917 and women served in uniform in Britain and on the Western Front as cooks, mechanics, clerks, typists and telephonists. Only 7,000 service records survive for the WAAC. These are on TNA website at nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/ womens-army-auxiliary-corps.htm. There are 15,000 Service Records for the army nurses covering WW1 online at TNA website at nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/ army-nurses-service-records.htm. Tracing your Service Women Ancestors by Mary Ingham is also invaluable. Phil Tomaselli is the author of Tracing Your Second World War Ancestors
Ancestry and Findmypast These two websites hold most of the First World War records that you can find online relating to soldiers. The Long Long Trail 1914-1918.net This is the premier website for information on the British army during the First World War. It’s totally free and is the website that the professionals use for help! Forces War Records forces-war-records.co.uk This has information drawn from published and other open sources but is currently listing all the surviving hospital records (TNA series MH 106) unavailable elsewhere. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission www.cwgc.org This website has searchable details of those killed in the First World War. The Ogilby Trust www.armymuseums.org.uk This has contact details for all Army Museums The Western Front Association westernfrontassociation.com This is dedicated to the memory and study of the First World War and boasts an excellent website. Naval & Military Press naval-military-press.com Battlefield Europe series barnesandnoble.com/s/? series_id=164547
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