Research

Military Heritage does not provide a personal research service, partly because there are already plenty of businesses which do, and partly because it is a fascinating, addictive and time consuming occupation which could take up all of our time and stop us from being able to bring you new products and information.  There are lots of very good websites and books to help you research your Great War ancestors.  The following is a basic introduction to researching which we hope you will find useful.

If you think the person you are researching was killed in action or died of wounds or disease whilst on active service search the database of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.  The CWGC is responsible for the maintenance of war graves of both world wars. The "Debt of Honour Register" is the Commission's database listing the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died during the two world wars and the 23,000 cemeteries, memorials and other locations worldwide where they are commemorated. The register can also be searched for details of the 67,000 Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action in the Second World War.  All searches are free of charge. The information available from the database varies. Sometimes it is very lean but sometimes it can contain a pot of gold for the family historian.  It will normally include a man's service number and this can then be used to search other records such as the Medal Index Cards and surviving Service Records.

After the Great War various books were produced commemorating the fallen.  The most comprehensive archive was Soldiers Died in the Great War.  This can be viewed at www.findmypast.co.uk. You will need to register and pay to view these records.  It can be very worthwhile as it can revealed information not available from the CWGC database such as place of birth, place of residence, place of enlistment and former regiments.  It does not however provide any next of kin details.

Many schools, businesses and towns produced rolls of honour after the war and many more have been produced in the years since.  Many are available on the internet and can be found using a good search engine.  For others you will need to seek out a good book dealer, such as the Naval and Military Press.

Another valuable source of information are the Medal Index Cards.  A card system was created to record the entitlement and issue of medals and silver war badges.  The cards were photographed to microfilm and most are now available on the internet at www.ancestry.co.uk.  The cards relating to women and recipients of the Military Medal were not photographed.  The complete collection can be accessed using the online catalogue of the National Archives which is a pay-per-view service.  Further information can be also be obtained from the Medal Rolls but these are only available at the National Archives in Kew, London.

A huge number of personal service records relating to our ancestors during the Great War were destroyed in a fire at the War Office in 1940.  After the Second World War, the War Office appealed to other government departments with copies of the records to return them.  A large collection of records were recovered from the Ministry of Pensions.  These relate to men who were discharged from the Army during the Great War due to wounds or sickness.  The small number of records which survived the fire are now known as the "Burnt Records" and those recovered later are known as the "Unburnt Records".  Both can be viewed at the National Archives under references WO363 and WO364 respectively and by the end of 2009 all of these records should be available on www.ancestry.co.uk.  Payment is required to view these records.

During the Great War battalions kept official War Diaries.  Whilst they rarely given information about individual soldiers they often mention officers and provide a great insight into the activity of the battalion at the relevant date.  They are therefore a valuable source of background information for putting your ancestor into context.  You should remember that just because a unit was at a particular place on a given day it does not necessarily follow that your ancestor was there - but he could have been.  The National Archives have digitised the most referenced war diaries. Click here for more information.  Many war diaries have been published (try Naval and Military Press) but some are only available for viewing at the National Archives in series WO95.  

Official Regimental Histories can also been very useful, although again they rarely name individual soldiers.  These are published volumes often available to view in reference libraries or to buy from book dealers such as the Naval and Military Press.  Resurgence of interest in the period over the last 10 years or so has resulted in many which were long since out of print being reproduced in facsimile editions.

Personal memoirs are also a valuable source of information and with the advent of the internet and short run publishing are now more accesible than ever before.  

Finally, don't forget that your ancestor was not just a soldier.  He was also a member of a community and a family and as such the usual sources of social history may provide valuable information, such as local newspapers (ask at your nearest local studies library or County Record Office), census returns etc.

This is just a quick look at some of the resources available to you.  Whilst more information is being added to the internet on a regularly basis making it easily to search for your ancestors care should be taken to try to check that the information has been transcribed accurately.  There is no substitute for looking at the original document (or a photographic copy of it) if at all possible.  There is also a wealth of knowledge out there so don't be afraid to ask for help via a forum.

Good luck!