One of the most popular series of records used by genealogists is the World War One Campaign Medals Index, which can be searched online at The National Archives website the correct link is www. As with all such searches, common names may present problems.
Once you have identified which medals the serviceman was entitled to, you should be able to identify the campaigns he was engaged in and the regiment or units he belonged to. Armed with this information you may want to read the regimental war diary, which can help to build a daily picture of war service.
- Researching Military Records.
- search for mobile number in india.
- online landlord tenant background check.
- charter communications employeer id number.
The content of these diaries varies, but they often mention the battles in which the men were engaged as well as the more mundane duties required of a unit in the field. However, it is uncommon to find individuals other than officers mentioned by name unless they did something extraordinary; most are included in the sometimes frustrating term 'other ranks'. Even so, it is possible to identify quite precisely where a unit was at any given time during the war and what happened to it.
It is uncommon to find individuals other than officers mentioned by name in regimental diaries unless they did something extraordinary Next, visit your local regimental museum, one of the other service museums or national museums to build up a good picture of what life was like for your ancestor during their period of service.
A regimental museum may have images of the men who served or letters home, and will almost certainly have an expert on hand to bring dates and events to life. A guide to regimental and corps museums can be found on the National Army Museum's website at: www. Medals awarded for acts of gallantry can also help to build up a picture of an individual's wartime service.
The citation text explaining why the award was given can sometimes be found in archive copies of the London Gazette - again available at The National Archives or online at www. Gazettes are the official newspaper of the state and contain information about officers' commissions, honours and awards. A sad fact, perhaps, but information about those who died during the two world wars is often the easiest to trace.
In part, this is because of the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, whose records are readily available to the public, but local war memorials, parish records, newspaper archives, Honour Rolls and other publications greatly assist the researcher engaged in this particular field.
Cookies on the BBC website
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is perhaps best known for the maintenance of the cemeteries and memorials in its care, but through its public enquiry service it also makes available details of the places of burial or commemoration of the Commonwealth's 1. The Commission also keeps a roll of honour recording the names of some 66, civilians who died as a result of enemy action during World War Two. The Commission's military records were compiled from contributions by the service authorities of what would now be known as the Commonwealth governments.
In the Commission computerised its paper records to safeguard the original documents and to tackle the ever-increasing number of enquiries and the growing complexity of requests. The resulting database enables the Commission's enquiries department to respond quickly and efficiently to approximately 40, postal and telephone enquiries annually, as well as provide more specialised services such as searches on family name, regiment or home town as criteria - increasingly important for schools and researchers. A simplified 'search by surname' version of the database was made available at the Commission's website - www.
The Debt of Honour register, as it is known, has been deliberately kept as simple as possible and contains sections on frequently asked questions, advice and useful addresses. However, a word of caution that applies to all research in this field: never assume the information passed down verbally by your family is correct.
Online Veterans and Military Documents | National Archives
Always try to corroborate with medals, newspaper cuttings and letters. A typical casualty record includes the name, basic service details, the date of death and, if the Commission was provided with the information, age and next of kin details. This will then be followed by the relevant commemorative information which gives details of the cemetery or memorial, how to find it, and the grave number or memorial panel.
Finally, there is a history of the cemetery or memorial, sometimes including a brief summary of the actions fought in the region. The Commission does not hold detailed service records, so for the next step in the journey we must look elsewhere. They are paper records which follow the career of the individual and in most cases make no reference to engagements or theatres of operation.
It is also important to know that in most cases, records of service for individuals who served during World War Two will only be released to next of kin.
Cookies on the BBC website
Third party researchers may request access, from the Ministry of Defence, but must have written permission of, or the death certificate for and proven link to, the next of kin and enclose this in their application. Army service records for World War One are available at the National Archives, and many are online at www.
You must therefore be prepared for the possibility that the file you are interested in may not have survived. As the area of records research, even when confined to military history, is a huge field, I have restricted the content of this article to the two world wars.
Military Records
However, much of the information and recommended archives will still apply to searches outside these periods. Military Indexes Main Page Although incomplete, the records contain data for a majority of the enlistments in the US Army during World War II, including each person's serial number.
Navy Cruise Books Index, U. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, U. Ancestry also has Note: this database also indexes draft cards for some other states, but the images of the draft cards for those states are not included those images are available separately at Fold3 -- also see the Fold3 and FamilySearch links just below for more images online.
Look for the state you want, then for " name of state , World War II draft registration cards, You can find those listed in the states section below. Cemeteries and Beneficiaries Army personnel interred in national cemeteries U. Some of the listings include memorial pages with a photograph. Arkansas First Draft Registration Cards, from FamilySearch; for individuals born between and index is not yet complete Colorado Illinois, World War II Draft Registration Cards, images only at FamilySearch; These are not searchable by name, but you can browse the images on each digitized microfilm roll.