Roger E Nixon - Military & Historical Searches


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PROFESSIONAL LONDON BASED INDEPENDENT
HISTORICAL RESEARCHER & RECORD SEARCHER

World War 1

British WW2 Army records have been extensively consulted by historians and genealogists since they were released into the public domain in 1996. However, changes are taking place in the way these records are now being presented

The official release of WW1 personnel records in November 1996, plus subsequent releases, has provided family researchers, medal collectors, military historians and academics alike with a superb range of new material.

WW1 service folders are to be found at the National Archives in a microfilmed Series WO 363 and WO 364 which are slowly being replaced by a digitized collection with a surname index. The personnel archive originally consisted of around 6,000,000 records. Of these only ca 3,000,000 folders in the WO 363 series (Service records) have survived loss or damage in WW2. WO 364 series (Pension records) embraces about 900,000 folders of undamaged material and broadly speaking covers time served men who discharged between 1914-1920 and men medically discharged between 1914-1920.

The remaining records are held in WO 363 series (Burnt Series service records) and consist of about 2,000,000 folders which have been salvaged, sorted and filmed. There are rarely papers in WO 364 Series for soldiers who died in WW1. A very high percentage of WO 363 records have also been misfiled in part or in whole so searches may not always find a folder where expected. However, some have been found and are kept in a separate sub series consisting of about 150 reels!

Records covering regular and temporary officers have been released completely up to about 1920-1922 and are found in Series WO 339+374. This material has not yet been indexed or digitized and the records are still presented in hardcopy.

It should not go unmentioned that the contents of a lot of WW1 folders were extensively weeded-out at earlier dates. Even many inter-war folders have ceased to exist.

WW1 records are not complete! It must be stressed that only about 45% of soldiers’ papers and around 85% of officers’ papers have survived. The records of the ranks do not follow any general uniformity. Those of officers tend to contain mainly personal and medical details and matters relating to probate. There is no guarantee that dates and places of birth, next of kin or other genealogical facts will be found contained in any folder. Some files contain a page or two whilst others may have up to 80 sheets. In many instances folders of other ranks from the pre 1914 record date frame may also be found in WW1 records. However, in many instances there is no WW1 record and the only available papers may have to be searched for in pre-1914 papers. Folders of many officers who relinquished service before 1922 may also still be in the custody of the MoD. As indicated above the currently available WW1 series is full of misfiles, missorts and errors. Current searches must therefore be directed at those records where something might reasonably be expected to be found. Any missing files will only eventually appear when all and any indexation of these records has been completed.

Important Note:

Recent partnership agreements between the National Archives and Ancestry. com have enabled the indexation and digitization of some WW1 records which are now beginning to appear online.

All pension records in WO 364 series (pension records) have now been surname indexed and material is already online with Ancestry.co.uk. Subscribers to Ancestry may therefore consult this material directly. However, some omissions have been noted in the online collection which is best used for initial searches then backed by searches of the records on film.

WW1 records in WO 363 series (service records) are still in the process of being fully indexed and digitized. So far only the letter blocks A-to H have been completed. The remainder may be completed sometime in 2009.

It is necessary to offer a word of caution. A considerable number of misplaced folders exist in this material. Some folders have already been identified but there still lurk many thousands more. Whilst physical searches of this material may not locate a folder, there is still a possibility that a result might be obtained once all the material has been properly indexed.

Copies made at home from online sources will usually only be produced in A4 format whereas any results of searches offered on site can be printed in A3 format. Additional useful comment is provided at no extra cost.

Service records for men from 1920 onwards are not yet in the public domain. Further information can be had from
Army Personnel Centre, Historic Disclosures, Mailpoint 400, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX Tel: 0141 224 2023 ~ 0141 224 3303