WW1 Burnt Records Go Online

[Pandabean]

http://content.ancestry.co.uk/iexec/?ht ... 3a7858%3a0

The burnt service records for WW1 have recently been put on Ancestry, this is an ongoing project and currently contains soldiers names A to C.

Surnames A - C only.

About British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
This database contains the surviving service records of non-commissioned officers and other ranks who served in WWI and did not re-enlist in the Army prior to World War II. The type of information contained in these records includes: name of solider, age, birthplace, occupation, marital status, and regiment number.

Approximately 5 million men served in the British Army in World War One (WWI). This database contains the surviving service records of non-commissioned officers and other ranks who served in WWI and did not re-enlist in the Army prior to World War II. This first release contains records for surnames beginning A-C. Full surname range coverage will be realised with future releases.

These records contain a variety of forms, including:

* Attestation forms - the form completed by the individual on enlistment

* Medical history forms

* Casualty forms

* Disability statements

* Regimental conduct sheets

* Awards

* Proceedings on Discharge

* Cover for Discharge Documents

* Index Cards

Information available in these records includes:
# Name of soldier

# Age

# Birthplace

# Occupation

# Marital status

# Regimental number

# Date of attestation

# Physical description

Historical Background:

The British Army World War One Service Records are War Office (WO) records also known as the WO363 records and the ‘Burnt Documents.’ In 1940 there was a World War Two bombing raid on the War Office in London where the records were held. During this raid, a large portion (approximately 60 per cent) of the 6.5 million records was destroyed by fire. The surviving service records have become known as the ‘Burnt Documents’.

Although many of these records suffered water damage following the bombing raid, all surviving service and pension records were microfilmed by The National Archives, where both collections are held, as part of a major TNA conservation project.

Tips and Notes:

# Some records may have been stored and/or filmed in incorrect alphabetical order.

# Some records may appear to be out of order due to a misspelling or misreading of the name.

# Some soldiers did not record their first names; some of them only used initials, and others used nicknames or diminutive names.

Rolls presently not included:

The following is a list of TNA microfilm rolls that are not included in this first release, even though they contain records with surnames A-C. These rolls will be added in the next release.

124511 128593 129245 130908 131206 131629 131503
128036 128334 129314 130915 131210 131630 131527
127320 128183 128028 130921 131227 131663 131580
127331 128907 130822 130964 131313 131665 131646
128194 127472 131470 131013 131337 131673
127899 127532 131562 131048 131428 131715
129189 127612 131574 131057 131468 131716
129016 128395 130573 131069 131507 131058
127505 127358 130702 131071 131532 131670
127814 128204 130703 131080 131553 130916
127321 128039 130707 131106 131573 130957
129161 127626 130745 131144 131585 131093
127390 127343 130758 131173 131587 131120
129305 127607 130797 131176 131607 131284
129204 129229 130803 131180 131616 131420

[djcrtoye]

Does this include the soldiers who were killed ?

[Pandabean]

The remaining service records are of those who were killed and survived. But as stated in previous threads nearly 60% of the service records were destroyed during the bombings of the Second World War.

Does this include the soldiers who were killed ?

[killearnan]

I'm guessing that this may be obvious to everyone else but my morning Earl Grey hasn't caffeinated my system yet.....

Where is the database located? Ancestry, English National Archives, or elsewhere? Links are good...............

Apologies in advance if I've missed something blindingly obvious.........

BJ

[Pandabean]

Apologies, I was a bit rushed last night.


They are located on Ancestry, link to the search page has been put in my post at the top.

I'm guessing that this may be obvious to everyone else but my morning Earl Grey hasn't caffeinated my system yet.....

Where is the database located? Ancestry, English National Archives, or elsewhere? Links are good...............

Apologies in advance if I've missed something blindingly obvious.........

BJ