Genealogy Chat

Jonesey

You don't necessarily get the location of the units - that's where War Diaires come in!

Just to clarify a point.

Providing that 25 years have elapsed after the serviceman/woman has died then their record of service is available to anyone who requests it from the MOD. You do not have to be related to the serviceman/woman and are classified by the MOD as a "General Enquirer".

The record should include the following information:

Surname; forename; rank; service number; regiment/corps; place of birth; age; date of birth; date of death where this occurred in service; the date an individual joined the service; the date of leaving; good conduct medals (i.e. Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (LS&GCM)), any orders of chivalry and gallantry medals (decorations of valour) awarded. Plus: The units in which they served; the dates of this service and the locations of those units; the ranks in which the service was carried out and details of WWII campaign medals.

In order to obtain that information you will need to complete a form that you can download and pay a £30 administration fee.

www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/PersonnelPublications/ServiceRecords/RequestFormsForServicePersonnelDetailsGeneralEnquirersForm.htm

The only person to whom these records are Free is the spouse.

When I sent off for my dads records I sent a copy of Dads death cert and my birth cert. Also I was very lucky as I had his army number and regiment.

And there is up to a 10 month wait.

However, these records will only tell you his role and medical details and where he was posted and his conduct. Some exceptions may have more.

If you want to know what his regiment actually did then you need the Regimental Diaries. These are kept at Kew, some are at the Imperial War Museum and some are still held within regimental archives.

So you really do need to think about what you actaully want to learn.

You should be OK then. The 2nd link will give you all the info you need I think.
Jan

Jan,

Thank you for that....... Looking for grandads records...

Shirley

Shirley, do you mean records of individual servicemen? If so, you are not able to access these online.
Only the next of kin can apply to have the records, once the individual is deceased.
The references below should help you:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/prose01/Next_of_kin.htm

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/Personnel/ServiceRecords/

Jan

Hi is the any where on line where you can research ww2 records?

Thanks
Shirley