National Archives

[Jeff]

i have family descendents that have served in the Great War

Time travel?

 

[spionfox]

Time travel?

:icon_bigg

 

[Blue Maniac]

Time travel?

Nope, he's just really old.

 

[Brauny Blue]

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/

i'm a member of the above forum and they have a section that may be useful on interpreting service records and medal index card. You will have to join to be able to search this section of the site, but that is easy enough to do (may take a few hours to be accepted). i have been stumped before now and found that there is always someone on the site that can offer great advice.
It could be all you need is someone who is used to reading and deciphering these documents.

Cheers Fox58, all help appreciated.

 

[Doggie_muz]

Amazing day, blown away by it.

Arrived at the NA about 9.30. Staff were very helpful and i was soon down to business. They did tell me that i only had a 40% chance of finding anything with regards to an individuals WW1 record, so my expectations were not great.
To begin with i entered details about my descendant under the most obvious headings (1914-1919 soldiers service history) but found loads of records of soldiers with the same surname but nothing to match what i was looking for.
I had only been going for about 5 minutes when the bloody fire alarm went off. Everybody had to leave the building, and it was in that half an hour standing outside in the glorious sunshine, that i contemplated giving up and just going back into London to enjoy the day. Glad i didnt.
On returning i put the same details in under different headings such as ' pensions' and ' medal rolls' and BINGO suddenly there were plenty of details there about my descendant. I knew i'd got the right person because many details matched what we knew from the family tree research.
All in all i managed to copy numerous sheets of info, which included his service history from joining up as an 18yr old in 1898 to being discharged as 'unfit for army duty' in July 1916, 2 wks after the battle of the Somme started.
There is much details for us to pick at, but some of the scrawlings are very hard to decipher, and i'm wondering whether some kind of hand-writing expert maybe able to tell us some of the details we cant understand. Not sure if anyone knows how i can go about that.

This for me was an amazing success, and i'd recommend this place to anybody who wants to trace any family history.
I showed the documents that i'd printed to my dad last night, and like me he was completely fascinated by it.

Top stuff, what a buzz.

Congrats on the success...

 

[Brauny Blue]

Congrats on the success...

Thanks DM :icon_wink

 

[Leesoh]

To the left as you leave the station, yes. A wide selection of fantastic real ale, and all sorts of train spotterery memrobelia, what's not to love!

The real ale?
:icon_lol:

 

[Cate Fox]

Sounds like a great day Brauny

 

[Boy Genius]

Not half as much fun or as rewarding as when you do it yourself.

:icon_eek:

you disgust me!

 

[David Gwilliam]

Congratulations Brauny.

Have you thought about writing down your own History or anything you have heard about what your parents or grandparents did in the Second World War.

I know an old man who was involved in the failed invasion at Dieppe, was parachuted into France the day before D-Day knowing that if the invasion was delayed for bad weather he and his friends stood no chance and then he liberated a concentration camp. Yet he has not written any of this down on the grounds that his "grandchildren are not interested."

The growth of amateur History has been a wonderful development. It has not just been family trees but people in old houses tracing their history, war gamers. canal and railway societies and perhaps most impressive re-enactment groups.

Then there is your own History. If you are married how did you and your wife meet, what jobs did you do and why did you leave. If you were born elsewhere why did you come to Leicester. If you have children is there any reason for their names (I was named after an elderly Welsh Prime Minister).
It is easy to forget that in a hundred years time we too will be History.

 

[Brauny Blue]

Sounds like a great day Brauny

Discovering information that you never thought you would find is tremendously exciting. I honestly cant tell you the buzz that its given me since Saturday. Its certainly feeding a desire to try trace other records from family members that are not with us anymore.

Congratulations Brauny.

Have you thought about writing down your own History or anything you have heard about what your parents or grandparents did in the Second World War.

Cheers David.

Its a good point actually. My dad just missed WW2 (15 at the end of the war) but his brother served in the Navy in 2nd WW. Not sure about my dads father, i would refer to him as grandad except he died when i was about 3-4 yrs old, so i never knew him.
On my mothers side she had an uncle that was captured by the Japenese and escaped twice. The 2nd time he was successful, and mainly thanks to a very brave peasent farmer.
These are all things that i would love to find more info on, and after Saturday i'm encouraged to start looking at such things.

 

[MKFox]

nice work BB, did you get to the ship?

 

[Siouxsie]

Congratulations Brauny.

Have you thought about writing down your own History or anything you have heard about what your parents or grandparents did in the Second World War.

You are so right that this should be done before it's too late.

My grandfather was killed when the plane he was in was shot down over the Dutch coast in WW2 when my mum was only 3. My gran then died at an early age so I never knew much about them.

When I expressed an interest my mum produced a cardboard box she had found amongst my gran's things with all the letters my grandad had written to her during the war, the telegram notifying her that my grandfather was missing, and a couple of letters from one of the aircrew who managed to parachute out, (and subsequently spent some time as a POW), telling her what happened.

My mum could never face looking inside the box.

We eventually went to visit his grave in Holland and met some dutch people who had seen the plane come down. Through RAF records we managed to learn a lot about his training and the flights he had been involved in.

Really fascinating in the end, but hard to think of him as my grandfather, unlike my other grandfather* who only died a few years ago and I was very close to.


Good luck with your research Brauny.





*who lived on the Thames, was in the home guard and collected unexploded bombs for fun, one of which (defused we hope ) we still have.

 

[Brauny Blue]

nice work BB, did you get to the ship?

I didnt mate, mainly because i spent too much time at the NA and wanted to get back to Central London. I actually regretted that later because the weather was lovely, and a pint or two by the Thames did seem an attractive proposition.
It wont escape me next time though, i've even printed a google map and was pleasently surprised to see its probaly only a 10min walk from Kew station.
Nice area from what i saw, and didnt realize the boat race was that far down the river.
Some nice university type all female crews there as well:icon_cool

 

[bocadillo]

Nice area from what i saw, and didnt realize the boat race was that far down the river.

Up?

 

[bocadillo]

Don't worry about being a 'beginner'. The staff will help you

Arrived at the NA about 9.30. Staff were very helpful

:icon_wink

 

[Brauny Blue]

Up?

Thick fecker :icon_bigg

 

[Cate Fox]

Thick fecker :icon_bigg

That's no way to talk about Boc

:icon_lol: