If the records exist, you can discover an amazing amount of information about an ancestor’s WWI military history. In fact, some service records for individuals are a massive 60 pages long.

There are attestation papers that give basic information like name, address, date of birth and next of kin. You can also discover medical records, discharge papers, details of injuries, awards for bravery — even punishments.

All of these have been painstakingly put together and scanned — so you can read original documents which can vividly bring your ancestors’ military history to life.

Sample records: [+] Click to magnify

 

A brief history of the WWI British Army Service Records

When war broke out in 1914, the British Army was just 730,000 strong. However, a wave of patriotism drove millions to enlist and, as the war grew, so did the number of recruits.

By the end of the war in 1918, more than seven million men had seen service in the British Army — and all their details were noted down in their service record, from enlistment to discharge.

Unfortunately, more than half of the records were destroyed in a Luftwaffe bombing raid in September 1940. However, an estimated 2.8 million records survived or were reconstructed — just over 40%. You can search and view these exclusively with us.