Tracing your military relatives is a crucial part of family history. Few of our family members deserve to have their memories preserved more than those who fought to secure our freedom. The detailed records of these heroic forebears provoke feelings of awe, sorrow and pride that you won’t experience with any other documents.
Your relatives in the Armed Forces will have performed feats of bravery most of us can't comprehend. Our latest military collections let you celebrate their heroism.
Before 2007, 1,354 soldiers, sailors and civilians had been awarded the Victoria Cross for acts of incredible bravery and self-sacrifice. This collection remembers every one of them, from the Crimean War right up to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Each record provides a name, birth and death dates, their last known rank or unit and a full description of the courageous act that won them the medal. You’ll also usually find details of where they’re buried, plus a portrait photo.
The Silver War Badge was one of World War I’s most distinguished awards. It was given to servicemen who were discharged with a serious wound or illness – they wore it at home so they wouldn’t be accused of not doing their duty.
Our records reveal over 800,000 injured soldiers, sailors and pilots. Find an ancestor among them, and you’ll discover their rank, when they started and finished in the Forces, the unit they left and why they were discharged.
Whether your ancestor was part of the Navy, or one of the criminals they were paid to transport, this collection can shed light on their life at sea. With tens of thousands of records from the diaries of ships’ medical officers, it reveals everything from scurvy to seasickness, along with contemporary healing techniques!
Most of the journals come from convict ships bound for Australia, but you’ll also come across vessels sailing within Europe and to the Caribbean. Each entry provides the patient’s name, age, rank or status, symptoms and how they were treated.
Over 40,000 brave members of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines lost their lives during World War I. Search this collection and find out if one of your ancestors was among them.
This is the largest list of British naval casualties available online. If your forebears fell defending the seas against German U-Boats, you can look for their rank, service number, the name of their ship, date and cause of death and where they were buried. You may even find a next-of-kin.
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We're proud to be contributing to the Poppy Appeal - see our facebook page for details. This worthy cause has been raising money for ex-Service men and women, and their families, since 1921. If you can, we urge you to also support it.
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