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Military Records

Newly Released UK Ministry of Defence War Records

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Ancestry Team
11 November 2024

Key Takeaways

  • Millions of British Army WWII service records are now available to search online for the first time.
  • Learn about a soldier’s service, including their rank, regiments, service number and other key personal details.
  • These records replace the previous manual application process, with the full collection being released in phases.

Ancestry has launched the first phase of digitised Ministry of Defence war records, in partnership with The National Archives. Celebrating the addition of this new collection, Ancestry is providing a week of free access to the public this Remembrance Day.

New users and members can discover the wartime stories of their family as Ancestry unveils Ministry of Defence service records, featuring records from WWII and stories of incredible bravery from the soldiers who served between 1921 and 1963.

Ancestry and The National Archives have embarked on a five-year journey to digitise the personnel war records by hand, ensuring every detail of not only precious family history, but world history too, are captured and preserved. With the first release of the digitised files now live on Ancestry®, viewers can discover detailed service records from over 150,000 individuals in the British Army.

The new collection includes details about the soldiers who served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, managing and maintaining vehicles, equipment and weaponry. Alongside information on those who served in specialist units, including the Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Corps of Army Music, the Royal Military Police, and the Intelligence Corps within Smaller Units Service Records collection.

Another new collection is the UK, British Army World War II Medal Cards, 1939-1945. The records provide an insight into the campaign medals a person was entitled to for their service during the war, as well as revealing useful military details.

From attestation forms to medal registration, military units to memorials, these collections contain a wealth of incredible information to help you in your family history research. The second and final collections of the records (over 2.8 million service records) are in the process of being digitised and are set to go live on Ancestry® in phases by 2029. 

Register today and start a search to uncover what life was like for your ancestors during the War.

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