Free access to military records

[Chuck]

Courtesy of Ancestry.com

link: fold3.com

I found my grandafthers WW1 pension reords (DoB wrong . Seems he was MD'd in 1919 due to "nervous problems" (PTSD?) sadly there was no other service history at all. No records of other family members serving in WW2 in any branch either . Also unable to find my old friend Chuck on a Vietnam search.

Anyway, maybe some of you will have better luck.

[gashtyke]

Thank you. I downloaded my Grandfather's records and his DCM citation.

[Chuck]

That's great, glad it was of use to you.

Unfortunately no such luck at this end for some reason.

[Polchraine]

Have been looking at it too ... it is not comprehensive though and records are still not there.

I did find a new one relating to my Grandfather, mortally wounded in Palestine, but survived for nearly 50 years. I had a copy of his records but a new one there confirmed my Grandmother as a war widow.

The other, that I always laugh about is a great uncle - joined the RN as a steward in 1916. Then when the RAF was formed he was transferred across with the officer he served and became "Batman".

[Charlotte the flyer]

I've been quite fortunate with WW1 records, most of my relatives records are still available. There are only about 1/3 or them left as the archives were bombed in the war. I think I've mentioned on here before, I've found records for relatives in 2/5 Staffs, the KSLI and the RN. If you haven't had a look I can really recommend searching for your ancestors - you need a full name, DOB, names of other relatives also help because WW1 army attestation forms have next of kin on them. The navy information that I have is much more sparse, just a page of a book listing the ships that my relative served on. I've attached some examples so you can see the sort of things that are available.

WW2 records haven't been generally released yet, presumably because there are veterans who are still alive. You can get request them but the process is more involved - you fill in some forms and you also need to get permission from the individual or the next of kin, see here : https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records. I managed to get my Grandfathers records this way. He was on the home front initially driving all over the country, he went over to France in late June 44, ended up on the X list a month later. He was assigned to another unit when he was fit again and then made his way up through Belgium, Holland and ended up in Nothern Germany. It looked like he was attached to the 5th Armoured Dvision, the famous desert rats. I have one of their patches somewhere and always thought that he was in the desert before I got his records. Amazingly we found that he was at RAF Uteresen at the same time as my partners Aunt in late 1945.

[Charlotte the flyer]

Couple more - an RN record and also an extract from a Battalion war diary.

[Chuck]

Good post Charlotte, thanks.

[Daryll]

...The other, that I always laugh about is a great uncle - joined the RN as a steward in 1916. Then when the RAF was formed he was transferred across with the officer he served and became "Batman".

I need to have a look on there, i know my Grandfather served with Monty, but not the details...

After the war he became a "batman" too, the RAF term for a steward or general housekeeper...

Interestingly, he helped get my parents together... his daughter (my mother) worked as a civi typist on the local RAF base, and he was a batman in the Officers Mess... He obviously mentioned my mother to one of the MOD civis staying there, and he became my father..!

[1066]

Just amazing the amount of archived material there is ready to be re-discovered. My elder brother died a while ago and a few family medals were passed on to me, among them were a couple of Crimea War medals but no real information of who they belonged to. Turns out they belonged to two brothers, my several times great uncles who were both in the Royal Navy and HMS Rodney and HMS Britannia and took part in the Battle of the Baltic and the Siege of Sebastopol in 1854.

[Archie]

I’ve recently been trawling thro the archives, my great grandfather was a Sgt in WW1 and was Invalided out of service after being shot in the chest going over the top, that apparently was the good news! As he went back back down the ladder unaided he was stabbed in Perinium “no mans land” by a bayonet fixed to rifle by his corporal who was following him up out of the trench. Stomach problems, lacerated liver, but his tackle must have worked as my own Grandfather “His Son” was born in 1919.

Whilst my grandfather “his son” was on active service during WW2 in the Navy he swapped ships with his opposite number from another ship as this other bloke had found out his wife was expecting their first child. My grandfather who was due to leave Japan stayed and the Chief Petty Officer on the other ship took over his position.
The ship was torpedoed and sank killing all on board. As a result my grandmother “His wife” received a telegram hand delivered by the local Bobby “her brother” informing her of his demise, lost at sea. Two months later My grandad walked in the house “covered in newly finished tattoos” and his wife fainted.

The other woman who was expecting had no idea her husband was killed 2 months earlier !