West Middlesex Family History Society

Links for Military Records

Many of the general pay-per-view websites such as FindMyPast, Ancestry and The Genealogist include information on military sources, in addition to the specialist links in the list below.

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission Provides service details and places of commemoration for those who died whilst serving with Commonwealth forces during the First and Second World Wars.
• First World War Campaign Medals Search the index cards for campaign medals awarded for service during World War I. Searching is free, but there is a fee to view the scanned record cards. Unless the person of interest has a very rare name, you will need to know the regiment or corps they served in; the service number will take you straight to their record. The cards can be viewed free of charge in London at the Family Records Centre or the National Archives.
• Second World War Merchant Navy Medal Awards Search the records for campaign medals awarded for service in the Merchant Navy during World War II.
• Gazettes Online Allows searches to be conducted in Gazettes of London, Belfast and Edinburgh for people who were in the armed forces, won medals, changed their names or became naturalised.
• Military-Genealogy.Com Includes access to Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919 and the Army Roll of Honour 1939-1945, among others.
• National Army Museum Includes reference collections for the history of the British Army.
• National Maritime Museum Includes reference collections for all aspects of naval and general maritime history.
• Royal Naval Museum Includes reference collections for the history of the Royal Navy.
• Royal Air Force Museum Royal Air Force Museum for RAF information.
• Imperial War Museum Includes artefacts, documents and photograph collections for the wars of the 20th Century.
• Naval Records An ongoing project that aims to collect biographical information on those associated with the Royal Navy since 1660. Freely searchable by individual,ship or place. Charges apply for further data.
• Regiments.org Brief details of the history of units and formations, battle honours, campaign medals, army traditions, etc.
• Western Front Association The aim of the association is to educate the public in the history of The Great War with particular reference to the Western Front.
• First World War.Com A site providing a wide range of background material to all aspects of The Great War, including maps, memoirs and other documentary material.
• The Long, Long Trail A site which aims to present the facts of the British Army in the First World War. Includes advice on how to carry out research on those who served.