Start with the clues you already have

Before you search a single catalogue, gather everything the family already knows. A photograph in uniform, a discharge certificate, a medal in a drawer, a letter from the Front, or a cap badge can point you to a regiment or corps. Note the full name, approximate birth year, birthplace, and any service number. Even a nickname or a middle name can help. Ask relatives about where he was wounded, which campaigns he mentioned, and whether he stayed in the army after the war. Women served too, as nurses, in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, and later in the Women’s Royal Naval Service and Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, so keep an open mind.

For British Army soldiers, the main service records are held at the national archive at Kew. First World War records are split into two series: WO 363, the “burnt documents”, and WO 364, the “unburnt” pension records. Many were destroyed by fire in 1940, but surviving pages can include attestation papers, next of kin, promotions, and discharge details. Pre-1914 records are in WO 97. Second World War army records are mostly still with the Ministry of Defence and are released to next of kin or with consent. Royal Navy records are in ADM series, and Royal Air Force records in AIR series. A service number is the key that unlocks the right file.

Medal rolls and campaign medals

Medal rolls are the genealogist’s best friend when a service record is missing. They list entitlement to campaign medals and usually give a soldier’s name, rank, unit, and service number. For the First World War, look for the Medal Index Cards and the rolls for the 1914 Star, the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. The rolls often record the date a soldier first entered a theatre of war, which helps you place him at a specific battle. For the Second World War, the 1939-45 Star, the Africa Star, the Italy Star, and others have their own rolls. A medal roll will not tell you what your ancestor did, but it proves he served and gives you a date and unit to follow.

Unit war diaries: the day-to-day record

Unit war diaries are not personal diaries. They are the official daily logs kept by battalions, regiments, and squadrons. They record training, movements, weather, casualties, and enemy action. If you know your ancestor’s battalion and the dates he was with it, a war diary can put him in a field, a trench, or a village on a particular day. First World War diaries are mostly in WO 95; Second World War diaries are in WO 166, WO 167, and WO 169 among others. Read the diary alongside a regimental history and a trench map. Look for appendices: operation orders, casualty lists, and intelligence summaries. If the diary mentions a raid or a patrol, your ancestor may well have been there.

Decoding abbreviations and service numbers

Military records are full of shorthand. Learn the common ones: Pte for private, L/Cpl for lance corporal, A/Cpl for acting corporal, D of W for died of wounds, KIA for killed in action. A service number beginning with T often indicates a Territorial Force soldier; M can mean a militia or special reserve man. Discharge codes such as KR 392 refer to King’s Regulations, often for sickness or wounds. Medical categories like A1 or B2 show fitness for service. A Silver War Badge roll confirms honourable discharge due to wounds or illness. Pension records can add medical detail, including hospital stays and disabilities. RAF records use trade groups and muster rolls, while Navy records list ships and rates.

Build a timeline and fill the gaps

Once you have a service record, a medal roll, and a war diary, build a timeline. Start with attestation, then training, embarkation, each unit move, any hospital admission, and discharge. Add dates from absent voters lists, newspapers, and parish magazines. If the service record is burned or missing, work around it: pension records, war diaries, regimental museums, local archives, and comrades’ letters can fill gaps. Check surname spellings and transposed numbers. A man may have enlisted under a slightly different name or age. Keep a research log with references, so you can retrace your steps. And remember: behind every abbreviation is a person. A date in a war diary is not just a fact; it is a day your ancestor lived through.