How To Find Out Where Someone Served In Ww2

In that location are many resources available for you to larn more about your Second World War ancestors. Here's a comprehensive guide to help.

The Second Globe War (1939-1945) was i of history's most catastrophic conflicts. The first truly global war, it claimed over ix million lives and afflicted the vast bulk of families across the U.k. and Europe.

Search Earth State of war two records

You may have known someone who served during the state of war, or you may have been lucky enough to hear first-manus accounts of their experiences. Researching 2d Globe War records can be very rewarding as you volition often be searching for someone you knew personally or had direct contact with at some point in fourth dimension. We've put together a listing of go-to resources to help you learn more about the lives and military careers of those involved.

Second World War service records

Service records are incredibly detailed and contain a wealth of data relating to your ancestor's military exploits during the Second World War. They are a vital resource that volition enable you to research their life and career in incredible depth, containing the information you simply cannot discover anywhere else including:

Their names
Where and when they were born
Their service number
Their rank, regiment and unit
Where and when they signed up to serve
Concrete descriptions of them
Adjacent of kin details
Their service history, and then much more

In Britain, Second World State of war service records for the Regular army, Navy and Air Forcefulness are still held past the Ministry building of Defense force. You can apply for a copy of someone else's service records if any of the following apply:

The person whose records you lot desire is deceased
Y'all are the immediate next of kin of that person

Order service records from the Veterans UK website.

First, you lot will need to know the individual's full name, date of nascence and service number. Once you have this information, you lot volition need to fill a request course and a search grade accessible via the Veterans UK website. You volition then need to ship both forms, with the fee of £30 for each split record, and whatsoever supporting documents (such equally a death certificate) to the address printed at the acme of the search form. You will usually receive a answer in a couple of months.

A military roll of laurels is simply a list recording the names of those who have died in battle.

Sourced from original documents held at The National Archives, our 1939-1945 Curlicue contains the details of more than than 171,000 servicemen and covers all credits (infantry, the arms and all supporting corps) and all ranks (officers, non-commissioned officers and other ranks).

If your ancestor was killed in action, died or was recorded as missing presumed dead while serving in the British Army between i September 1939 and 31 Dec 1946, their proper noun volition appear in this scroll. From these records, yous may be able to learn their service number, place of enlistment, rank, regiment and date of death, as well every bit their nationality, place of nascence, marital condition, civilian occupation and residence.

This collection includes over a meg entries from volumes which were updated by the State of war Part regularly from 1939 to 1947. The lists document the names of officers, nurses, and other ranks who were reported every bit killed in action, dead as a result of illness or accident, missing, or taken as a pw. Later records bear witness the names of those who were previously listed as a pw or missing but had died or those who were listed equally a pw and were now costless.

World War 2 records online — A Earth War ii casualty listing from 1944.

Individuals can appear in the lists more than once if their status was reported to have inverse. For instance, a soldier could be first reported missing, and then reported missing and presumed a prisoner of war, and finally reported every bit a prisoner of war. Each entry recorded the person's name, rank, service number, regiment, condition, and previous theatre of state of war.

The Debt of Honour Register records and commemorates the names of some one.7 million men and women from all 3 services who died in the Starting time and 2d Earth Wars. It was produced by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) which cares for military cemeteries worldwide and covers cemeteries and memorials at 23,000 locations in more than 150 countries. The Register also includes merchant sailors as well every bit noncombatant casualties from World War 2, known as the Noncombatant Gyre of Laurels.

Transcripts will reveal the appointment of your ancestor's death, their rank, regiment, service number, age at death, the location of their grave and a link to the CWGC website. A number may also contain boosted data.

Army, Royal Navy & Purple Air Forcefulness lists

Search for your antecedent amongst lists of British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel, including:

British Army, Army Lists 1839-1946
Britain, Purple Navy, Navy Lists 1827-1945
Royal Air Force Lists 1919-1945

The records tin can reveal their rank, branch, whether they received any medals or resigned and why.

If your Second World War ancestors were taken prisoner by enemy forces, there is a strong take a chance you lot will find them in our sectional drove of Pw records. Released in association with the National Athenaeum, this vast collection contains more than than 3.v million diverse records taken from a wide variety of sources including papers from the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, War Office, Admiralty and Air Forcefulness.

Prisoner of War records — Railwayman author Eric Sutherland Lomax found inside the Japanese Index Cards of Centrolineal Prisoners of War.

This collection will reveal much more than just your antecedent's rank, regiment, date of capture and place of imprisonment. Through the records, you lot can gain insight into the feel of a prisoner of war. Some volumes include inspection reports of prison camps, describing the buildings, provisions and equipment in detail. Every branch of the military machine is represented – regular army, navy and air forcefulness. There are thousands of records of seamen existence detained and records of whole crews of ships being held. Civilians, merchant seamen, diplomats and even missionaries, priests, nuns and friars can be found.

The Second World War records in this collection cover POWs held in camps operated past German, Italian and Japanese forces.

Our collection of British armed forces medal and award records may also reveal valuable information about your Second World War ancestor'southward service. This vast collection lists the names of men and women who showed exceptional backbone and fortitude while serving with the British Army, Royal Marines, Royal Navy and Merchant Navy.

World War 2 military awards — VC & Bar recipient Helm Charles Hazlitt Upham found within this collection.

The 2nd World State of war awards covered by this collection include:

Commando Gallantry Award Citations, 1939-1966
Distinguished Conduct Medal Citations, 1939-1945
Distinguished Flying Medal, 1939-1945
Royal Arms Honours & Awards, 1886-2013
Victoria Cross Awards, 1854-2006

Transcripts volition reveal your ancestor'southward service number, service branch rank, regiment, occupation and award type while images of the original documents may even explain the actions that atomic number 82 to your antecedent beingness given their award.

Taken on 29 September 1939 to assist with conscription, the allocation of resources and the issuing of national identity cards, the Register provides a rare snapshot of civilian life on the eve of the Second World State of war.

These records will enable you to discover exactly what your Second Earth State of war ancestors did for a living, maps of where they lived and fifty-fifty who their neighbours were.

While the Annals does not record military personnel who were actively serving at the time, your ancestor will announced if they joined up or were conscripted after 29 September 1939. It also features those who served on the Domicile Front.

Handpicked by our in-house military experts, this extensive collection contains over 15 million Second World War military machine records. Including service records, draft registrations, enlistment records, prisoners of war, prey lists, cemetery indexes, rolls of laurels and more, information technology's your i-terminate-shop for finding wartime family heroes.

How has World State of war 2 shaped your family unit'southward past and the person yous are today? Share your stories with u.s. on social media using #WhereWillYourPastTakeYou?