The National Archives at Kew

[Geoffers]

Many new to research don't know where to begin, what is available or where to find it. For me one of the best places to start is The National Archives (TNA).

The National Archives at Kew (formerly known as the Public Record Office) is one of the main repositories of historical information for England and Wales. It does have information on the rest of the UK, but Scotland and Ireland also have their own record offices too. The chances are that there is something in TNA relating to someone in your family. It's website is well worth a browse for the odd snippets of information that you may find.

In the red band near the top of the screen are a series of links, move your cursor over 'Getting Started' and select a title from the drop down list. The information on each topic is given in easy to read sections.

Also in the red band is 'Search our Collections' which gives access to a number of catalogues. These include 'The Catalogue' (formerly PROCAT). Select this and try entering you surname in the 'Word or Phrase' field, just to see what it brings up, explore the links and what is included on the website, if you familiarise yourself with what it can do, it makes searching the site easier.

An example:
For those who believe you have military connections back in the 19th century, there have been some useful additions to the catalogue in recent years. Search under a name and in the field 'Department Code or Series' enter WO (abbreviation for War Office). Details of army service from the series WO121 (covering the years 1783-1822) have been indexed as have those in WO97 (covering 1760-1858). You won't get the full service record online (you have to apply and pay for a copy of this), but you do get enough information to identify a person, when and where they were born and in which regiment they served. Similarly for those with Navy ancestors, a series of records in ADM (abbreviation for Admiralty) have been added to the site. These are from ADM29 and cover Rating's Services in the 19th century. Again, jus: 0px">Also in the red band is 'Search our Collections' which gives access to a number of catalogues. These include 'The Catalogue' (formerly PROCAT). Select this and try entering you surname in the 'Word or Phrase' field, just to see what it brings up, explore the links and what is included on the website, if you familiarise yourself with what it can do, it makes searching the site easier.

Going back to TNA home page, and again under 'Search our Collections' you'll find links to other sites such as the 1901 Census and 'Documents online'.

Documents Online has original documents available for download (pay-per-view) but the index is free to search. For those new to research, one of the most useful sections is the inclusion of the Army and RFC medal rolls (at the time of writing this message it is not yet complete, it just covers up to names beginning with the letter T, but should be completed fairly soon). As with otehr sections there are links to useful information which explains what you can expect to find.

Lastly, there is an informative e-mail newsletter from TNA which is free, you can view old newsletters and subscribe by visiting the following link
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/enewsletter/

A single e-mail cannot do justice to all that is available, so get yourself a cuppa and have a browse for yourself to see what you can find.

Geoffers
Charlbury, Oxfordshire

[kated]

Hi,

Am I missing something? I can't see the point of the medal index. What do you get? A name, a regiment, a rank and a medal name. How do I know if my Henry Frederick Ballard from Kent is Harry Frederick Ballard or Harry Ballard or Henry F Ballard if there's no address, next of kin, dob?

Thanks

Kate

[Geoffers]

Am I missing something? I can't see the point of the medal index.
The index cards list name, regiment/corps, rank, regimental number, medals, theatre of war first sent to and date of entry therein. Granted identifying individuals can be difficult, more so if you are searching for a common surname.

However, family tradition had it that a relative had died young as a result of his experiences in the Great War. Using the index, I was able to establish the detail listed above. I found when he entered France, which confirmed another story that he had enlisted under-age. Using information in the medal index, I tracked down the war diaries in TNA and was lucky enough to find a brief reference to an incident in which several members of the battalion were injured. The date of the incident fitted nicely with a letter written by this chap from Southern England saying that he was "now fine." I also tracked down a ragged photo of a group of soldiers, on the back was some writing indentifying those in the picture. The writing was in pencil and not at all clear, not everyone can be identified, but part of a regt number is quite clear next to one smudged name and the regt no. is that of my relative. I now have a photo showing what he looked like and it all started from the medal index.

Identifying individuals can be the hard part and you have to look at all evidence available, from age, to when he is likely to have joined, and if he was in a regiment, it's name - did he join a local regiment - a pals battalion?
Unfortunately, most of the service documents at TNA were burnt following bombing in WW2 - so starting points in tracing military service in WW1 are limited - the medal index is a boon, because it is readily available, online and the limited information it gives can lead to important finds.!

I hope that convinces you, but if not - don't use it
Geoffers