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  1. #1
    Super Moderator - Completely bonkers and will never change.
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    Default WWII service records - pre-1963

    Don't all get excited, because it'll be some time before anything happens.

    In the latest Society of Genealogists' newsletter it says that the MoD have now confirmed that they’re in the process of transferring pre-1963 military records to The National Archives.

    I would presume that initially this will mean that you will have to travel to Kew and (depending on the system they use) possibly wading through quite a few files in a box until you find the one you want.

    Hopefully, though, FMP are in the process of negotiating a deal with TNA to digitise the files. Expect to pay a premium to access the files through FMP (or any other subscription site) because the cost of digitisation will be enormous. I would not expect the cost to be much less than the thirty quid currently charged by the MoD, the major cost saving being not having to provide a death certificate. Digitisation will also not happen overnight, and may be released in stages. e.g. surnames A-C, then E-G, etc. Smith will probably get a section all to itself.

    TNA may well just offer an individual service to copy a record as they do for certain files anyway. If so, be prepared for just as long a wait as there usually is for the MoD to send the records. I think it had got to about two or three months before the pandemic closed everything and the wait at the moment is about eighteen months if you're very lucky.

    'Pre-1963' hasn't been defined. So it could mean anyone who left the military before 1963; anyone who would have been a certain age in 1963; etc.

    Pam


    Vulcan XH558 - “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

  2. #2
    Brick wall demolition expert!
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    Default

    I'm not complaining but how come the 100 rule doesn't apply? It's very frustrating when you know that the last census most of us will see is 1921..��

  3. #3
    Super Moderator - Completely bonkers and will never change.
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    Default

    As I said, pre-1963 hasn't been defined, so the 100-year rule could come into it somewhere.
    If it means those whose service had ended by 1963, then, excluding those who only did National Service, an awful lot of those would have been born before at least 1930.

    The headline itself is slightly confusing because it says WWII service records - pre 1963.

    I think we will just have to wait for a more detailed announcement. Perhaps our 'spy' at TNA - timbo58 - might be able to find further clarification. (He's not really a spy - he just goes to TNA. )

    Pam
    Vulcan XH558 - “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

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