Uncover Your Ancestor’s First World War Story

Specialist, archive-led research into British & Commonwealth service records, war diaries, and operational battle history

Why Can’t You Find Your Ancestor’s WW1 Service Record?

On the night of 7–8 September 1940, German incendiary bombs struck the War Office Record Store in Arnside Street, London. Over two-thirds of all First World War service records were destroyed or severely damaged. If your ancestor's direct file was lost, an amateur search often ends in a dead end. However, an experienced researcher can reconstruct their journey through surviving secondary sources

  • Pension Ledgers & Cards: Revealing wounds, disability assessments, and post-war addresses

  • Medal Index Cards & Rolls: Pinpointing entry dates, battalion numbers, and theatre of war

  • Battalion War Diaries: Providing day-by-day frontline accounts and trench coordinates

  • Red Cross & Casualty Lists: Tracking hospital evacuations and Prisoner of War camps

“A surviving ‘Burnt Document’ from the 1940 Arnside Street archive fire — water-damaged, singed, but still readable.”