Those interested in military records, look at this!

[Phoenix]

Ministry of Defence asks for views on transfer of historic records to TNA

The Ministry of Defence has launched a public consultation process regarding the transfer of historic Armed Forces Service Personnel records to The National Archives (TNA).

Members of the public are being asked for their views on the process the Ministry of Defence has developed to transfer to The National Archives records of soldiers, sailors and airmen who served in the Armed Forces between the two World Wars and for those who were members of the Home Guard during the Second World War.

For more information visit:
Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Defence Policy and Business | Public asked for their views on transfer of historic records
Links to the various consultation pages can be found on the right hand side of the above webpage.

[Sue from Southend]

I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not! As a very amateur genealogist I can see the appeal but my father joined the Army in 1937 and is still with us as I imagine are many others including all the "Private Pikes" out there! Would they want their details on the Web?
Still, it would probably take ages to actually happen and by then.....

[Janet]

I have to say that I would be very pleased for these records to be brought into the public domain NOW, but I have other reasons for this. My father, who died a few years ago, was in the Navy, and as somebody born before the Second W War started, I hardly knew my father for not only the six years duration of the war, but also due to displacement of blitzed Plymouth plus being evacuated, this period was extended to 1947, before we came together as a family and I started to know my father. This separation had a devastating effect on my family life, and knowing ALL his service history would go some way to mitigating the fact that I never knew my father during my most formative years, so I would like to see them at the National Archives at Kew, but accessible to all at a reasonable price, not going to Ancestry to have to pay a hefty annual fee to access them. I have one page of his service career, which I purchased for £25, but it is not all of his career, and until the MOD release the rest of his details then that is all I have.

Janet

[Christine in Herts]

I've just read through the (pdf) document.

The proposals seem to be quite carefully hedged about with ifs and buts and maybes. The government's recent reputation for carelessness with personal data seems uppermost!

They are very aware of the risks of breaches of privacy - both directly, of someone who might be alive, or of associated people (family) who might be affected by disclosures of a sensitive nature about a father/brother/etc.

It's worth downloading.

Christine

[Janet]

First W War Docs were released to the public early 1990's, when many first W War people were still alive. I have fired off a note to MOD to say what I would like to happen to these docs. I understood that for this sort of document that it was 75 years before accessing of material and 75 years from 1945 would be 2020 so....! 75 years after end of First W War was 1993 which was about the year that First W War docs were released. I wonder why they want to release them early. Is it to save time and money with people writing up for docs anyway? This archive must tie up a few personnel which no govt wants.

Janet

[Little Nell]

Just as long as they don't give the contract to Siemens! (see MAGPIE thread)

[Janet]

Or send them to India first to process!

Janet