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As our military expert, Paul Nixon, points out, there are sometimes ways of salvaging basic information once military records have been lost. BT Jones asks:
“How do*I find my father’s records? He was in the East Surrey Regiment in 1916.*I cannot find any records because of records being lost fire, I*only have his name and regiment.”
Paul replies:
“Once a record’s gone, it’s gone, and about 60% of WW1 records do not survive - this as a result of a bombing raid on London’s Docklands in 1940. However, it may be possible to tell when he enlisted by looking at his number. Visit http://armyservicenumbers.blogspot.com/ for more information on army regimental numbers.”
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“How do*I find my father’s records? He was in the East Surrey Regiment in 1916.*I cannot find any records because of records being lost fire, I*only have his name and regiment.”
Paul replies:
“Once a record’s gone, it’s gone, and about 60% of WW1 records do not survive - this as a result of a bombing raid on London’s Docklands in 1940. However, it may be possible to tell when he enlisted by looking at his number. Visit http://armyservicenumbers.blogspot.com/ for more information on army regimental numbers.”
More...