WW2 records. Where are they held?

[Moiramary]

Hi, I would like to get hold of my father's war record, for my own information but also for his Gt Grandson who is named after him. Where are they held and can I request a copy? I do hope someone can help me. Thanks in advance.

[grumpy]

MoiraMary,
It would depend upon whether they are army, navy or air force records that you want.

Generally only the veteran, if alive otherwise NOK can access the full record. They can for example

be obtained from MOD and cost 30 pounds.

For fuller details go to the FTF reference library and look up the advice on military records for a more

detailed explanation.

[Elaine ..Spain]

Here's the link ..

http://www.familytreeforum.com/content.php/260-Military-Research

[Moiramary]

Thank you very much. Mum is still alive and I'm sure will give NOK permission to get the records.

[Elaine ..Spain]

Thank you very much. Mum is still alive and I'm sure will give NOK permission to get the records.

If your mother is still alive then it is best that the application comes from her as no fee is charged when the application comes from a surviving spouse.

[Uncle John]

If your mother is still alive then it is best that the application comes from her as no fee is charged when the application comes from a surviving spouse.

Besides which, the form contains a list of eligible applicants, and the application has to come from the first one in the list who is still alive. So Mum's the word.

[Moiramary]

Thanks again. Luckily I'm going to visit Mum this week, so I'll get the ball rolling then.

[Christine in Herts]

I was slightly surprised (and pleased) to find that they would accept my Enduring Power of Attorney as a basis for giving my mother's authority for an application for my father's service record.

When it arrived, I was interested, also, to see that they do avoid putting anything contentious into black-&-white. I know very well that there should have been a record of a problem which arose during my father's service. Nothing of that is made at all explicit.

Christine

[Moiramary]

I'm not sure what to expect from the record. Dad didn't talk much about his war experience (1939 to 1946) but I do know he was stranded behind enemy lines during the retreat from France. He made his way back to coast and was picked up at Cherbourgh way after the main evacuation. I'm hoping for some info on that but in the turmoil maybe not.

[annswabey]

His records will only really give the basic info on units and dates and countries served. However when you have this information the War Diaries can be searched (they are at the National Archives) which will give a day by day account of what they were involved in and where.

[Moiramary]

Thank you annswabey. That would be a really interesting bit of research.

[Christine in Herts]

Have you looked at FMP's : WWII Escapers & Evaders

The WWII Escapers & Evaders are a great new finding aid, pointing to individual reports for allied service personnel about their experiences evading capture, or escaping from prisoner of war camps, in Central Europe during WWII. There are 10,529 records in the index.

Each entry in the index gives name, rank, number, corps and the reference to the original paper file at The National Archives in Kew. Some entries also give details of decorations, date of capture, the camp in which they were held, and/or the date of escape, for example, across the border into Switzerland.

The following pieces in The National Archives' record series WO208 are included:

Pieces 3298 to 3327 – MI9 escape and evasion reports numbered 1 to 3,122, dating from 1940 to 1945
Pieces 3343 to 3345 – 843 miscellaneous interrogation reports from 1945
Pieces 3348 to 3352 – 3,048 escape reports from 1945
Pieces 4238 to 4276 – reports of prisoner of war escapes from Italy to Switzerland 1943-1944
Pieces 4368 to 4371 – sundry additional reports on prisoner of war escapes via Switzerland 1943-1944
Pieces 5393 to 5404 – MI9 reports on escapers and evaders through enemy lines in Italy 1943-1944
Pieces 5582 to 5583 – interrogation reports on repatriated allied prisoner of war escapers and evaders 1942-1946, including some appendices to reports in pieces 3305 to 3327

It was using this database that enabled me to find the reference info a friend's father's record of escaping after Operation Market Garden. annswabey found the documents for me from that information.

Christine