On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 08:46:15 +0100 (BST), David Humphry <davidh9999@yahoo.co.uk> wrote: >Unfortunately as he was killed in action (in WW1) his service records will not have survived. Are you sure about that? Whilst service records for those killed in the Boer War don't seem to have survived, some service records for those killed in WW1 *do* survive, mainly in the WO 363 Burnt Documents series. See, for example, the following extract from the National Archives' Leaflet entitled "British army soldiers' papers: First World War, 1914-1918" at http://www.catalogue.nationalarchives.gov.uk/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=18 ============= 6. WO 363 : War Survivors and War Dead These service records relate to soldiers - killed in action. - died of wounds or disease without being discharged to pension. - demobilised at the end of the war. They are the 'burnt documents' that survived the bombing in 1940, and consist of about 20 to 25% of the original total. ============= As confirmation of the above, the following extract is taken from http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/service_records/sr_soldiers.htm ============= The 'Burnt Documents' The service records that survived the Arnside Street fire in September 1940 - the so-called 'Burnt Documents' - are located in the series WO 363. Due to fire and water damage, they are too delicate to be handled and are consequently only available to the public on microfilm. Microfilming the 'Burnt Documents' has been a huge project, for which The National Archives has received valuable financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The microfilm catalogues, which are mostly arranged alphabetically by surname, cover soldiers who completed their service between 1914 and 1920. They might have been killed in action, discharged on medical grounds without a pension, or demobilised at the end of the war. ============= Forrest (a new poster to this list, but a regular on the Rootsweb GREATWAR list) -- Forrest Anderson forrest@military-researcher.com Edinburgh www.military-researcher.com Scotland