Tracing Old Soldiers

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To trace a soldier you will need to know which unit he served with. If you have this information you will be able to find out when the unit went overseas and what campaigns the unit fought in.

Those units that only served in the United Kingdom for the duration of the war can be difficult to trace, as war diaries were only obliged to be kept by units that served overseas, and units that were on active service were inevitably better documented than those that remained at home. It was not unusual for men to serve in more than one unit – if that is the case, you need to know the relevant dates he was with each unit.

You may already know your relative’s unit, or you might have paperwork or information in your family that will uncover it. This information is crucial and you will need to find this out before you can proceed further. The easiest way is to obtain your relative’s personal service record, although not all records have survived.

Take a look at Army Service Records for more information on how to find your relative’s service record.

If you are tracing a relative who died, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's 'Debt of Honour Register' should be your starting point