Genealogy Chat

Do I have to take a subscription to Ancestry.com to view a service record at the National Archives or is there another way ?
I don't object to paying, it's just that I don't want to subscribe to Ancestry.com only to find that the record I seek was amongst the burned records... or be given a number of false positives.. and end up finding nothing..

Colin,

Why don't you post the name of the person whose record you are looking for and I'm sure someone who has a subscription will look for you.

Gai

Go ahead and search - you don't need a subscription to do that. If you find what you think you are looking at then take up Gai's offer.

You can free search WW1 service records-- at *nationalarchives.gov.uk * Colin,and instant download for £3-50p, each set of records ,so no subscription needed.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I have downloded my relatives Medal Card (£2.00) and also the whole of his Batalion's War Diary (£3.50) but whilst I can search (via the Ancestry link in National Archives) and see a list of possible matches in the Service Records, there seems to be no access to the actual service record without paying a subscription to Ancestry.. or am I missing something ? Is it possible to bypass the Ancestry link (on Service Records) and pay National Archives direct ? ... Or does Ancestry have a monopoly on hte provision of Service Records ?..
The Ancestry link does not appear for the other documents.
I am most grateful for all your help.
Colin.

You can't search WW1 Army records on the National Archives or Documentsonline site - the only place you will find them online is on Ancestry.

Oh didnt realise they handed it all over to ancestry!!,,,,,,I got relatives from NA abt 3 years ago @£3-00,


Colin,,,put his name and service number on here someone can always get any to you by email exchange.

WW1 Army records have never been available on the National Archives site.

Hi Colin,
If you have his details, I can check Ancestry for you.

Anne

Many thanks to everyone who responded.
Anne.. thankyou for your offer, I will make another post on here in this thread with the relevant details and I would be most grateful for your efforts.
Colin

I am Looking for the 1914-1918 Service Record for the following:-
Name: Arthur Leonard Askew (commonly known as Arthur Askew – my Great Uncle and Son of Henry Askew of Mount Street Harrogate Yorkshire)
Born : Fourth quarter of 1886 in Harrogate Yorkshire England
Died : 3rd May 1917 aged 31 - Reported Missing and later pronounced Killed in Action on 3rd May 1917. (medal Index Card states ‘Missing’)
Enlisted at York in 1914 Service No Ts/2547 ASC (Army Service Corps)
First posted to a theatre of war 18th September 1914.
Later transferred to 5th Battalion Royal Fusiliers Service No. 9/47204 (or (G/47204) medal index card is indistinct as to the 9/ or G/
He must have returned to UK for training as the 5th and 6th Royal Fusiliers never left the UK, they were reserve/training battalions based in Dover.
Then he transferred to 8th Battalion Royal Fusiliers Service No GS/47201 Attached to 36 Brigade, 12th (Eastern) Division, which in 1917 was part of Allenby’s Third Army at ARRAS.
I’m reasonably confident that Arthur was killed in the Third Battle of Scarpe.
His name appears on the 3rd bay of the ARRAS Memorial (those with no known grave)
He also appears on the Harrogate War Memorial and on a plaque in St Marks Church, Oatlands, Harrogate.
Medal Index Card shows him earning the 1914 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

After all the above, you might wonder why I would like to see his service record (if it exists).. you never know it might give more information than I already have or give clues for further research. e.g. I would really like to know which Company of the 8th Battalion he was in. If I can find that I stand a reasonable chance of pinpointing fairly accurately just where he was killed as I have the Battalion war diary which sets out the orders for the day and the plan of attack in some detail.

Colin, I'm not seeing any records on Ancestry or Find My Past.

Over 60% of WW1 service records were destroyed during enemy action in WW2. We may sometimes find Medal Rolls but no actual records for that very reason.

Yes MarieCeleste I know that which is why I don't want to take a subscription with Ancestry only to find that the record has been destroyed. However, there are quite a few references to Arthur Askew in the Service Record Search I did and there is a good chance that they are not all false positives.
Let's just say I'm a hopeful optimist.. ;-)

Sorry, all I can see in ancestry is

Name: Arthur Askew
Birth Place: Burton Leonard, Yorks
Residence: Harrogate
Death Date: 3 May 1917
Death Location: France & Flanders
Enlistment Location: York
Rank: Private
Regiment: Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)
Battalion: 8th Battalion
Number: 47201
Type of Casualty: Killed in action
Theatre of War: Western European Theatre
Comments: Formerly Ts/2547, A.S.C.

Thankyou JoyKM..
That's him.. I'm still hopeful of seeing his service record though..

Colin,
I have sent you a PM

Anne

Thankyou everyone once again. After some wonderfull help from Anne I have concluded that Arthur's service record must be amongst the lost records. However all was not lost as I found the service record for one of his brothers .
My Great Grandfather and his four sons (including my Grandfather) all served at the same time ! Great Grandfather and three sons made it through the war including my Grandfather (otherwise I wouldn't be here pestering you all) !
I think this concludes this thread now. Thank you all once again.
Colin

Colin


I have never yet found a service record for someone who was dead, and have assumed that service records were removed from "active file" to another file after the person was killed


Others have found both service records and death records .................. but as I say, I never have.




sylvia

Sylvia,

I have found the Service Record for my uncle as well as his entry on the CWGC. The service record includes a document signed my grandmother which lists all his lving brothers and sisters with their ages and address.

The puzzling thing about the record is that he made a pay allotment not to his parents but to either his grandmother or an aunt and gave her address on his enlistment form.