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Trace membership in the British Army

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  • 07-07-2008 4:51pm
    #1
    Dobie
    Registered Users Posts: 16 ✭


    Hi All,

    I'm doing some work on my family tree and have come across a relative who ran away when he was 16. Family lore has it that he joined the British Army and served in India. When he contacted the family again he was living in Yorkshire but always refused point blank to talk about his time in the army. I have his name DOB etc and a photo of him in his army uniform. Can anyone suggest how I could go about finding information on military career?

    Cheers


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    #2
    Fratton Fred
    Closed Accounts Posts: 26,567 ✭✭✭✭Fratton Fred


    good luck and let us know how you get on.

    http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/


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    #3
    Lizzykins
    Closed Accounts Posts: 637 ✭✭✭Lizzykins


    I had the same issue with a grandfather of mine who served in the British Army in WW1. I did a bit of searching and found a guy in England called Tom Tulloch Marshall who does research on behalf of people tracing family trees. I filled in a form online and he got back to me quite quickly. A couple of weeks later he had found my grandfather, his battalion and regiment, army application and discharge papers, details of wound received in battle and dates. i couldn't believe it! I got a CD with the documents scanned into it plus a small explanatory sheet. There were a few little details that impressed me. It turned out that my grandfather was wounded in the Battle of Loos in Sept 1915-the same engagement that claimed the life of Rudyard Kipling's son Jack. They were even in the same battalion of the Irish Guards.

    Try googling Tom Tulloch Marshall and you'll find his website. Good luck and let us know how you get on. PS. Cost was about 100 euro I think but I never would have found what he did just doing the research myself.


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    #4
    Dobie
    Registered Users Posts: 16 ✭Dobie


    checked out nationarchives.gov but the dob is required and i'm fairly certain he would have lied about his age. probably work out cheaper to hire someone like tom tulloch marshall than guessing the dob on the army request forms. thanks for the info and i'll let you know how i get on


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    #5
    Locamon
    Closed Accounts Posts: 363 ✭✭Locamon


    Best thing you can do is go to the website of the Imperial war museum or the imperial war museum north, they have some great links for looking up people who served in the British army. I had a look when I visited the the imperial war museum north in Manchester and was able to find my grand uncle without a dob. You can print the record if available but there is a modest charge. Worth noting given the volume of records you may get a full or very limited history as some records were destroyed before they could be scanned and catalogued. Hope this helps.


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