Ancestry makes Forces War Records free for Remembrance

From Ancestry, news about its Forces War Records site at https://uk.forceswarrecords.com:

Discover more about your military ancestors     
 
This Remembrance, we are opening up our records with sister website, Forces War Records. With the help of the UK’s leading military genealogy website, you can learn more about your family history and discover even more details about your military ancestors.     

Dive deeper into a unique collection of wartime records with FREE ACCESS until 13 November.

Further information is available via Forces War Records at https://uk.forceswarrecords.com/go/remembrance-free-access.

Chris 

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Half price membership offer from Forces War Records

From Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk):

Start your journey today and discover your ancestor’s military history.

This Remembrance period Forces War Records is offering you HALF PRICE membership on monthly and yearly packages. – less than £25.00 for the year, or less than £5.00 for a month* (use code 50FWR).

With over 27 million records online there's never been a better time to join

1. Simply Register your details for free here - https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/register/
Why? By registering your details, you get the benefit of having an account created for you where all your searches and interesting information you have found can be saved for easy access later. 2. Next visit - https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/subscribe
3. Select your subscription option.
4. Enter your card details.
5. Have your discount code 50FWR ready and simply enter the code in the discount code box.

* Offer starts 11th November 2022 Offer ends 23:59GMT 20th November 2022. 50% offer valid on purchase of first membership subscription only. Special offer price: £24.48 for first 12 months of an Annual membership or £4.48 for first month of monthly membership. Your membership will automatically renew after the special offer period and at that time, you will be charged £8.95 per month for a Monthly membership and £48.95 every 12 months for an Annual membership, unless you are notified otherwise. To avoid auto-renewing cancel at least 2 days before your renewal date by visiting My Account or contacting our customer support team. See www.forces-war-records.co.uk for full terms and conditions

By being a fully subscribed member, you will benefit from:

• 27+ million military records
• A wide variety of collections with additional digital images of original historical records
• Military experts on tap to answer your queries and help you find more
• Unique WW1 Troop Movements interactive map
• Dedication Wall - upload a lasting tribute to your loved ones then ‘share’ via social media.
• 1,000's of original historic documents

(With thanks to Neil White)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Forces War Records adds further medal rolls

Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk) has added medal rolls from commemorative events at former royal pageant occasions:

The new collections available online on Forces War Records include*:

· King George V 1935 Silver Jubilee Medal Roll - Nominal rolls and category lists for the commemorative medal issued to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the coronation of King George V. The National Day of Celebration was held on the 6th May 1935 with a thanksgiving service held at St. Paul’s Cathedral. An approximate total of 85,235 medals were awarded.

· King George VI 1937 Coronation Medal Roll - Nominal rolls and category lists for the commemorative medal issued to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth which took place on 12th May 1937 (with original digitised documents). An approximate total of 90,279 medals were awarded.

· Queen Elizabeth II 1953 Coronation Medal Roll - Nominal rolls and category lists for the commemorative medal issued to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2nd June 1953 and an approximate total of 138,214 medals were awarded.

· Queen Elizabeth II 1977 Silver Jubilee Medal Roll - Nominal rolls and category lists for the commemorative medal issued to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II's accession to the throne on 6th February 1977 and an approximate total of 68,377 medals were awarded.

* A full access membership is required to view the records in the featured collection. See https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/for full terms and conditions. 

Further details at the website.

(With thanks to Neil White)

 

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Ancestry acquires Forces War Records

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has announced that it has acquired Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk):

The following is the official announcement (https://www.ancestry.com/corporate/blog/forces-war-records-joins-ancestry-family):

Forces War Records Joins the Ancestry® Family

At Ancestry, we know how crucial it is to connect with the military heroes in our family trees so we can preserve their stories and honour their sacrifices. From regimental databases to medal rolls and POW records to casualty lists, military records hold rich and important information about our ancestors. That is why we are pleased to announce that Ancestry has acquired Clever Digit Media, which owns and operates Forces War Records. 

With more than 26 million military records from the UK and other commonwealth countries, Forces War Records is the leading British military genealogy-specialist website with a unique product that helps people both discover and contextualize their family’s military history. Through Forces War Records, people can discover details about their ancestors like their regiment, base or ship they served on, the battles they fought, and the medals they were awarded. 

For over a decade, Forces War Records has been connecting its users with these wartime stories and Ancestry is excited to help expand their product and bring these collections to new customers worldwide. We are proud to welcome Forces War Records to the Ancestry family and to offer even more resources, tools and records to empower our customers on their journeys of personal discovery.

COMMENT: Forces War Records certainly has some unique UK military content on its site, it will be interesting to see what Ancestry now brings to the party.

(With thanks to Kirsty Wilkinson)

 

 

Chris

Just out, Sharing Your Family History Online is on sale at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Forces War Records adds Air Ministry - Casualty Communiques WWII collection

From Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk):

New Collection Release – ‘Air Ministry - Casualty Communiques WWII’ are now available on Forces War Records.

An exciting ‘new’ collection of records has been added to the Forces War Records database that may contain your WW2 Royal Air Force ancestor. A collection of over 178,000 records from the ‘Air Ministry - Casualty Communiques 1939-46’ are now available to view online.

Throughout the Second World War, the Air Ministry regularly published Casualty Communiques through the Ministry of Information which announced, or updated the status of missing Air Force personnel. Once the next of kin had been informed these reports were then released to various newspapers and periodicals of the era including The Times, many Daily Gazettes and magazines such as Flight.

Services covered are:

· Royal Air Force
· Royal Australian Air Force
· Royal Canadian Air Force
· Royal New Zealand Air Force
· South African Air Force
· Royal Indian Air Force
· Women’s Auxiliary Air Force

The size and scope of WW2 Records held by Forces War Records makes them a fascinating resource for genealogists. These records, cover Armed Forces personnel injured or killed in action, those receiving awards, mention in dispatches or those captured as a P.O.W. and so much more!
 
You may not be aware of this, but the Ministry of Defence has a 100-year disclosure rule on service records, this applying to all service post 1921. Although, at Forces War Records we have over 7 million WW2 Records.  

To search the collection visit https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/collections/212/air-ministry-casualty-communiques-wwii

(With thanks to Neil White)

Chris

Just out, Sharing Your Family History Online is on sale at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Forces War Records expands content with new digitised images

From Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk):

FORCES WAR RECORDS - PRESS RELEASE
Our UK Military Records are Expanding – Search NEW Collection with original digitised documents.

Forces War Records are working with The National Archives to add new collections with original digitised documents. In addition to over 24 million transcribed records, you will now be able to discover a wide variety of collections with additional digital images of original historical records covering both World War One and World War Two with many more to follow over 2020 and beyond.

Discover New Collections with Original Documents Released on Forces War Records:

Japanese Registers of POWs WWII
The records comprise of three registers which record the names of over 13,000 allied Prisoners of War and civilian internees of British and other nationalities held in camps in Singapore, during the Second World War.

King George VI 1937 Coronation Medal Roll
These records contain nominal rolls and category lists for the commemorative medal issued to celebrate the coronation of King George VI. Those receiving the medals include civilians as well as those in the armed forces.

Records of Officers Services 1775-1914
The records of officers' services give the different ranks held by the officer and his services, together with certain personal particulars which may include date and place of birth, when/where married and to whom, and any qualifications.

Royal Navy Medal Rolls 1793-1955
Rolls and lists of officers and men of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines who were awarded or claimed medals and clasps issued to commemorate actions and campaigns. The series contains awards of the British War Medal, Victory Medal and 1914-15 Star to men of the Mercantile Marine Reserve and to officers and men of the Royal Naval Reserve.

Royal Naval Reserve Officers Service Records 1862-1964
These records contain the service records for Royal Naval Reserves officers between 1862 and 1964. These records of service include engineers and paymasters.

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Officers Service Records WWI
Search through our Service Records of Officers’ who served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) during the First World War.

A unique feature of Forces War Records is that we link other possible records that are of the same person saving you valuable time in your genealogy quest.

Start your journey today and discover your ancestor’s military history.

(With thanks to Neil White)

Chris

You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Forces War Records updates RAF records 1918-1975 collection

From Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk):

We have now added over 2 million NEW Royal Air Force Records from 1918 to 1975 for you to search.

Forces War Records UK based team of experts has now transcribed a nominal roll of other ranks – both male and female who served in the Royal Air Force.

Records in this collection are likely to include the following:

• Surname
• First Name
• Service Number
• Maiden Names or Aliases
• ‘Enlisted after’ date
• Place of Enlistment
• Trade
• Nationality

NB: The collection was initially launched in August 2019 with 1.5 million records, so this appears to be an update of an existing record set.

Chris

You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.