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Archiver > WARWICK > 1999-10 > 0938778962


From: Iain Archer <>
Subject: Re: Army Records
Date: Fri, 1 Oct 1999 12:56:02 +0100


wrote on Thu, 30 Sep 1999:
>My father in law joined the army at 16 in 1924, served in the Royal Horse
>Artillery until after the Second World War when he was discharged. I would
>like to try and get hold of his service records, but do not know his army
>number. Does anybody know how I would find this out?
>
Jackie

The following is a snippet from one of the contributiions of Iain Kerr to
soc.genealogy.britain that I saved. He's one of the handful of people there
whose postings I tend to treat as a part-work cyclopedia of expert information.
I trust the PRO web page says something similar. I don't know what
confidentiality criteria apply.

Iain Archer - London
=========================

<from Iain Kerr>
The records of all officers and soldiers who joined the British Army and
who were discharged after 1922 are stored in the Ministry of Defence Record
Office CS(R)2b at Bourne Avenue, Hayes, Middlesex UB3 1RS. This includes
territorial, volunteer, militia and home-defence forces and some colonial
forces. The Record Office also holds the WWI records which are being
progressively released to the Public Record Office.

You should note that there is some risk that the official archives of more
recent British Army personnel records are incomplete. It is reported that
up to half of the original pre-World War 2 British Army soldier's personal
records were badly damaged by fire and water following a German bombing
raid on the Hayes Record Office during World War II. Those that survived
are often in a poor condition having been variously damaged by fire and
water.

Information on the service records of the individual could be obtained by
application to: Ministry of Defence Records Office CS(R)2, Bourne Avenue,
Hayes, Middlesex UB3 1RF, United Kingdom. {Telephone ++44 181 573
3831}. They will send you an application form that will require a search
fee of £25 per person being enquired after. Payment of the search fee does
not guarantee a successful result.

Yours aye, Iain

Web Page at: http://home.clara.net/iainkerr/index.htm
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