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Researching WW1 Officer Casualties


norfolk

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Hello everyone,

I was just wondering if there is a set of checks that members carry out when researching Officer casualties. I know there are records for him at the NA - just need to find time to get down there!

Where else do you look and what information do you normally gain?

Many thanks,

Norfolk

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Norfolk - I've started researching pupils from my old school - I was down at Kew going through the files for some who were officers.

The files will usually have paperwork relating to their attestation papers, their commision as an officer, medical reports, then the telegram reporting their death, paperwork relating to the payments of pension and other amounts due, their effects when they died, and if you are lucky, a report of how they died. In one case I found a sketch map showing where the officer had been buried. I also found the odd birth certicate copy, a degree certicate and in one case, correspondence relating to the officer being on a charge of using a forged railway warrant!

Also the war diary will usually briefly mention the circumstances of their death.

Other than that, I've found that searching for them on this forum, and a general search on the internet has quite often brought results, often in quite unexpected places - over the weekend one of my chaps turned up in a parish magazine from a couple of years ago, and another in a book about a Belfast engineering works, founded by his father.

I am sure this is just scratching the surface of what is out there, and I'd be very interested to see what other Pals suggest....

Regards

Alan

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In some sort of order :

- CWGC !

- SDGW (usually only for DoW, KIA, etc.)

- Medal index card (I have found that officers MICs can be somewhat misleading)

- Times Online Archive for a possible obituary (I have found very few for "missing" officers, though)

- Times Online Archive for mentions in casualty lists (very hit and miss however due to the Search engine and the very small type)

- Battalion War Diary (often references to woundings &/or deaths, plus awards. Also lists placing certain officers at certain battles, or not. If these are not available, they would be down the list a bit)

- Regimental/Divisional history (often references to woundings &/or deaths, plus awards)

- Census & BMD search (rarer names help, especially the often unusual officer's middle names)

- General "Google" internet search (lucky dip!)

- London Gazette for promotions history + awards (the "Improved" London Gazette search has disappointed me somewhat...)

- GWF (Low on the list, but I like to be armed with as much information before making the Pals use their valuable time researching something that I could do)

The following would be higher on the list, but for access issues:

- Local newspapers (there is usually a report on an officer's death).

- Officer's file (as per Alan's posts above. Very variable and, in fact, these hold more on an officer's previous OR career (if any) than as an officer...)

- Army Lists (to track time with the battalion, though many stay on the lists when missing. They also help with promotion dates when the Gazette doesn't play ball. Also, rather helpful for those officers listed as with Reserve battalions)

- School & other memorial records (as per newspapers, but sometimes a lot more detail)

Steve.

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Alan and Steve,

Thank you for your advice.

I have found his obituary in the Times. :D

My next priority is to contact the Regimental museum and see what they are able to come up with.

Many thanks,

Norfolk

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- GWF (Low on the list, but I like to be armed with as much information before making the Pals use their valuable time researching something that I could do)

The following would be higher on the list, but for access issues:

- Local newspapers (there is usually a report on an officer's death).

- Officer's file (as per Alan's posts above. Very variable and, in fact, these hold more on an officer's previous OR career (if any) than as an officer...)

- Army Lists (to track time with the battalion, though many stay on the lists when missing. They also help with promotion dates when the Gazette doesn't play ball. Also, rather helpful for those officers listed as with Reserve battalions)

- School & other memorial records (as per newspapers, but sometimes a lot more detail)

Steve,

Excellent list!

Recently I found the local newspapers to be an excellent source for biographical information (though some of the stories have to be treated with caution). Several days at Colindale reaped large rewards.

Officers' files are variable but some are brilliant. Some of my recent searches on 'missing' officers produced detailed accounts (again check for the variations) by other officers and men of what happened as well as some evidence of tragic and forlorn searches by relatives for evidence that a 'loved one' survived against the odds.

I also contacted several schools about officers. Some were great (e.g. Clifton, Uppingham), others (no names, no pack drill) utterly useless.

Prisoner of War files might be another source to add.

Always worth searching the on-line indexes of the IWM and the Liddle Collection as you never know what you may turn up. By far the best 56th Division officer memoire I turned up was at the Liddle Collection.

Bill

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