drailton Posted 13 November , 2012 Share Posted 13 November , 2012 The Western Front Association have recently issued a press notice stating that they have just saved from destruction all the WWI army records held by the MOD and are going to digitise them and make them available to the public. It was my understanding that these records were deposited by MOD with the National Archives and TNA made them all available to Ancestry to digitise and these are what I now see on their website as a result of paying a subscription. The records the WFA say they have saved and are going to make available are: • Other Ranks Died (this contains nearly one million individual records) • Widows and Dependents of Other Ranks Died (in excess of one million records) • Other Ranks Survived: Requested/Rejected/Receiving Pension (over 2.5 million records) • Officers survived and Officers' Widows (approximately 150,000 records) • Merchant Naval Cards (about 5,000 records) WFA tell me that they will have records for more individuals that Ancestry but at the same time say that they dont know what Ancestry have! Can anyone offer any enlightenment on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGM Posted 14 November , 2012 Share Posted 14 November , 2012 The records saved by the WFA are not those on Ancestry. They are the soldiers pension record cards and this is very exciting news. What do the records tell us? The key aspect of the records is that, uniquely, they unite genealogical information with military information. This thread will explain: WFA secure Pension Record Card collection - news flash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drailton Posted 14 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 14 November , 2012 Yes, but what I am asking is how these pension records that WFA have are different from the pension records I see on Ancestry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 14 November , 2012 Share Posted 14 November , 2012 They are a completely different document, with much different information. I think you will find the details on the WFA site. They will be a real bonus to research once they become available Keith EDIT And don't forget that some 60% of the main records were destroyed. These escaped! They will fill many gaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kath Posted 14 November , 2012 Share Posted 14 November , 2012 Keith, In the days before Discovery, I searched for "Royal Edward" and had many results. I got surviving Pension records for some men. Eg. PIECE REFERENCE: PIN 82/179 INSTRUCTIONS: Name and Regiment: WARE Sydney S Wales Bdrs Disability: Drowned on Royal Edward in the Aegean sea. These are forms - are the WFA cards different? Kath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 14 November , 2012 Share Posted 14 November , 2012 This link is the one that you need. http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/great-war-current-news/pension-records.html Reading it and viewing the examples will be much more helpful than any attempt on my part to précis it. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kath Posted 14 November , 2012 Share Posted 14 November , 2012 Thanks, Keith. Yes, that makes it clear. Kath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saw119 Posted 14 November , 2012 Share Posted 14 November , 2012 Thanks for the link Keith, it's really nice to finally see some sample records 'in the flesh' so to speak. I really am rather excited by this development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted 26 November , 2012 Share Posted 26 November , 2012 Thank you for link Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 26 November , 2012 Share Posted 26 November , 2012 We may have to wait quite a long time for access, but it will surely be worth it. I just hope that they can strike a deal that bypasses the ususal suspects and makes these records available to all without charge Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saw119 Posted 26 November , 2012 Share Posted 26 November , 2012 It's a thorny issue charging that's for sure. I'm not sure of the best way for it to be worked out. Is it really conceivable to have free acces to something that will surely cost many, many thousands of pounds to scan, index, host etc? In an ideal world I'm sure we would all say yes but in reality it's a different matter. I do feel, however, that handing them over to a private organisation, whatever it may be, is very much against the spririt of the records and the information they contain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 26 November , 2012 Share Posted 26 November , 2012 The Government has allocated £50m for centenary costs. I'm sure that most of that is already reserved, but I would be very sad if the WFA have not at least begun to explore that, possibly in partnership with someone like the National Archives, or the IWM. If they have, they won't feel able to tell us until there is an agreement, so I'm just hoping......... Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 26 November , 2012 Share Posted 26 November , 2012 This is a really interesting development. It seems it will provide a valuable bridge between existing information relating to the military details of individuals and the broader social data such as family members, dates of birth etc. As Keith says, it will likely fill in many gaps created with the destruction of many records. I would imagine the WFA will explore all funding options. The National Lottery seems to be quite generous at times. MG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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