Jump to content
Free downloads from TNA ×
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

CWGC Documents Archive Online


Shiny

Recommended Posts

Well the CWGC archivist has been on the radio this morning talking about the release, so interest is probably high at the moment

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, think you are right - it has just crashed on me now !!

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been trying since yesterday to complete a list of the ww1 graves in Western Necroplis in Glasgow, it just cut out yesterday and i have been unable to get back on it.Do i have to try something else or do you think it will come back up again. I keep trying find a graveyard but nothing is happening.

Mary.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is hard to tell whether the site is not working because of work being done, or whether it is overwhelmed by people trying to search it today. Newspaper headlines suggesting there is a 'new database of war dead' have probably whipped up excitement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Earlier this morning, the search facility seemed to be working - but only as far as the "first page selection" with a man's individual record not coming up. Now the whole site is down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers John ,i had been getting Western Necropolis with one name, but when i clicked on it it just went off. I was not sure if i was not doing it right but looks like it is not just me .

Mary.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's up now.

I've managed to get two grave registration reports but not the concentration or headstone pages it shows that it has, they are just the dark grey screen.

It's looking very promising so far, I'm getting all excited waiting for the other documents.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if it was wise making such announcements while the bonnet is still up? From my limited searches it looks as if even though the thumbnails are shown for other documents (registrations, concentrations etc) only those for headstones can be viewed in any detail or downloaded so far; does this reflect others' experience? (not a criticism, but currently finding it very slow with an occasional error message denying access to the database, but not to the home pages)

NigelS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps the changes should have been made one at a time. Get up and fully functional then move on to the next one?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps people just need to read what it says on the website front page "Next week - commencing 7 July - the CWGC will launch an exciting range of new digital services on this website. Meanwhile, this may cause some disruption to our services." and stop stressing over not being able to get on the site for a few days?

From the few documents I saw this morning while it was working it looks quite exciting. We've waited a hundred years for this - a few more days isn't exactly a big drama.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've waited a hundred years for this - a few more days isn't exactly a big drama.

I have only waited since it was first announced. Maybe I am younger than you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've waited a hundred years for this - a few more days isn't exactly a big drama.

I have only waited since it was first announced. Maybe I am younger than you.

:lol: :lol: I asked for that really I suppose! You know what I meant...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps people just need to read what it says on the website front page "Next week - commencing 7 July - the CWGC will launch an exciting range of new digital services on this website. Meanwhile, this may cause some disruption to our services." and stop stressing over not being able to get on the site for a few days?

From the few documents I saw this morning while it was working it looks quite exciting. We've waited a hundred years for this - a few more days isn't exactly a big drama.

Who's stressing? :innocent: merely commenting; haven't noticed that anyone has been obviously jumping up and down while throwing their toys out of the pram - at least not yet!

NigelS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Definitely not, I think it's great that we can see the documents at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, i can only see the Head Stone docs, the others are not working. Glad it is not me doing it wrong.

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Who's stressing? :innocent: merely commenting; haven't noticed that anyone has been obviously jumping up and down while throwing their toys out of the pram - at least not yet!

NigelS

Give it time Nigel, I suspect there might be toys all over the floor by the end of the week ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not quite sure whey they have built up our hopes on this for quite some time now.

As it's not a commercial venture, there is no great impetus to have all this online and accessible by any specific date. If it were a project of mine, I would have done this as a "soft launch" without any publicity, limiting the scope of the release until I was happy that it all worked. THEN I would shout it from the roof top !!

Agile development focussing on Minimum Viable Product !! Iterative deployments adding more functionality each time. This is the way it should be done. "Big Bang" is so yesterday !!

:)

(I'll get my coat on the way out)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...and pick your toys up too! :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The site seems to be working now - though searches are tediously slow (I guess that is understandable given the publicity).

In all it seems like a bit of a damp squib - there is not much new information in the few documents they have digitised - just enough to mean that I will have to check a few hundred entries 'just in case'. I was hoping for more - such as correspondence with the families. Are these records all the CWGC have? Or should I go back to planning a trip to Maidenhead?

The good news is that they haven't messed up links to soldiers' records (as was the case when the new search engine was introduced) - so no worries there.

The bad news is the loss of the initials/forename box - and the oddball response to the equivalent search with the current system. For instance Alfred John Aldridge, when I search for 'Aldridge A J' I get 5 pages of results starting with a page of Aldridges with fornames beginning with J! Surely they could sort the results more efficiently and show those who actually have the initials searched for before those who don't! I'm now beginning to wonder whether the old search delivered the same scatterbrained results?

A final plea (in case someone from CWGC reads this) - could they add another field to the csv downloads of a search - the CWGC casualty number or the url of the individual records (which is easy enough to create from the casualty number). I often download results and use Excel to filter them - it would be nice to have the url to hand (especially since the csv file lists the names in a different order to the search results).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Phil, if you click on the column names in the search results it will put them into alphabetical order - it was always a little variable

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The registers have been on Ancestry for a while but to have the added stuff is a bonus. Is there a correct way to search for a name i.e. initial (or name) first, then surname or the other way round. I know it must be difficult right now (just look at the findmypast fiasco) but I am sure it will all come right, I did a cemetery search and chose from a drop down list which then told me had no results for !!!

Will these types of changes at some point in the future, allow us to view some of the other info held on the database such as Foreign National's and the like

Regards Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have given up , was getting a drop down sign with the cemetery that i wanted this afternoon ,getting nothing at all now.

Mary.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...