WW 1 OFFICERS SERVICE RECORDS

[Phill Jones]

Hi , Are WW1 Officers service records available those that survive , by this i mean i am assuming that many were destroyed in WW2 ?? 

 

Thank you Phill Jones 

[Bernard_Lewis]

Yes. But only by visiting Kew or paying the NA or a researcher to copy them for you as far as I know.

 

Bernard

[Bernard_Lewis]

Oh, forgot to say that if your chap stayed in the army post war then, depending on when he eventually left, his file may still be with the MOD.

 

Bernard

[Phil Evans]

You may find these two links useful. There used to be a better research guide to officers records produced by the National Archives, but it seems to have disappeared in recent years.

The records themselves can vary greatly as they were weeded regularly, up to around the 1960s I believe.

 

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14542

 

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-officers-after-1913/

 

Phil

 

 

[Phill Jones]

Thank you both for your replies . 

[John_Hartley]

As Phil notes, the files have been been heavily weeded, leaving a considerable number with only papers about settling mess bills and the like. That said, they are likely to contain the man's original application to become an officer so useful personal information can be gleaned. The files can be a really grerat help if the man was taken prisoner,as there is likely to be the "exhonoration" report detailing how it came about. These can often be the main source of information about a failed battalion action.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, John_Hartley said:

As Phil notes, the files have been been heavily weeded, leaving a considerable number with only papers about settling mess bills and the like

 

    And not only weeded but not the original officer files either. The officer files went up in flames during WW2 even more comprehensively than  the "Burnt Records" for Other Ranks. Current officer files are an amalgam of various records drawn from various sources, most notably the financial records and Committee of Settlement-a board which sorted out the financial arrangements of dead officers.  The files do not contain assessment and fitness reports but as JH says they can be good for POW officers,as-obviously-the exhoneration reports were placed in the reconstructed files. They can also be quite good for officers died with no known grave as they can contain little interview reports-usually only a paragraph each-from other men in that officer's unit about what happened. Or,occasionally, treasure- such as(for one casualty I have), a letter from the dead officer's father to Lord Kitchener thanking him for information about his son's death.

    It's a hotch-potch that is worth looking at, rather than a guaranteed goldmine

[ALANJONES]

They are certainly worth looking at - I have found some with summaries of service, interesting exchanges of letters (usually regarding pensions but sometimes including background to wounding etc.), also an exchange on an retired officer sent to prison .. etc.

Also, if the officer was commissioned from the ranks then a considerable amount of his other rank service is often included in his officer's record.

I think I am right in saying that records for officers who served after 1922 (?) are held by MOD Veterans department and can possibly be requested by surviving relatives - there was some talk on the MOD releasing material from the earlier years but I have lost that link .....

Alan

[John_Hartley]

24 minutes ago, voltaire60 said:

They can also be quite good for officers died with no known grave as they can contain little interview reports-usually only a paragraph each-from other men in that officer's unit about what happened

The one time I've come across this, it was fascinating. Not least because the various eyewitnesses had their different stories to tell that it wasnt really possible to say much other than the man was shot and died. For the rest, the when and the how, there were different accounts. But it all helped to add enormous detail to the account of the failed attack.