Boforsgun Posted 11 February , 2019 Share Posted 11 February , 2019 Can anyone tell me how to access the Pre 1921 Retention Records Collection. Thanks Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordercollie Posted 11 February , 2019 Share Posted 11 February , 2019 I think you mean post 1921. If so you will find details here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boforsgun Posted 11 February , 2019 Author Share Posted 11 February , 2019 Thanks for you quick reply info is correct, but cannot access from site you recommend have already tried before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaureenE Posted 11 February , 2019 Share Posted 11 February , 2019 If you want to access a post 1921 record, you have to apply to the Ministry of Defence, by filling in a form, and paying an application fee. The records are not available online. For details, perhaps explained in a different way to the link in post 2, see the FIBIS Fibiwiki page British Army, section Army personnel serving after January 1921 https://wiki.fibis.org/w/British_Army#Army_personnel_serving_after_January_1921 There is a finding aid available for men who were born prior to 1901 which is explained. Cheers Maureen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clk Posted 11 February , 2019 Share Posted 11 February , 2019 Hi Mel, I'm not quite sure what you are after, but if you mean the index of files that the MoD released for 'declared' files in their possession for men born before 1901, who had service after the early 1920s, they can be downloaded as the 8 'attachment' documents from here. It does take a little bit of time to do, but what some on the forum have done is to download the individual files, then merge them to make searching easier. If you get a 'hit' where the surname, initials, and DoB match the person that you are looking for, it would then be a £30 gamble to apply to the MoD for the (probably heavily weeded) record. The mechanics of doing that are linked above. There is a helpdesk phone number here. If you post some more details of what you're looking for, and what you already know, I'm sure that Pals will try to help. Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boforsgun Posted 12 February , 2019 Author Share Posted 12 February , 2019 Hi Chris, I did a search with the MOD 2 years ago but they only turned up my Grandfathers WW2 service record , but I happened upon this [ Pre 1921 MOD retention records] item in Forces war records.I put in the name and DOB and was given--- Further Information Account: 11006. Item Code; ADH001064976 Archive Reference----- surviving-ww1-service-records ,Does this mean his WW1 records could still be available. He was William Melville 1887-03-21 service nos. 5790 D/21193 7018432 service 1906-1919 1940-1944. Many thanks , Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clk Posted 12 February , 2019 Share Posted 12 February , 2019 (edited) Hi Mel, I think that the Forces War Records record is just a reference to the MoD index, and would guess that those are the papers that you've already obtained. 3 hours ago, Boforsgun said: He was William Melville ... service nos. 5790 D/21193 Looking at the British War & Victory medals roll his overseas WW1 service seems to have been... Image source: Ancestry.co.uk He was also entitled to the 1914 Star medal having disembarked in active theatre on 9th October 1914, where his 'qualifying' unit was the 2nd Dragoon Guards. Images sourced from Ancestry.co.uk The war diary for the 2nd Dragoon Guards is here at the National Archives, or here on Ancestry. It shows that they arrived in France in mid August 1914, so it would appear that William arrived as an early reinforcement. From his British War & Victory medals roll, I'm not sure what "6 DN/" means. I think that it is different than "D. Gds." (Dragoon Guards), and might be short for 'Dragoons'. N.B. The 6th Dragoons, and the 6th Dragoon Guards were different units. In terms of his WW1 overseas service, I did wonder if it might indicate that he was sent to France from another unit (or from the Reserve), but was redirected to the 2nd Dragoon Guards on arrival. If he was born in/near Belfast, there seems to be a good candidate in the 1911 census - a 24 year old William Melville, in India with the army. Unfortunately, it only records him as "cavalry", rather than a specific unit. Regards Chris Edited 12 February , 2019 by clk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boforsgun Posted 12 February , 2019 Author Share Posted 12 February , 2019 Hi Chris, Thank you for this information it is a great help and has no doubt saved me wasting a lot of time. The 6/DN is the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons. Once again thank you for your time it was much appreciated. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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