Graham Sacker's Machine Gun Corps Database - now online and available for all to access through Discovery

[Richard Fisher]

Saturday was the 101st anniversary of the disbandment of the MGC. Last year the Vickers MG Collection & Research Association did the Bisley shoot and the NAM event but we can't repeat those every year! Instead, something that possibly has an even greater impact on MGC researchers and families.
Some of you will be aware of the database of Machine Gun Corps officers' and soldiers' information that Graham Sacker has built over more than twenty years. He will have possibly helped you with your enquiries about MGC soldiers. Well, Graham has graciously allowed us to put it all online as part of the Vickers MG Collection & Research Association archive hosted on the National Archives discovery catalogue. It is over 128,000 records!
This means that a search for an MGC soldier will come up with responses from Graham's database as well as the Medal Index Card and any other records. We haven't just included the names and numbers of entries in the database but ALL of the information is on there so you no longer need to ask for a full report. Graham used to charge for these because it took him time and effort to do the work, so please understand how generous this truly is.
To learn more, we've put a page on the VMGCRA website with finding aids and more about the database itself.
Let us know what you think.

VMGCRA Finding Aids page and explanation

Search results for the database - use 'SKR' if you just want database results

[charlie962]

What a remarkably generous gesture. A difficult area to research when looking for a man's MGC unit so easy access such a database is going to help research and answer lots of questions I'm sure.

Charlie

[Michelle Young]

Thank you for letting the forum know about this very generous gesture. 

[Richard Fisher]

19 hours ago, Michelle Young said:

Thank you for letting the forum know about this very generous gesture. 

 

23 hours ago, charlie962 said:

What a remarkably generous gesture. A difficult area to research when looking for a man's MGC unit so easy access such a database is going to help research and answer lots of questions I'm sure.

Charlie

Here we're very much about making as much information available as openly as possible and Graham saw that and believes in the same principle. We're gradually building the online archive catalogue with the National Archives but have several hundred manuals and handbooks already online freely available. We'd do more but our volunteer time is limited sadly (and the Association is entirely volunteer run).

We're hoping more people will look at the data and find stories or useful information from it. We're putting out a full press released in the coming days to try and get wider interest as well.

Rich

[MaureenE]

This seems a great outcome to have the database available on an ongoing, presumably permanent basis.

I was not aware that The National Archives would host a database in this way.

@Richard Fisher  Do you know  if  this is  a first for TNA, and  is there any possibility they would do it for other databases?

Maureen

[Richard Fisher]

On 22/07/2023 at 00:57, MaureenE said:

This seems a great outcome to have the database available on an ongoing, presumably permanent basis.

I was not aware that The National Archives would host a database in this way.

@Richard Fisher  Do you know  if  this is  a first for TNA, and  is there any possibility they would do it for other databases?

Maureen

Good Morning Maureen,

The Association already had an archive registry with TNA so it was easy to put it as part of this. If other museums, collections and archives were to add similar, it would be very much up to them. It had to be structured into such a way that it acts as an archive with each record representing a 'file' as if it were a printed document. Hopefully others can follow suit and I'd be happy to talk to people about how it's worked.

It'll hopefully be there permanently unless there's some form of policy decision that means otherwise.

Hope that helps,

Rich

[MaureenE]

@Richard Fisher Thank you for the information. It opens up possibilities.

Cheers

Maureen

[FROGSMILE]

A fantastically generous thing to do that I hope will set a precedent for others to emulate.  Well done and thank you to Graham and the volunteers of the Machine Gun Corps Association!  It’s excellent news.

Edited 26 July , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[Richard Fisher]

MGC DATABASE UPDATE!

We’ve just updated the MGC Database on the National Archives Discovery Catalogue

- another 5,000 soldiers added (up to 133,800)
- reorganised so the entire database is sorted by MGC service number making it easier to identify a soldier’s probably unit based on surrounding service numbers (more to come of how to do this)
- improved presentation so it’s easier to read. 

Head to https://vickersmg.blog/about/research/mgcdatabase/ for more information. 

[AndrewSid]

 

Richard,

Just spotted this and most grateful.  We should think about putting the link somewhere where it can be easily spotted?

I thought I had exhausted research on my MGC Great Uncle but the database has somehow found a very detailed account of his DCM award, much more than the usual 3 or 4 sentences.  No idea what the source is but it has provided much more specific information on his action and where it occurred during the German 1918 offensive in April 1918.

My wife’s great grandfather is also there but like so may, his MGC unit is unknown.  He was transferred from the 7th Munsters after wounding in Gallipoli. 

Thanks again for posting 

Andy

[Richard Fisher]

On 13/11/2023 at 22:46, AndrewSid said:

 

Richard,

Just spotted this and most grateful.  We should think about putting the link somewhere where it can be easily spotted?

I thought I had exhausted research on my MGC Great Uncle but the database has somehow found a very detailed account of his DCM award, much more than the usual 3 or 4 sentences.  No idea what the source is but it has provided much more specific information on his action and where it occurred during the German 1918 offensive in April 1918.

My wife’s great grandfather is also there but like so may, his MGC unit is unknown.  He was transferred from the 7th Munsters after wounding in Gallipoli. 

Thanks again for posting 

Andy

Thanks Andy. I’m glad it’s useful. Graham is continuing work on it and we’ve added another couple of thousand entries as well as links to unit webpages now. It’s never-ending but extremely satisfying when people are benefiting from it. 
 

Rich