Evening, I am sure this has been asked a million times before but I'm going to ask it anyway ! I have in the last year started to collect medals, both WW! & WW2 and I am considering forking out and paying for a years access to one of the sites. I was wondering which ones/one is best recommended ? Ancestry ? Forces War Records ? others ?? Thanks in advance !
The first one you mention I have found very good for WW1 and some WW2 areas The second - well that should never ever be mentioned on this site - Others - Find my past I believe is useful for WW2 and 1939 register Another option is to ask on here and save yourself a few bob, I am sure there are other ways you could 'pay back' those that help you out - mind you that depends on how many requests you are likely to make - but it might be a starting point TD PS I have Ancestry PPS - you might need to read through this thread - WW2Talk Has Absolutely No Connection To 'Forces War Records'.
I like Ancestry and FindmyPast, they both have something to offer, depends what stage your research is at, and what direction you approach it from.
Thanks TD, apologies for mentioning FWR, being new to this site I don't know the history on it etc. !!
In my experience, Ancestry is always a good starting point, with the added bonus of stumbling upon other researchers work in Family Trees. FMP is excellent when you are closing in a bit more, with access to the 1939 Register, POW information, especially for those held by the Japanese and other more specialist collections.
If your primary interest is WW1 then Ancestry is your best bet as WW1 Medal Rolls and the Medal roll Index Cards (MIC) are there. MIC are actually a free resource. You don't need a paid for account to access them. Steve
Ancestry databases that include the date 1914 British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920 Military 3,653,052 British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 Military 5,280,584 British Army WWI Pension Records 1914-1920 Military 2,139,613 UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919 Military 703,810 UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 and 1939-1947 Military 560,902 UK, Silver War Badge Records, 1914-1920 Military 882,674 UK, Navy Lists, 1888-1970 Military 3,909,410 England, The National Roll of the Great War, 1914-1918 Military 97,712 UK, Citations of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, 1914-1920 Military 24,928 Ireland, Casualties of World War I, 1914-1922 Military 49,647 UK, De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, 1914-1919 Military 26,928 UK, Memorial Books WWI and WWII, 1914-1945 Military 24,177 Web: UK, Royal Naval Division Index, 1914-1919 Military 50,720 UK, Royal Navy and Royal Marine War Graves Roll, 1914-1919 Military 43,930 UK, British Officer Prisoners of War, 1914-1918 Military 8,317 Gateshead, Durham, England, War Honours Scrapbook, 1914-1920 Military 4,279 Web: UK, Campaign Medals Awarded to WWI Merchant Seamen, 1914-1925 Military 156,894 Great Britain, Royal Naval Division Casualties of The Great War, 1914-1924 Military 10,231 Sample Records from British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920 Military 3 Bexley, Kent, England, WWI Registration Cards, 1914-1919 Military 11,092 UK, WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920 Military 6,526,145 UK, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920 Military 402,770 UK, WWI War Diaries (Gallipoli and Dardanelles), 1914-1916 UK, British Jewry Roll of Honour, 1914-1918 Military 57,202 UK, Shipping and Seamen WWI and WWII Rolls of Honour, 1914-1945 Military 110,993 Surrey, England, Regimental Rolls, 1914-1947 One annoying factor is that in the War Diaries do not include any of those where the Threatre of Operations was Italy, as my Great Uncle was there from late 1917 until 1918 Others that cover WW1 but do not have 1914 in their title are: UK, Naval Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1972 UK, Navy Lists, 1888-1970 There may be others but not many TD
Hi You can always do a 1 month subscription to one, do all the research you need, then cancel and do the same for the other. regards Robert
That's a good shout. I did exactly this over the summer, buying three months on FMP whilst I trawled through the Newspaper Archives, pulling out mentions of the 13th King's soldiers in local papers such as the Liverpool Echo.
I use Ancestry and have found it pretty useful for WW1 research, although FMP appears very good too. If you haven't already, try the Great War Forum. The culture is a little more formal than on here, but there's a wealth of knowledge and my experience has been very positive - I've benefitted from a great deal of generosity and expertise. Cheers, Pat.
