ARCRE British & Commonwealth War Diary Search Engine - no longer online

Good to hear Rich. Thanks for the feedback.
I've tested the page on following without problems:

Windows 7.0:-
- Firefox 6.0.2
- MS Internet Explorer 9.0.2
- Safari 5.1
- Chrome 14.08

Linux/Fedora:-
- Firefox 3.5.9
- Firefox 6.0.2
- Opera 11.51

iPhone/iTouch:-
- Safari

 

...Although I must admit I haven't tested it on win2k.
Lee

Probably my crap system and not many 2k systems still running, Guess I need an upgrade It usually copes with simple Java.

cheers,

geoff

 

Hi Lee,

My PC freezes up when I go to the site for around a minute - I am on a uber slow connection though.

I'm sure there's a logical reason why you chenged the format of the SE but I think I prefered the old version. I just tried to find a range of diaries for the whole war and it only gave me the first one 1939-41. I searched 90 HAA. I'm sure the older version would have found all of the diaries for the war and the old format made a 'copy and paste' quite easy.

Just my two pence worth

Cheers
Andy

 

Interesting Andy, can you let me know which browser and OS you're using? (PM if you prefer). It's a little worrying that it has caused these problems as it really shouldn't. There's a small amount of Javascript to control the option boxes but nothing major. I’ve been using the SE extensively for the last fortnight on different browsers without issues.

The old War Diary SE is still available on the menu on the left hand side of the website. I've deliberately left it there as it works differently to the new version and will give different results based on your search style.

The new SE has much more detailed descriptions (not so much as far as war diaries are concerned but for other TNA documents). Hence the new layout to better show longer descriptions.

Re: 90 HAA. I'd recommend avoiding abbreviations for either search engine.

I'd try something like '90 Heavy'.

If looking for something like 225 Fld Coy RE, search for '225 Engineers'. At the document subject level the abbreviations are very inconsistent across different record series. That's why I also incorporate a search on the next level of the hierarchy.

The upshot of which is that the best sort of search for a war diary is a number and regimental/divisional name, e.g.

1 Queens,
4 Tank
128 Anti-aircraft (or try Medium, Heavy, Light instead)
225 Engineers
12 Fusiliers
Etc.

Also, if you’re logged in to the website any of the search results can be selected and exported as a text file, spreadsheet or email. (I intend to include Word and Excel formats as well as at some point), so avoiding cutting and pasting.

Thanks for the feedback, it's much appreciated.

Lee

 

can you let me know which browser and OS you're using?


Not really - Dunno what they are. I use Google to search for stuff.

The old War Diary SE is still available on the menu on the left hand side of the website.


It looks the same as the other one?

If you didn't know already I have openly admitted I am proud to be crap on PC's

 

It looks the same as the other one?

If you didn't know already I have openly admitted I am proud to be crap on PC's

It's the same one, available here:
Arcre - War Diary Search Engine

Actually I might be able to offer an option to use the old tabled layout with the new National Archives Search Engine.

 

At the National Archives yesterday, using their old internet cafe, I realised that some of the Search Engine formatting is messed up in Microsoft Internet Explorer version 7.

The layout for MSIE 7.0 and below should be sorted out by the end of today. I won't make any comments about Microsoft and their inability to follow web standards... ;-)

Edit: Should be fixed now, I hope!

 

No RAF war diaries?

Angela

 

Angela, the RAF used, what were known as, Operations Record Books.
These are a lot easier to find on the National Archives catalogue than Army war diaries due to the way they are organised.

RAF Squadrons are by number in record series AIR 27.

Although my National Archives search engine makes it even easier to find ORBs as well, see here: Arcre - National Archives Search

Best wishes,

Lee

 

Just made a major update to the ARCRE War Diary Search Engine: Arcre - War Diary Search Engine

I've increased the maximum number of records that can be returned from 100 to 250 records.

But the major update is that many abbreviations have been replaced with their full text.
e.g. Instead of searching for "225 Fd. Coy." use "225 Field Company".


For reference, here is a list of the abbreviations that have been replaced:

"A. Fd. Coy." > "Army Field Company (A Fd Coy)"
"A. Tank" > "Anti-Tank "
"A.A." > "Anti-Aircraft (AA) "
"A.F.V." > "Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV)"
"A.T.S." > "Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) "
"A/Tk." > "Anti-Tank"
"Adm." > "Administration"
"Adv." > "Advance"
"Air Fmn. Sigs." > "Air Formation Signals (Air Fmn Sigs)"
"Amb." > "Ambulance"
"Amm." > "Ammunition"
"Amn." > "Ammunition"
"Armd. Recce. Regt." > "Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (Armd Recce Regt)"
"Armd." > "Armoured"
"Art. Wks. Coy." > "Artizan Works Company (Art Wks Coy)"
"Arty." > "Artillery"
"Aslt. Bde. Ord. Fd. Pk." > "Assault Brigade Ordnance Field Park (Aslt Bde Ord Fd Pk)"
"Aslt." > "Assault"
"Aux." > "Auxiliary"
"B.A.D." > "Base Ammunition Depot (BAD) "
"B.D. Vet." > "Base Depot Veterinary"
"B.O." > "Base Ordnance (BO) "
"B.O.D." > "Base Ordnance Depot (BOD) "
"B.S.D." > "Base Supply Depot (BSD)"
"Bde." > "Brigade"
"Bky." > "Bakery"
"Bn." > "Battalion"
"Brit." > "British"
"Bty." > "Battery"
"C.R.A.O.C." > "Commander Royal Army Ordnance Corps (CRAOC)"
"C.R.A.S.C." > "Commander Royal Army Service Corps (CRASC)"
"C.R.E." > "Command Royal Engineer (CRE) "
"C.R.E.M.E." > "Commander Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (CREME)"
"Cam." > "Camouflage"
"Cav." > "Cavalry"
"Cnd." > "Canadian"
"Coln." > "Column"
"Comd." > "Command"
"Constr." > "Construction"
"Coy." > "Company"
"D. L.I." > "Durham Light Infantry (DLI)"
"D.C.E." > "Deputy Chief Engineer (DCE) "
"D.C.L.I." > "Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI)"
"D.L.I." > "Durham Light Infantry (DLI)"
"Def." > "Defence"
"Del." > "Delivery"
"Dep." > "Depot"
"Det." > "Detachment"
"Div. Recce. Regt." > "Divisional Reconnaissance Regiment (Div Recce Regt)"
"Div." > "Divisional"
"Edn." > "Education"
"Emp." > "Employment"
"Engr." > "Engineer"
"Engrs." > "Engineers"
"Eqpt." > "Equipment"
"Est." > "Establishment"
"Evac." > "Evacuation"
"F.S." > "Field Security "
"Fd. Coy." > "Field Company (Fd Coy)"
"Fd. Ord. Depot" > "Field Ordnance Depot (Fd Ord Depot)"
"Fd. Ord." > "Field Ordnance (Fd Ord)"
"Fd. Pk. Coy." > "Field Park Company (Fd Pk Coy)"
"Fd. Regt. Coy." > "Field Regiment Company (Fd Regt Coy)"
"Fd. Svy. Coy." > "Field Survey Company (Fd Svy Coy)"
"Fd." > "Field"
"Fwd." > "Forward"
"G.H.Q." > "General Headquarters (GHQ) "
"G.P.T." > "General Purpose Transport (GPT) "
"G.T." > "General Transport (GT) "
"Gen." > "General"
"Gov." > "Government"
"Gp." > "Group"
"Grn." > "Garrison"
"Grp." > "Group"
"H.A.A." > "Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA)"
"H.Q." > "Headquarters (HQ)"
"Hosp." > "Hospital"
"Hy." > "Heavy"
"Hyg." > "Hygiene"
"Ind. Inf. Bde. Ord. Wksp." > "Indian Infantry Brigade Ordnance Workshop (Ind Inf Bde Ord Wksp)"
"Ind. Inf. Bde. Sigs." > "Indian Infantry Brigade Signals (Ind Inf Bde Sigs)"
"Ind. Inf. Bde. Wksp." > "Indian Infantry Brigade Workshop (Ind Inf Bde Wksp)"
"Ind. Inf. Bde." > "Indian Infantry Brigade (Ind Inf Bde)"
"Ind." > "Indian"
"Indep." > "Independent"
"Inf. Bde. A. Tk. Coy." > "Infantry Brigade Army Tank Company (Inf Bde A Tk Coy)"
"Inf. Bde. Coy." > "Infantry Brigade Company (Inf Bde Coy)"
"Inf. Bde. Gp.Ord. Coy. R.A.O.C" > "Infantry Brigade Group Ordnance Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps (Inf Bde Gp Ord Coy RAOC)"
"Inf. Bde. Ord. Coy." > "Infantry Brigade Ordnance Company (Inf Bde Ord Coy)"
"Inf. Bde. Ord. Fd. Pk. Coy." > "Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Company (Inf Bde Ord Fd Pk Coy)"
"Inf. Bde. Ord. Fd. Pk." > "Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park (Inf Bde Ord Fd Pk)"
"Inf. Bde. Ord. Wksp." > "Infantry Brigade Ordnance Workshop (Inf Bde Ord Wksp)"
"Inf. Bde. Sigs. Sec." > "Infantry Brigade Signals (Inf Bde Sigs Sec)"
"Inf. Bde. Sigs." > "Infantry Brigade Signals (Inf Bde Sigs)"
"Inf. Bde. Wksp." > "Infantry Brigade Workshop (Inf Bde Wksp)"
"Inf. Bde." > "Infantry (Inf Bde)"
"Inf." > "Infantry"
"Infm." > "Information"
"L.A.A." > "Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA)"
"L.A.D." > "Light Aid Detachment (LAD)"
"Lab." > "Labour"
"Lt." > "Light"
"M.T." > "Motor Transport (MT) "
"Maint." > "Maintenance"
"Mech." > "Mechanical"
"Med." > "Medium"
"Mil." > "Military"
"Mob" > "Mobile "
"Mob." > "Mobile"
"Mot." > "Motor"
"Mov." > "Movements"
"Mtn." > "Mountain"
"Op. Coy." > "Operating Company"
"Op. Det." > "Operation Detachment"
"Op. Gp." > "Operating Group"
"Op. Sec." > "Operating Section"
"Ops." > "Operations"
"Ord. Fd. Pk. Det." > "Ordnance Field Park Detachment (Ord Fd Pk Det)"
"Ord. Fd. Pk. Sub. Pk." > "Ordnance Field Park Sub-Park (Ord Fd Pk Sub Pk)"
"Ord. Fd. Pk." > "Ordnance Field Park (Ord Fd Pk)"
"Ord." > "Ordnance"
"Ord.Fd.Pk." > "Ordnance Field Park (Ord Fd Pk)"
"Ord.Fd.Pk.Det." > "Ordnance Field Park Detachment (Ord Fd Pk Det)"
"Ord.Fd.Pk.Det." > "Ordnance Field Park Detachment (Ord Fd Pk Det)"
"P.R." > "Public Relations "
"Para." > "Parachute"
"Pet." > "Petrol"
"Pk." > "Park"
"Pl." > "Platoon"
"Pmr." > "Paymaster"
"Pnr." > "Pioneer"
"Pro." > "Provost"
"R.A.O.C." > "Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC)"
"R.A.S.C." > "Royal Army Service Corps (RASC)"
"R.A.V.C." > "Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) "
"R.E.M.E." > "Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME)"
"Rd. Constr. Coy." > "Road Construction Company (Rd Constr Coy)"
"Rd." > "Road"
"Rec." > "Recovery"
"Recce Corps" > "Reconnaissance Corps (Recce Corps)"
"Recce Regt." > "Reconnaissance Regiment (Recce Regt)"
"Recce Sqn." > "Reconnaissance Squadron (Recce Sqn)"
"Recce. Corps" > "Reconnaissance Corps (Recce Corps)"
"Recce. Regt." > "Reconnaissance Regiment (Recce Regt)"
"Recce. Sqn." > "Reconnaissance Squadron (Recce Sqn)"
"Recce.Regt." > "Reconnaissance Regiment (Recce Regt)"
"Regt." > "Regiment"
"Res." > "Reserve"
"Rft." > "Reinforcement"
"Rh." > "Railhead"
"Rly. Op. Coy." > "Railway Operating Company (Rly Op Coy)"
"Rly. Op. Gp." > "Railway Operating Group (Rly Op Gp)"
"Rly." > "Railway"
"S.L." > "Search Light (SL) "
"S/L" > "Search Light (S/L) "
"Saskatohewan" > "Saskatchewan"
"Sec." > "Section"
"Sigs." > "Signals"
"South Saskatoon" > "South Saskatohewan / Saskatoon"
"Sp." > "Special"
"Sqd" > "Squadron"
"Sqd." > "Squadron"
"Sup." > "Supply"
"Svy." > "Survey"
"Tech." > "Technical"
"Tk." > "Tank"
"Tps." > "Troops"
"Tpt." > "Transport"
"Tptr." > "Transporter"
"Trg." > "Training"
"Veh." > "Vehicle"
"Vet." > "Veterinary"
"Wks." > "Works"
"Wks." > "Works"
"Wksp." > "Workshop"
"Wrls." > "Wireless"

 

Thanks so much, I've just joined trying to find info about the 182 Railway Operating Coy, Royal Engineers in WW2 and your post has taken me there. I had previously tried the National Archives with no success.

 

That's great to hear. If you need any tips or help getting to see the diaries just give me a shout. Lee

Thanks so much, I've just joined trying to find info about the 182 Railway Operating Coy, Royal Engineers in WW2 and your post has taken me there. I had previously tried the National Archives with no success.

 

Just spent the evening editing and tidying up the dataset used in the ARCRE War Diary Search Engine.

Most importantly I've corrected a number of entries where a number and word were not separated by a space, e.g. "1Regt" instead of "1 Regt", the former breaks the search engine. (TNA catalogue suffers the same problem).

The best way of searching for a war diary is to keep it as simple as possible. Searches like these are best:

"225 Engineers"
"10 Medium"
"1 Bomb", etc.

Arcre - War Diary Search Engine

 

Tried to connect using mobile. No luck.

Does it contain any Royal New Zealand Engineer units??

 

My war diary search engine is no longer online. In the meantime TNA have improved the quality of war diary descriptions making them easier to find using their own Discovery engine.

For New Zealand war diaries at TNA, see here: Search results: "Wo179" "zealand forces" | The National Archives

All the best,

Lee

 

Tried to view but don't seem to be able get into view.
Thanks for your reply. When will you be back online?