The following is an announcement from 1837online.com:
LONDON, February 16 -- New Online Search From http://www.1837online.com Reveals Details of Where a Soldier was Born, Lived and Enlisted
Over 700,000 British soldiers died in WWI, with one in eight soldiers never returning home. For frontline units, the casualties were as high as one in five. Now a new searchable index on http://www.1837online.com, the UK's leading family history website, has made it possible to search for those who died in the Great War(i) and discover online a soldier's place of birth, residence and where they enlisted.
The online records will be able to help anybody interested in genealogy looking for a relative that died whilst serving for the British army in WWI. The indexes on http://www.1837online.com include every rank, from soldiers to lance corporals that served in the British army. It also details support staff, such as 'nags men' and musicians, who usually enlisted as non-fighting men but sometimes became stretcher-bearers, facing the brutalities of the front line.
Elaine Collins, Business Development Manager, from family history website http://www.1837online.com says:
"So many families lost relatives in WWI and many might well wonder what happened to their ancestors. Placing these records on http://www.1837online.com is a great boon for many genealogy novices searching for a relative who died in the Great War. They can now see where their ancestor enlisted and which regiment they joined which means they can now pinpoint exactly where the battalion was fighting on the day their ancestor died."The internet has made researching your family history easier as well as more accessible. Indeed http://www.1837online.com has witnessed a growth in people researching their past, particularly following the huge popularity of the BBC TV series Who Do You Think You Are?"
It wasn't just the frontline troops that were killed during the war. 37,000 officers were also killed, including Field Marshall Lord Kitchener.
Example Index- Horatio Kitchener, 1st Earl of Khatoum
The index for his death shows that Kitchener was Secretary of State for War and drowned at sea on the HMS Hampshire on 6 June 1916. The index also details that Kitchener, a Field Marshall, for the Commands and Staff regiment received a number of decorations for his part in WWI including GCMG - Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael & St George.
Notes to Editors:
(i)The records cover deaths of anyone serving for the British Army within the period from 4 August 1914 to the 11 November 1918 and in a few cases up to 25 March 1921. The data comes from two lists of those who died during WWI published by His Majesty's Stationary Office on behalf and by authority of the War Office in 1921. The records cover all parts of the British Isles including Scotland, all of Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
The amount of information held on each soldier varies, but a full entry will give
- Surname - Forenames - Initials - Place and country of birth - Place of enlistment - Place of residence - Rank - Army number - Regiment/Corps etc - Battalion etc - Date of death - How he died - Theatre of war - Supplementary notes, which include information such as former army numbers and regiments
In 2003, 1837online.com became the first website to put the complete indexes to all the births, marriages and deaths in England & Wales from 1837 online. Previously, the only way to perform such a search would have been either to travel to the Family Records Centre in London or to visit certain record repositories and libraries. The births, marriages and deaths searched are scans of originals - enabling you to view a piece of history from your own home. In August 2004, 1837online.com added the WWI, WWII and Consular records to the website, meaning users can now search for British nationals who were born, married or died overseas between 1761 and 1994. In March 2005, http://www.1837online.com also added the fullest available transcriptions and images of the original documents of the 1861 census.
looking for any information regarding private albert sherrard sherwood foresters regiment. killed july 1918 in france.
Posted by: roy sherrard | July 20, 2006 at 06:45 PM
looking for harry henley killed great war 1914/18
Posted by: j.a.dalby | December 22, 2006 at 05:23 AM
looking for w.j.stockdale killed in ww1
Posted by: d j brown | January 21, 2007 at 09:49 AM
looking for John Barber of West Bromwich Staffs killed March 1918
Posted by: Mrs P E Stokes | January 30, 2007 at 12:04 PM
Looking for John William Simpson - address at time of death was 172, Tong Street, Dudley Hill, Bradford, Yorkshire.
Posted by: VERA PATERSON | February 14, 2007 at 01:30 PM
I am looking for information a person who served in the waac in WWI Emily Andow ? and ideas where to get service info?
Posted by: Betty Moren | February 17, 2007 at 06:24 PM
i am looking for anyone in the war by the last name either Grohs or Brecker(that is the last name)
Posted by: Dalmas Grohs | February 28, 2007 at 09:46 PM
im looking for a Harry Chesworth Leadbeater and where he is buried or his name is down as missing
his number was 132013
hes was in the machine gunners corp
and died 25 Oct 1918
any ideas where i can find him
Posted by: zoe sherratt | April 01, 2007 at 11:52 AM
how many Americans died in WWI?
Posted by: cheryll | June 30, 2007 at 09:59 AM