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About the World War One Medal Cards

You can now search and download World War One medal index cards. Below are some points to help you understand what the index cards are; you can use the links below to jump to the topics you are interested in.

What is the Medal Rolls Index?

The Medal Rolls Index, known as the Medal Index Cards or MIC (catalogue reference WO 372), was created by the Army Medal Office (AMO) towards the end of the First World War. The index was created to enable the AMO to place on one card, all of the details about an individual's medal entitlement, their rank or ranks, the unit or units they served in, the first operational theatre they served in and most importantly, the original AMO medal roll references. These medal rolls (held in the series WO 329) show the entitlement to the medals and also provide all of the accounting references for the issuing of the medal or medals.

What are campaign medals?

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Campaign medals are those medals awarded to individuals who served in the First World War and who met the qualifications laid down for each campaign medal. In general, all those who saw service overseas were awarded a campaign medal. The qualifications for each campaign medal were laid down in Army Orders.

Searching for a card on DocumentsOnline

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As there are more than 5.5 million medal cards, we have created a specific search form for the medals category. You can also use the Quick and Advanced Search facilities, which search across ALL documents.

The index to the images contains data transcribed from the cards. The fields you can search on are last name, first name (or initial) and corps, and you can search on their rank and regimental number in the other keywords field (you cannot search on the medals themselves). Occasionally there may be no regimental number recorded on the card, which may be the case if the person was an Officer.

In the transcribed index, names are listed as "Last Name, First Name (or Initial)" (for example, "medal card of Robinson, John"). So if you are having no luck searching on "John Robinson" in Quick Search, try using "Robinson John" or "Robinson J". The cards have been indexed this way so you can sort your search results list alphabetically. For more help on searching, please see the search tips.

All the medal cards have a covering date of 1914-1920. Because of this there is no need to restrict your search by date.

If you are ordering more than one medal card for individuals with similar names, you should check that their cards are not contained on the same image, please see How are the cards arranged? below.

Our readers should be aware that not all individuals that have a medal card were actually entitled to a medal. Also, in the case of members of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), if they did not see service overseas until 1916 or later, the War Office would not hold their medal record; by the time medals were issued, the Air Ministry maintained these records and these have not been transferred to The National Archives. You can find research guides for RFC and Royal Air Force records in the A to Z index of research guides.

For further information regarding this and other issues, please refer to our FAQ page.

How are the cards arranged?

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Catalogue reference WO 372: There are six cards to a page

The cards were originally filmed in groups of six, and have been scanned the same way. So the card you order will usually come with five other images of WO 372 medal cards.

If you are ordering two or more medal cards for individuals with similar names, check first that their cards are not in the same image.

You can do this by looking at the reference number. This number is initially given on the "image details" page, and contains two numbers separated by a forward slash, for example the image reference number for the medal card of Albert E. Blood is 433375/33042. The second of these numbers indicates the precise image that contains the medal card.

Now if you also wanted to buy the card of Albert G. Blood, you should look at the image reference number for his card. It is 433377/33042. The second number in this example is the same as the first example, so both cards are contained in the same image.

If you check this before you buy, there is no need to pay £3.50 for the second card on the same image.

How do you use/read them?

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The Medal Index Cards come in a number of designs and are often marked with abbreviations and some of these are listed below. The following descriptions are for the most frequently seen designs.

Medal card designs

Design 1 (the most common)

Catalogue reference WO 372: Design 1

The top half of a Medal Index Card (MIC) always contains the personal data of an individual; usually name, rank(s), number(s) and unit(s). It is this information that gives each person an unique identity.

In the top left hand corner should be the surname and below this the forename(s) and/or initial(s).

The lower half of the card provides the medal entitlement and in many cases remarks concerning the career or fate of the individual.

The left hand side of the card contains a list of the campaign medals an individual was entitled to. To the right of these are the Army Medal Office (AMO) references to the original medal rolls for each of the medals. Below this, you might find information regarding the operational theatre first served in and the date the individual entered that theatre. In many cases this part of the card is blank, which usually means that the individual went to France in 1916 or later.

View larger version of Medal Card design 1
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On the right hand side of the card below the personal data of the individual, is an area where remarks may be found. In this area, you will find information such as initial commission dates for those commissioned from the ranks after qualifying for their medal(s), date of death, whether the individual was a prisoner of war and in many cases the date a soldier was discharged. Also in this area the original AMO issue and receipt voucher information may also be recorded.

On the MICs for those who received a 1914 Star, the card may also be marked "Clasp and Roses" or just "Cl". This denotes that an individual received the dated clasp to go on the ribbon of the 1914 Star, or a silver rosette to go on the ribbon when only medal ribbons are being worn.

On some cards the note "EMB" or "Emblems" may be found, which denotes that an individual had been "Mentioned in Despatches" (MID) and that at least two "oak leaf" MID emblems had been sent to the recipient.

Design 2

Catalogue reference WO 372: Design 2

The second most common MIC design contains all of the same data as the first card but the difference being that the medal roll information is in the top right hand corner, not the left. The entire lower half of the card is left free for any remarks. An example is shown below:

View larger version of Medal Card design 2
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Design 3

Catalogue reference WO 372: Design 3

The third most common design of MIC is one that was used for those individuals who received the "Silver War Badge" (SWB) only. This card, whilst retaining all of the data about an individual also gives the date of enlistment, date of discharge and reason for discharge. The MIC will also give the SWB roll reference. An example is shown below:

View larger version of Medal Card design 3
Opens in a new window (25k)

 

Abbreviations

Alphanumeric codes were usually noted on the cards. The codes for personnel who saw their first operational service from 1 January 1916 onwards, differ slightly from those personnel who saw operational service before this date. For example, France and Belguim would be noted as 1 up to 31 December 1915 and as 1a from 1 January 1916.

Here are some of the other abbreviations and comments you might find on a medal card.

Other index cards

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You can also search for other medal index cards which have been incorporated into the collection: the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM); Military Medal (MM); Meritorious Service Medal (MSM); Territorial Force Efficiency Medal (TFEM); Territorial Efficiency Medal (TEM); Mentioned in Despatches (MiD)

The DCM, MM, MSM and MiD index cards only cover awards granted in connection with the First World War and as such, can only be searched using the same method as per the campaign medals. However, there are a number of clues that will indicate if your search has located one of these index cards.

These index cards cover awards granted between approximately 1909 and 1931. Apart from providing name, rank, number and unit, these cards also provide the Army Order number and date upon which the award was announced. Army Orders are preserved at The National Archives in the series WO 123 but very few lists of the recipients survive.

The Territorial Force Efficiency Medal (TFEM) was instituted in 1908 as a long service award for other ranks in the Territorial Force (TF). Basic qualification for the award was 12 years service, with war service counting double. The TFEM was renamed the Territorial Efficiency Medal (TEM) in 1921 when the TF became the Territorial Army. The name and design of the award was changed once again in 1930, becoming the Efficiency Medal (Territorial) sometimes noted as EM(T).

Unlike the Campaign Medal Index Cards (MIC), the DCM, MM, MSM, TFEM, TEM and MiD indexes rarely use the first name of the recipient, therefore it is necessary to search using the last name, first initial, unit and number if known. The information each card index provides can vary. Some of the information will lead you to other records while others will not.

The DCM, MM, MSM and MID indexes all provide the date upon which the award was announced in the London Gazette. However, some of the award dates are given as a numerical code.

Most of the DCM, MM and MSM card indexes usually note in which operational theatre the award was won.

You can find The London Gazette online at www.gazettes-online.co.uk.The London Gazette is also preserved at The National Archives in the series ZJ 1. The Gazettes for the First World War period are on microfilm.

The TFEM and TEM card index can be found under the catalogue reference WO 372/24. The Army Order records cannot be viewed online but if you have a reader's ticket you can order them from the Catalogue.

Continuing your research

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If you wish to look at the original medal roll for any of the campaign medals recorded on an MIC, you will either need to visit The National Archives or engage an independent researcher to obtain copies on your behalf.

To look at the medal rolls use the "Key to The Medal Rolls" and the records in the series WO 329/1. The Key converts the original Army Medal Office (AMO) reference into a WO 329 document reference, (information on how to do this can be found at The National Archives).

DocumentsOnline also holds images of the medal rolls for Army or Royal Flying Corps officers who were issued with the Silver War Badge (held in WO 329/3247). You can browse the Silver War Badge: Officers records.

The only additional piece of information you may find is the battalion number, which will be useful if you wish to use the unit war diaries, held in WO 95. The diaries contain daily reports on operations, intelligence summaries and other pertinent material. Selected war diaries are available from DocumentsOnline.

You might wish to find a record of service. For an introduction on how to do this, please look at the research guides for officers' and soldiers' records. For more detailed information, see Army Service Records of The First World War by William Spencer, available from The National Archives bookshop.

To find out more about sources for First World War research, including service records, have a look at The National Archives Pathways to the Past online exhibition The First World War.

Many terms used are very specific to the medal cards and there are explanations and definitions in our glossary page you may find useful.

There are also many more facts and information concerning World War One Medal cards in our FAQ page.

If you have a WW1 Medal Index Card transcript to share with other researchers, see Your Archives, The National Archives' online community of records users.

The Learning Curve (resources for schools) Great War exhibition is suitable for children at key stages 3 - 4 (11 to 16 years).

The Scottish Screen Archive holds "Scottish Troops for the Front", footage of the 5th Royal Scots training before going to the Front in 1914, and you can see a film clip.

If you want to learn more about British medals, take a look at William Spencer's Medals: The Researcher's Guide which covers military and civil awards, orders, decorations and medals from 1793 to 1990.

 

Although many army service records were destroyed during World War Two, there are other possible sources of information.

Research guides on World War One issues

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There are many more research guides on First World War issues including: Campaign medals and Gallantry medals, and subjects such as Military Maps, Conduct of War, the British Army, the Armed Forces, Royal Air Force, Royal Marines, Court Martial and War diaries. These are available on our main research guide page: A to Z index of research guides.

Some famous names in the First World War

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Read about some of the famous names among the 5.5 million people awarded a campaign medal.

 

Card Index to the First World War army medal rolls - WO 372

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1. In 1985, the Public Record Office, now The National Archives, began microfilming the alphabetical card index to the First World War Army medal rolls. Having reviewed the material, we decided to microfilm the fronts of the cards where all the significant information is held. The National Archives now makes that index available to the public in microfiche onsite and also online. By making the index available online, The National Archives has made it accessible to people from their own homes. It is searchable by name, rank and regimental number. Since its launch, the medal card index has been hugely popular and there have been over 300,000 downloads of the records from people all over the world.

2. The original medal index cards were previously held by The Ministry of Defence (MOD). These are now in the custody of the Imperial War Museum, which has accepted the relatively small sub-collection (around 44,000 cards) recording awards to women, and the Western Front Association, which has accepted the remainder. The Association is developing plans to digitise the cards with a view to making them available to the public. More information will become available via the Association's website www.westernfrontassociation.com as its plans progress.

3. The reverse sides of the index cards have not been copied to the microfilm held at The National Archives as the vast majority of them are blank. A very small percentage, possibly as low as one or two per cent, has something written on the reverse, and in some, but not all cases, this was the address to which the medals were sent.

4. Officials of The National Archives and the Ministry of Defence met with Mr Bruce Simpson, Chairman of the Western Front Association (WFA), on 27 September 2006, and inspected the medal index cards and the premises in which they are presently stored. The premises remain suitable, in security and environmental terms. The WFA does not yet have in place the means to respond to requests from the public for information from the cards but has now given assurances that, before the end of 2006, it will introduce a service providing copies of Medal Index Cards in response to requests from the public.