First World War
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar
There are some surviving service records of soldiers who served in the First World War and who died or were discharged from the army before 1920. There are attestation (joining) and discharge (leaving) papers, medical histories and casualty forms. They are in two record series WO 363
and WO 364. The latter series of service records can be searched and downloaded from Ancestry.co.uk.
Many service records no longer survive. Over 60% were destroyed by fire in 1940. The surviving ´burnt´ documents of men who were serving in the army in 1914 or who joined or were called up, and who either died or were discharged before 1920 are in series WO 363. These records are in the process of being made available online. Records of men who were discharged as medically unfit are in series WO 364. These records are now available to search online via Ancestry.co.uk
Household Cavalry service records for the First World War are in series WO 400. These cover men who served in the 1st Life Guards, 2nd Life Guards, Royal Horse Guards and the Household Battalion and who were not transferred into other regiments.
Guards regiments service records are held at the Guards Regimental Headquarters, Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk, London SW1E 6HQ.
War diaries
War diaries can be found in the series WO 95. They are also called Intelligence Summaries and were kept by battalions and larger formations and by specialist units. War diaries of colonial and dominion forces can also be found. They are a daily account of operations, actions and other activities. They rarely mention individuals by name, and then usually only officers, but they do provide informative background material. They often include operational orders, intelligence reports and sketch maps of trench lines, formations and deployment.
Medical Records
A representative series of medical records survive in MH 106 and contains some medical cards of individuals in selected regiments. The series also contains some records of casualty clearing stations, field ambulances etc.
Pension Files
Selected First World War Pension Award Files can be found in PIN 26. There are some 22 756, which represents only a 2% sample of case files. They include examples of all types of disability pensions awarded. They can be searched by name in the online catalogue. They include examples of officers, other ranks, nurses, widows and dependents from all branches of the armed services.
