At Ancestry.co.uk, you can download the following British Army First World War records for a fee:

Pension records (catalogue reference series WO 364)

Service records for those killed in, or demobilised after, the war (series WO 363)

Please note, the release of WO 363 is ongoing; surnames A-H are currently available. However, there is only about a 25 per cent chance of finding a soldier's service record in WO 363, as most of these were destroyed by bombing in 1940. The records that do remain are known as the 'burnt documents'. For further information, check our research guides.

It is essential when using these records to have as much information as possible about the soldier you seek. You may find some additional information in the medal rolls.

All records are free to access in person at The National Archives in Kew.

British army soldiers' papers: First World War, 1914-1918

War Dead: First & Second World Wars

British Army War Diaries: First World War, 1914-1918

William Spencer, Army Service Records of the First World War (PRO, 2001)

Search the Commission's Debt of Honour Register online.