This is a brief guide to researching British government and military records of the Second World War. Second World War records are wide-ranging and are kept in a variety of archives. This guide will help you gain a general overview of the main sources of the information that exists, and where to find it. This guide is for people interested in the subject of the Second World War. If you are looking for a person's Second World War service records, these are still held by the Ministry of Defence. Visit the Veterans UK website for further information.
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What records can I see online?
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Allied Expeditionary Force papers (1943-1945)
Browse copies of documents from the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force and 21 Army Group, relating to a variety of headquarters responsibilities (WO 229). These are available to as digital microfilm in Discovery, our catalogue.
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Cabinet papers (1915-1978)
Search records of the Cabinet Office for documents concerning decisions and discussions before, during, and after the Second World War.
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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British army unit war diaries (1939-1945)
Consult section 5 of the research guide British Army operations in the Second World War for information on how to search British Army unit war diaries for the Second World War.
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Government and military records
Search and browse the following departmentsdepartment - The highest level in our records hierarchy, usually corresponding to the government department of origin to gain an overview of government and military records for the Second World War:
- War Office (WO), Admiralty (ADM) and Air Force (AIR) - this is where most armed forces and general war records will be found
- Foreign Office (FO) - correspondence, policy and negotiation with other states
- Prime Minister's Office (PREM) - mainly correspondence to and from the Prime Minister's office
- Home Office (HO) - this series focuses on domestic and internal affairs
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, pay for research (£there will be a charge) or, where you can identify a specific record referencea unique set of letters and numbers identifying a document in The National Archives, order a copy (£there will be a charge).
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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Service Records (1920-present)
Visit the Veterans UK website for information about how to request a summary of a service record from the Ministry of Defence. These are not available to members of the general public, but next of kin may request access to them.
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Wartime diaries and personal papers (1939-1945)
Visit the Imperial War Museum website for information on how to access records in their document archive and on the various collections held by the museum relevant to the Second World War.
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Websites
Explore the Education exhibition on World War II for an interactive history of the conflict.
Search The Times Archive and the Guardian and Observer Digital Archive to view articles (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) about the Second World War.
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First World War
British Army soldiers after 1913