Tracing World War One ancestors
William Spencer takes you through the key records for tracing your World War One ancestors, including records of women who were nurses or in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. Please note that numerous...
View ArticleRoyal Air Force service records
Last year saw the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Royal Air Force. The records of thousands of men (and women) who served in the RAF and its predecessors during the First World War are...
View ArticleRoyal Naval medals: an introduction
This talk discusses the Royal Naval medal rolls held by The National Archives in record series ADM 171, and explains how to interpret the most commonly used codes and abbreviations found in them. It...
View ArticleCivilian honours and awards
The London Gazette is a crucial source for announcements of military and civilian honours and awards. This talk explains how to use and get the best out of the Gazette, and how further information...
View ArticleRoyal Hospital Chelsea: Soldiers’ service documents
Military records specialist William Spencer talks about WO 97, one of The National Archives’ most popular record series. This series holds detailed and comprehensive military records of over 1.5...
View ArticleNineteenth century soldiers: getting the most from online resources
This talk aims to explain the intricacies of soldiers’ service records online, in record series WO 97, and how using the records of the First World War is something which should be considered when...
View ArticleWebinar: Army musters – more than just accounts
This webinar looks at how the army accounted for the money it spent on its personnel and what you can discover in the records in addition to financial costs. William Spencer is The National Archives’...
View ArticleIndia in the First World War
The National Archives’ principal military specialist William Spencer is joined by Brigadier Brian McCall, defence advisor in the British High Commission in New Delhi, Squadron Leader Rana Chhina, with...
View ArticleOne in six: the South Asian contribution to the First World War
One hundred years ago, undivided India provided Britain with a massive volunteer army in its hour of need. From 1914-1918 close to 1.5 million Indians served, fighting in all the major theatres of war,...
View ArticleBombs, bulls and civilian bravery
In this podcast The National Archives’ Principal Military Specialist reveals some of his favourite stories about civilian gallantry from the First and Second World Wars, from the bravery of the...
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