This month we’re excited to highlight some of the British military records we’ve added to our collection!
British WWII Commando Gallantry Awards:
This collection contains the names of nearly 500 British Commandos who earned a Gallantry Award during WWII. The awards include Victoria Crosses, Distinguished Service Orders, Military Crosses, Distinguished Conduct Medals and Military Medals. The collection is alphabetized and includes rank, regiment, and the date the award was issued. In some instances, the full citation was published in the London Gazette. Where applicable, that citation is attached in the comment field.
British WWII Distinguished Conduct Medal Citations:
These records are an alphabetized list of non-commissioned officers and men in the army who were awarded the second highest award for gallantry during WWII. The records are cross-referenced to the London Gazette publication dates and tell the stories that inspired the award.
WWII Distinguished Flying Medals for British Soldiers:
This collection is an alphabetized list of nearly 6,500 recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal award. The index was transcribed from surviving Recommendations. In some cases, they contain a cross reference to the publication date in the London Gazette. Where no Recommendation was found, the relevant press release is entered.
British Companions of the DSO Awards, 1923-2010:
This collection is an alphabetized list of recipients of the DSO Award and subsequent First, Second, and Third Bar awards from the British Navy and Royal Marines. The records are primarily from WWII, but pre-war and post-war campaigns are also included. The records include birthdates, family members and other biographical information along with the reason for the award recommendation.
British Recipients of the Military Cross:
This collection contains records for recipients of the Military Cross during WWI. The collection is alphabetized and includes name, rank, and battalion or sub unit and other biographical details. Military Crosses are cited in the London Gazette and those citations are attached, including the confirmation of the existence of that issue.
Search Fold3 for these are other international collections today!
[…] Fold3 added British Military Award Records […]
I subscribed to the upgraded Ancestry.com account in part so I would have access to Fold 3 and newspapers. However all I get when I click on a hint that involves either company I can do nothing unless I pay to join. This is false advertising and has left a very bad impression of your company.
And no, I will not join. It’s the principle of the thing.
I have the same complaint and am annoyed to the point that I often feel like changing to a diff ancestry site.. I’m with Bee Meldahl!
I’ll third Bee’s comments!
Interesting that some names have links that go nowhere in this thread. Linda Hoffecker, If I click your name it says “1801 conard road” in my address bar. Website not found of course.
Im with Ancestry also all you do is go down the page a little bit and click on Ancestry and you then have to put in your email address and pass word you gave them and then it goes through straight away Hope this helps.
Not sure how or why I got this but I have come to realize that Ancestry itself is a big scam. My results are not available to look at or print out at all. And many more complaints boring to anyone else but a huge disappointment to me. Just a way to take money and give nothing back.
I feel exactly the same. Am canceling anything further
I agree
This in not in reference to the other complaints. Although I appreciate and am respectful of the British military, I would REALLY appreciate learning more about the American military men. My father was a Marine in WW11 and I can’t find any information on him.
This is discouraging for me. My father died from heart failure when he was only 45. I had heard that his heart was most likely weakened from some experiences he incurred during the war. He fought in the islands of Japan, mostly hand to hand combat.
I can’t find any information on my paternal grandfather who was in the Army in WW1 either. He passed away in the Lebanon VA Hospital in Annville, PA. I can’t find his death certificate when I search Ancestry. I have found most of the death certificates of my other relatives/ancestors but not his.
I would appreciate some help with these concerns.
Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard Records WERE NOT lost in the 1973
fire at National Personnel records.
Use the most current SF 180 [Standard Form 180 ] (can be found on line). The
form should have an expiration date on it. Fill out the form. Send no money
with the form. They will respond and let you know the fee.
If you find him in the USMC muster rolls at ancestry.com,, there may be information
that could help you fill in the SF 180, e.g. date and place of enlistment and
service number [S/N].
.
ancestry.com does have Penn. WW1 Service Cards on their site.
The name could be misspelled. If there is a draft card, include that spelling in your search.
Note: WW1 Service cards [abstracts/statement of service cards] are located in
the state the service person RESIDED IN at time of entry into the service.
Original WW1 service cards could be located in the Adjutant general’s office of the
state he resided in, or state archives or state library, etc.
Further, there maybe a published book by the state he serviced in for WW1 or by
the city he resided in.
Delores the problem is there was a huge fire at the military depository in the 1970’s and thousands of soldiers, marines and other military records were destroyed. My father (originally born in England!) Was an American WWII soldier stationed in the Philippines and underwent countless battles and atrocities. We couldn’t even get him a well deserved CIB medal because of the loss of records. Bless his heart he refused to wear it because it wasn’t on his DD214 and they wouldn’t update it.
Go to the Mormon church site, they offer everything for free and are much more able to provide you with more records then Ancestry.com can. They are a scam in a most sly way. They don’t have nearly the information that the Mormon church has and I will not be renewing when my six months are up. As for Fold3 and the newspaper site, I never joined because I was getting much more from the Mormon site. I’m sorry that we have a society the includes such deceptive practices. And the sad thing they can continue to advertise on T.V. and radio. I would Imagine that 123 ancestor site is also the same.
How do you get into the Mormon church site? What is it called?
That’s true.
I just a soon stick with Ancestry. If you go with Mormon Church site, be careful. Sometimes they do get your information you are looking for correct. But they have been know to locate the wrong person.
The Mormon site is FamilySearch.org. They have a great deal of information. However, I think the online information is much less than what Ancestry.com offers. Fold 3 has great information; just very limited. Having said that, it is an excellent source to get military information. I will do a one month every couple of years when I need to access the site.
I agree that once you access information on Ancestry.com, new information is very slow on coming. Also, they don’t tend to be real responsive to customer concerns. I have discontinued my subscription and will most likely not renew it until about 6 months to a year after it is expired so as not to spend more money on a subscription that is not yielding very much.
The Mormon site is FamilySearch.org
The LDS [Morman site] is:
familysearch.org
I have had no problem getting into Fold 3, You just have to log in as you would if logging into Ancestry.com. This is assuming that you have All Access with Ancestry.
I have the same problem and I have had full access for a long time as well. I have purchased 10 DNA kits for family also. I’m aware that has nothing to do with the issues with Fold 3 and the other issues mentioned, but it’s really frustrating to put so much money and time into something, and not have access to what is promised.
I have belonged to Ancestry for more than 5 years and have paid their exorbitant yearly fees and also purchased two DNA kits when they were 100 each. In my move in 2014, I lost the kits and they would not offer me a replacement or a discounted replacement price. In addition, I have already entered all my family info there and made it public so that future relatives can get the info and I want to keep my own access – I wish they would offer a discounted senior rate for access when you have already provided them with substantial financial remuneration.
It appears to be a cautionary tale re misleading advertising
by ancestry.com re “fold 3” and newspapers … this will discourage
prospective subscribers such as moi…
Is Geneology just another large enterprise that takes your $ and runs???? …on further research, I see that ancestry (& 23andme for that matter) are engaging in some dubious business practices re the vast content provided by their clientele…one should not assume that all the information given, incl DNA, will not be sold for big bucks, none of which of course is paid to the DNA or geneological-info contributors… It may well be that info given to ancestry with an excess of trust will provide big $ in future…the recent “GDPR” legislation will NOT stop bad business practices, despite the disclaimer here: https://dna-explained.com/2015/12/30/23andme-ancestry-and-selling-your-dna-information/
Military Records at National Personnel Records Center [NPRC]:
Most of the army and air force records were lost in the 1973 fire.
However, some survived but were damaged.
Send in the SF 189 and they will let you know. They should let
you know if the records survived but were damaged.
They tried to tell me that my fathers’ records were destroyed, but I already
knew that the records survived but were damaged and I did get them.
It appears that the records were arranged alphabetically.
Even if the records were destroyed, they may be some other limited
information available, e.g., last payment voucher information.
Further: if the person served in WW1, try and locate the WW1 Service Card [abstract, statement of service].
MARINE CORPS, NAVY AND COAST GUARD RECORDS WERE NOT LOST IN
THE 1973 FIRE AT NPRC. Use the SF 180 to request them.
the British military, which is famous in any world with discipline and thirst for victory, is no longer in doubt for the British army, so many world records have been achieved.