How to conduct your research:

Where do I start?

Go to your local war memorial and choose the name of the person you want to study. Remember to take a picture of the memorial.

Where is my local memorial?

Go on the war memorial website and search the location of your nearest local memorial.

I have chosen a name, now what?

Search the commonwealth war grave commission website for facts about this person. The CWGC website will give you information like: rank, service number, date of death, age, regiment, location of the grave and cemetery. It can also tell you details such as address, parents’ names. Capture all these facts in your story.

OK, I have filled all mandatory fields in the story form. What do I do now?

Well done. You now need to dig deeper to find more information. Have a look at our link page to browse more websites.
If you have identified the regiment, there are plenty of information you can find about him/her. The best place to search is the National Archives. Go on their website or even better ask your parents to take you to the Archives at Kew and search the War Diaries. A war diary is a book where the commanding officer of a military unit (often a battalion) reports the daily life of his unit. Chances are, you will find more about the circumstances of the death of your soldier.

Remember that not all information are online. If you want to write a very good story and stand a chance to win a prize, we strongly suggest that you visit these places:
National Archives, Kew.                                            Hint: Search the War Diaries
Council Archives of the Soldier’s Council.              Hint: have a look at the Census.
Church Records of the Soldier’s Parish.