At the Centre we are inundated with requests to Help with Research, in family history queries and searches for World War Two wartime service records.
The volume of requests we are now receiving means we are sometimes unable to provide individual assistance with research. We have set out here some useful addresses to help you start your search for World War Two information.
If you wish to approach us regarding the possible donation of World War Two material please go to Donate Items, If you have suggestions regarding our Research Help page, for example additional addresses which have proved useful in your own research, we would be delighted to hear from you – do contact us.
For all British services the most useful initial contact is the Ministry of Defence at www.mod.uk Within the Ministry of Defence website are pages relating to the Veterans Agency, and it is on these pages that the relevant details can be found for tracing the records of Army, Navy and Air Force service personnel.
Each service has a separate address to contact but it is clearly set out on the site. Here you can also find information regarding medals and where to apply for more help.
Other British Naval Sources
Royal Naval Museum
The Royal Naval Association
The Fleet Air Arm Archive 1939-1945
The Royal Navy Submarine Museum
Royal Marines Museum
Merchant Navy Association
Naval-History.net
Other British Army Sources
Another useful link here is the National Army Museum, which is the British Army’s own museum or The Army Museums Ogilby Trust.
For those serving in the Indian Army official records are held in the British Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections.
For details of those held as Prisoners of War, enquiries should be directed to The Director, International Welfare Department, British Red Cross Society, 9 Grosvenor Crescent, London SW1X 7EJ
RAF sources
The Royal Air Forces Association has a good website at www.rafa.org.uk with a newsletter which can be used to re-establish contact with old friends. For additional RAF information one good site is www.rafinfo.org.uk which hosts pages for the WAAF Association, Aircrew and Groundcrew Search, Royal Air Forces Ex-POW Association and the British and Commonwealth Air Unit Register.
Another useful RAF site is Bomber Command an informative site regarding Bomber Command during the Second World War.
Other Countries
For US forces
The US National Archives and Records Administration.This national archive covers records for the US Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard.
Another recommended Website is Normandy Allies.
For Canadian Personnel
The most useful websites for assistance are the Library and Archives Canada and Veterans Affairs Canada. Veteran Affairs Canada also maintains a Virtual War Memorial and Database.
For Australian Forces
The most useful Website is Australian War Memorial to research service and family history or find a name on the Roll of Honour. The Royal Australian Naval site is at www.navy.gov.au
The Royal New Zealand Naval Association for information regarding service personnel lost during the Second World War the most useful bebsite is that of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
This informative site is a vital first step for those aiming to trace the whereabouts of graves as it provides a full register of all casualties of Commonwealth men and women who died during the two world wars.
For New Zealand graves contact Heritage Affairs, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, New Zealand which is a site linked to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A similar site is the German War Graves Commission, which is a public service organisation.
Other useful sources for research
The Imperial War Museum
The Escape Lines Memorial Society
RAF Museum at Hendon
The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich
Bletchley Park
The Tank Museum
The Society for Army Research
The Friends of War Memorials
Firepower – The Museum of the Royal Artillery
The Museum of Army Flying
Bombsight -University of Porstmouth/National Archives and Jisc Collaboration
Kohima Educational Trust
For UK family history enquiries go to The National Archives. The National Archives catalogue can be searched online and the Website provides detailed information regarding access. The National Archives also holds copies of war diaries.