First World War records go up in smoke

World War One researchers quickly become aware of the loss of the bulk of soldier’s records as a result of a German incendiary bomb striking the Arnside Street storage depot in September 1940. Arnside Street is located just south of the Elephant and Castle, an area which suffered heavy bombing during World War Two due to it being a major urban centre, heavily populated and having an extensive road and railway infrastructure.

Few will be aware of the real extent of the loss which, in addition to the majority of service records, includes many other items which would be a gift to Family Historians and those trying to discover ‘what Granddad or Grandma did in that war to end all wars’.

A full list of the lost documents, many more than 'just' individual soldier's records, can be found at the National Archives under reference WO32/21769. A digitised copy may be downloaded from here for a small fee.

The document states that only 1.25 million of the 6.5 million army service records have survived, "out of 6.5 million documents only 1.25 million have been saved".

The lost records include:

Great War soldiers' non-effective documents up to 7 August 1920 inclusive
Card index of nurses
Confidential reports on nurses
Complete medical history of the war and a card index to it
Chemical warfare files
Officers' pay lists 1914 to 1921
Card index of military staff
All intelligence records including those of missions to Russia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Black Sea, Italy, Portugal, Persia and Egypt
Officers' commission cards and confidential reports
Card index to honours and awards
Historical volumes of the leading London newspapers
Officers' records of service
Rolls of munitions factories
Army Lists from 1775 onwards
Packages of photographic plates for the Great War period
Nominal rolls of colonial regiments
Officers' and men's casualty cards
Card index of officer unit and demobilisation
Card index of deceased officers
Card index of officers and men taken prisoner of war
Card index of German prison camps
War diaries
Nominal roll of pre-war and Great War volunteers
All Army Forms AB72, AB216, AN358 and AB359
Part II Orders of all branches (detailing troop movements including individual men)
Reference books of widows' pensions
Card index of military hospitals

All these records and a considerable amount of stationery apparently.

Chatham Naval Memorial

But fret not dear reader! It is still possible in many cases, with the help of secondary sources and a little patience, to construct a reliable narrative of an individual's service in the First World War.

Get in touch to see how I can help with your World War One research.