First World War POW records on TheGenealogist

From The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk), the following is an abridged press release:

First World War P.O.W. Records launched online

TheGenealogist uniquely has launched over 80,000 fully searchable records of British and Commonwealth prisoners, of all ranks, captured in the Great War. Many thousands of Allied servicemen were taken prisoner in the First World War and comprehensive records have been notoriously difficult to find with many related  records being destroyed in the 1930s and the World War 2 Blitz of 1940. The new records provide access to records of all servicemen taken prisoner between 1914 to 1918.

Search all Ranks from The Great War.
From senior Officers Captured, to the NCOs and Privates in the Infantry, the records are all found in the exclusive ‘Prisoner of War’ collection on TheGenealogist.  You can search all ranks for the first time on any family history website, giving access to the many soldiers, sailors and airmen captured and held behind enemy lines.

The records are fully searchable and provide the main details including, forename, surname, rank, regiment and the date the information was received. Records are found quickly and easily using the specific ‘Prisoner of War’ interface on TheGenealogist. It is also possible to trace if a soldier was moved around in captivity, as certain soldiers had multiple records published by the War Office.

The records also provide details on sadly if the prisoners never made it home. Conditions and treatment did vary but on the whole it was tough and often brutal with food scarce and sanitary conditions basic. Typhus and cholera epidemics were sadly all too common and many of the records detail the prisoner died in captivity. With records such as these, TheGenealogist provides a further link to view where the person is buried or commemorated.

The comprehensive collection is derived from daily and weekly lists published by the War Office during and after the First World War.

Mark Bayley, Head of Online Content at TheGenealogist comments: “The new Prisoner of War records we’ve published are a great new unique resource for all family historians. If our ancestors were either officers or in the lower ranks, there’s now more chance than ever to discover their details including when they were taken prisoner and when they were released. Sadly many men never returned and our records will hopefully show the brave men who endured the terrible hardships of the Prisoner of War camps will not be forgotten and can now easily be traced by their descendants.”

(With thanks to David Osborne)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And FindmyPast - please reinstate the original Scottish census citations on your new site.