Proposals on access to post-WW1 military service personnel records

The UK's Ministry of Defence has outlined a series of proposals concerning the preservation of military service personnel records from 1920-1963, which it is presumed will be managed by the National Archives in England, due to the numbers involved. How these records might be accessed by the public, including their possible digitisation, is explored in the proposals (although the MoD and TNA have outlined in the document that they would not be able to fund such a programme). These proposals could see significant access granted to military records for genealogical purposes, including for veterans who served in the army beyond the First World War, and as such, views are sought concerning such proposals from interested genealogical and historical communities.

To read the proposals, please visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/20160216-mod-service-record-study-tna-uf-briefing-note.pdf

Justin Nash, who contacted me to ask if I could share this news, states "these proposals would vastly open up the world of post 1920 military genealogy (plus hundreds of thousands of WW1 service records from veterans who decided to serve on post WW1).... I know that the more interest the MoD have the more likely they are to happen".

Please do take time to read through these proposals - if carried through, and a suitable platform can be found for their provision, this could be one of the most significant records releases for some time.

(With thanks to Justin Nash)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.