Basic question

[Leah-WW]

Hello everyone,

I (like so many others I imagine) have turned my attentions to looking for any of my ancestors who served in the first world war this week.

I have made a list of Warriner/Warrener men from my family tree who would have been old enough to have served in the war, and I have an index of all people with the surname Warriner/Warrener who died between 1837 and approximately 1964 from Ancestry. Looking at the dates 1914-1918 in my index, none of the names match those in my list of possible servicemen. Does this mean that my chaps didn't die during the war? (I am unsure how war deaths were recorded in the civil registers), and if they did survive beyond 1918, does this mean that they were just very lucky, or that they didn't serve at all? (this seems unlikely to me, given conscription)

Thanks for any advice.
Leah.

[mmm45]

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/browse-refine.asp?CatID=10&searchType=browserefine&pagenumber=1&query=*&queryType=1

Leah
To see if they served abroad and were entitled to medals AND were army you can check here.Dont forget they could have been Royal Navy,Royal Marines,Merchant marine and Royal Air Force theres also a lot of men who served in the Commonwealth forces eg Canada,Australia,New Zealand if you had family who had emigrated.
Its usually easier to find lads who were killed.Try googling CWGC and search the Debt Of Honour on that site.

Ancestry docs arent complete..NA docs have some missing also.

Only 30% of Service Records survived the Blitz in 1940.

Ady

[neil1821]

I have an index of all people with the surname Warriner/Warrener who died between 1837 and approximately 1964 from Ancestry. Looking at the dates 1914-1918 in my index, none of the names match those in my list of possible servicemen. Does this mean that my chaps didn't die during the war?

Leah,
If by this you mean you've checked the standard GRO death indices, then you've missed the vast majority of war deaths.
The GRO registers only cover deaths in England and Wales (and the same is also true if you're referring to Scotland or elsewhere). Hence the only war deaths that are covered are those in the UK (eg perhaps those invalided home with wounds and then subsequently died). Most war deaths were abroad for obvious reasons.

Best place to start for war deaths is to search the CWGC registers.
http://www.cwgc.org/

[forester]

Hello Leah,

If they died in the UK, they will be in the normal GRO index. If they died overseas, they will be under Overseas Records, but will still have a certificate issued by the GRO.

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/order_certificates/Search_for_overseas_records/index.asp

Have you searched the CWGC? There are 24 Warriner and 18 Warrener casualties listed.

http://www.cwgc.org/debt_of_honour.asp?menuid=14

Phil (well behind Neil and Ady  )

[Leah-WW]

Hi chaps,

Your (somewhat obvious, now I think about it!) comments about deaths in the WW1 battlefields not being listed in the GRO is key to where start, so thank-you for that. I will go and check out the medal rolls and CWGC

Leah.

[mmm45]

Leah
any particular areas of UK? I have Soldiers Died database which gives place of birth,enlistment and residence..sometimes all of that others partial...its from official sources given by next of kin in 1921.

Ady

[Leah-WW]

Hi Ady,

My Warriner/Warrener interests are mainly Lincolnshire, with some loose Nottinghamshire ties.

I've got a list developing of Warriners who served in the Lincs Regiment & Sherwood Foresters from the medal rolls already

Leah.