Each
unit and formation of the army was obliged to maintain
a daily record of its activities, called the War
Diary. The entries in the diaries vary from
very terse, simple statements like 'Continued training'
to very detailed explanations of actions which can run
to several pages. Officers are frequently mentioned by
name, men of the 'other ranks' much less so unless they
did something remarkable. The original diaries are kept
at National Archives in Kew, in the category WO95. Some examples are
on this site.
As
a visitor to the National Archives, you will be able
to access these diaries. Some are now digitised and
available through DocumentsOnline.
They represent a truly remarkable archive, each consisting
of many sheets of foolscap, written usually in indelible
pencil. Some contain scraps of maps, operation orders,
personal notes, and so on. If you have any knowledge
about Grandad's dates (like the date he was killed
or wounded, or even just 'I know he was in Ypres in
1917'), you will be able to identify quite precisely
where he was and what happened to the unit. The War
Diaries were used as the basis for many of the regimental
and other histories including the Official History.
If
you have identified Grandpa's regiment or corps, but
not yet his battalion or other sub-unit, then try the regimental
listings for the infantry, artillery, engineers and
other units on this site.
War
Diaries and other documents describing an action use
the British Army's trench map coding.
Click
here to see how
to interpret a trench map. |