Various reference services offered by the site and Institutions around the world.

British & Empire Prisoner of War Details

I own copies of the following reference books, Prisoners of War Armies and Other Land Forces of The British Empire 1939-45, Prisoners of War British Army 1939-45, and Prisoners of War Naval And Air Forces of Great Britain and The Empire 1939-45. Between them these rare books list every British and Empire serviceman who was a Prisoner of War in Germany up until May 1945. In many cases basic details are provided; rank, regiment or unit, service number, POW number, and the camp in which they are recorded as being housed. If you wish to know the details of any person write to me at pegasusarchive@googlemail.com and I shall look them up. When writing, it is not essential but I'd be grateful if you could include the full name of the person you are seeking, the branch of the services they were in, and any of the details listed above which you already know so that it will aid me when cross-referencing against similar names.

British Service Records

Service Records do not contain a wealth of detailed information but they do establish the basic facts and dates of a serviceman's history and therefore they are an essential first step to any research. Records can be issued only to the Serviceman concerned, their widow, or their next of kin if both are deceased. They can only be issued to other parties with the written consent of the appropriate aforementioned persons, and if the serviceman is deceased then the Ministry of Defence will require proof of death. A full copy of the record can be requested, but original documents, discharge papers or books cannot be replaced. The MoD will also provide extracts from service records.

When applying you should include as much of the following information as you are aware of: the serviceman's full name, date of birth, service number, rank at discharge, dates of service and, for Army only, the most recent Regiment or Corps with which you know the serviceman to be associated. A charge of approximately £20 may be made (the serviceman or widow are exempt from any charge), if applicable a Declaration of Kinship form will be sent to you and upon receiving that, and any other information that is required, they will start a search which commonly takes 2 months to complete.

To obtain a record write to the relevant address below.

Army Personnel Centre
Disclosure 2
Mail Point 515
Kentigern House
65 Brown Street
Glasgow
G2 8EX

(nb. Records for All Ranks serving prior to 1920 are held by the Public Records Office. Also note, the Footguards Regiments keep their own records and so one of the following two addresses should be used)

Regimental Headquarters
{insert Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish, or Welsh} Guards
Wellington Barracks
Birdcage Walk
London
SW1E 6HQ

The Curator
The Household Cavalry Museum
Combermere Barracks
Windsor
SL4 3DN

Royal Air Force Records,
PMA (Sec) 1b (RAF)
Room 5 Building 248A
RAF Personnel Management Agency
RAF Innsworth
Gloucester
GL3 1EZ

(nb. Records for Officers and Airmen serving prior to 1922 and 1924 respectively are held by the Public Records Office. The Royal Air Force Records address may also be used for the following who served in the RAF as RAAF, RNZAF, RCAF, SAAF, Polish Air Force, and for Czech Airmen, but not Czech Officers - see "Vojensky Historicky Archiv", below.)

Navy Correspondence
MoD Repository
Government Buildings
Bourne Avenue
Hayes
Middlesex
UB3 1RS

Email: navysearch.defencerecords2@gtnet.gov.uk

(nb. Records for Officers and Ratings serving prior to 1914 and 1924 respectively are held by the Public Records Office. In addition, this address may not be used for Ratings who joined the Navy after 1939 - in such instances the address that follows should be used.)

Naval Pay and Pensions (Accounts)
Centurion Building
Grange Road
Gosport
PO13 9XA

(nb. This address applies only to Ratings who joined the Navy after 1939.)

Historical Records Royal Marines
Room 038
MoD
Centurion Building
Grange Road
Gosport
PO13 9XA

(nb. Records for All Ranks serving prior to 1926 are held by the Public Records Office.)

Royal Fleet Auxilliary

Room 11
Lancelot Building
HM Naval Base
Portsmouth
PO1 3NH

The British Library (Oriental and India Office Collection)
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB

(nb. This address is for British Officers who served in the Indian Army, 1890-1947.)

Army Personnel Centre
Polish Correspondence Section
Government Buildings
Bourne Avenue
Hayes
Middlesex
UB3 1RS

Email: defencerecords.hayes@gtnet.gov.uk

(nb. This address is for Polish servicemen in the British Army and Navy. For RAF, write to "Royal Air Force Records", above.)

Vojensky Historicky Archiv
Ulica Sokolska 136
18600 Praha8
Karlin
Czech Republic
(nb. This address is for Czechoslovakian RAF officers. For Czech Airmen, write to "Royal Air Force Records", above.)