Medal Index Card

This contains basic information, such as the rank, service number, unit(s) served in and their medal entitlement (along with a reference to the Battalion Medal Rolls under which the medals are recorded). Other notes such as references to Kings Regulations, Killed in Action etc. can also be gleamed from the card, if they are recorded. Soldiers entering a theatre of combat before January 1916 also have their date of entry and theatre entered recorded on this card. Left is an example of one such Medal Index Card.

It tells us the regiment, soldiers service number, and the fact that he was 'K in A' (killed in action). In addition, the middle left section show the Battalion Medal Rolls under which his medals were issued (see below) as well as the first Theatre of War he entered and the date he first set foot on foreign soil.

Members of 'ancestry' and other sites have acess to their collection of these cards. Or they can be searched for free on line here and downloaded for a charge.

Regimental Medal Rolls

The National Archives hold the original roll books, which are also available digitally from ancestry now.

Left is a 1914 Star Medal Roll page from the 1st battalion of the Regiment. Some rolls are listed alphabetically (as above), others are listed according to the service number and others are split by a mixture of both. The 'flow' of the page will become evident once you see the page you are looking at. The info contained on the pages varies according to the rolls and who compiled them but they are always worth collecting. Star Medal rolls usually have the person's initials only but Victory and British War Medal rolls usually have the soldier's forenames in full too, rather than just initials, so between them you have a collection of useful evidence.

Although the Bedfordshire Victory and British War Medal rolls do not list which battalion an individual served in, other regimental rolls can. Therefore, if your relative was issued those medals from anotehr regimental roll, it is worth looking at the page to see what additional information is included.

Please note that the entire collection of Bedfordshire Regiment Medal Rolls is on ancestry (and other sites) in addition to being available at The National Archives.

Battalion or Unit War Diaries

All of the Bedfordshire Regiment diaries are on this site

Once you have established which unit they served in and between what dates, looking at the War Diary of the relevant unit will enlighten you as to what happened during their service. Note that they were sometimes written by candlelight in a dugout or similar, so can occasionally be hard to read. Each month is usually represented by between 5 and 10 pages, dependant on what they were doing at the time.

There are also Appendices to the diaries (although not all have survived) that may reveal further detail not contained within the pages of the diary itself, so worth looking through.

Left is an example of an appendix from the 8th battalion. This one is nicely typed and legible but don't always expect that to be the case.

Service Records

Around two-thirds of WW1 service records were lost during the blitz but it is always worth checking to see if your relative's was among those who survived. This applies to both Officers and Other Ranks, although Officer records were sometimes partially reconstructed from copied provided by relatives post war

The National Archives hold microfilm copies (under WO363, WO363MISSORTS, WO364, WO364 MISSORTS and PIN26, in surname order) and ancestry have digitised them; the indexing can leave a lot to be desired, so apply a bit of lateral thinking when choosing the name spelling and search parameters.

If your ancestor served in the army after 1920, their record should still be with the MOD and can be applied for. Details are here.

Officers, airmen and other categories are traced through working through two or three layers of Indexes, which give you access to the original documents and are ordered to be viewed in the Reading Room.

The Archives have help sheets and archivists / assistants on site to help should you need assistance.

Left is a solitary page from an officers record, giving important information that will help to piece his movements together.

Additional Medal Rolls

If your ancestor was awarded any other decoration (such as The Silver War Badge for example) then extra information can often be gleamed from their records.

Left is an example of a Silver War Badge Roll which shows enlistment dates, discharge dates and the reason they were discharged - all useful evidence if you have no service record to work from.

These are available from the National Archives, but have recently been added to ancestry as part of their military records collection.

Local newspapers from the time

It may be worth searching Local Newspaper Archives of the time for obituaries, photographs or news from their families that may have been published. Expect to spend quite a long time doing this though as they can be fascinating and it is easy to get distracted from the task at hand.

Left is an example of an article I came across in the Bury Post. Although most of the time you will be looking for specific information on an individual, keep an open eye as little gems such as this will jump out at you.

The British Newspaper Archive hold a decent on line collection, including the several of the main newspapers from Bedfordshire during the war. This collection can also be accessed via membership to Find My Past.

Many of the counties local libraries provide free access to this collection if you are in the libraries - usually via their own machines or your own device if you link to their wi-fi. Contact them directly to check if the library you have in mind participate.

For newspapers not included in the British newspaper Archive's collection, you would need to ask the library in the town / area in question whether they old microflm or other types of copies on site.

National newspapers

If there was any 'event' that may have seen your relative recorded in the Times Newspaper (such as a casualty, promotion or such like) try searching here. It may surprise you to learn what was recorded during the war. If you are a library member, it may be that your membership card will give you access to this site, which hold the original digital scans of the paper and makes for interesting reading. With both sites, bear in mind that their search engines may not be perfect! The typing is small and software is only as good as the environment it operates within, so you may end up putting several variations of the name into the search facility before winning.

Above is an example of a casualty list from the Times on line archive. It shows a small section of the 15th August 1915 casualties suffered by the 5th battalion on Gallipoli.

Further research

When you know what battles (etc.) your ancestor was involved in, I would suggest building a story by the 'usual' sources; reading book(s), magazines and searching for internet sites on the particular subject should give you a clearer idea. By using a search engine such as Google, you may well be surprised what you can find. There is also a growing selection of Video's and DVD's on the Great War which are both eye opening and informative.

Officers will also be shown in the Army List books from the time, as is the case with all serving Officers. The National Archives have the entire collection.

Although a long shot, also look in the National Roll of the Great War while at the archives or via an ancestry membership, as there may have been an entry placed in there by the soldier or their next of kin after the war. Entries were placed by subscription and by the people themselves or the next of kin. Hence, the resulting information is not always entirely accurate but once you filter what is not physically possible out, it can provide dates, events, etc., that will help establish their story in more detail.

1914-1918 is also an extraordinary resource with a huge amount of information contained within it. The link takes you to a research page and the home page is here.

Soldiers who were killed or died in service

If your relative lost their life in the war, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission hold basic information on the casualty

The Soldiers Died in The Great War database adds more basic info., including what town they lived in (if the information was recorded). Ancestry members have acess to this database within their membership, the Naval and Military Press sell CD copies, or asking on the Great War Forum will usually give you the information you need if funds are tight.

The National Archives at Kew, West London

Their criteria changes but at the time of writing this in 2016:

Their website is here. As mentioned above, Medal Index Cards can be searched and downloaded on line here if you do not subscribe to Ancestry or a similar site that gives access to them. If you are a new visitor, you will need to register as a Reader and get a card to access the research areas, which needs to be done when you visit - read this page and take some identification though. Once you have this card, you will be able to pre-order documents in advance of following visits, so they are ready and waiting for you when you get there.

Take a digital camera if you use one as it will save you both time and copying costs. Also, expect to spend some money on printing costs, just in case. And most importantly, plan your trip so you know what you are looking for, otherwise you may find yourself sitting there with a blank mind.

Remember to ask the helpdesk people rather than struggle your way through things and miss something. That's why they're there and they do not mind helping.

BLARS (formerly the The Bedford County Records Office)

The excellent team at the Bedford County Records Office are an invaluable source of information and experience, and have such a genuine interest in the subject (amongst others) that no job seems too small for them.

The archive became the regimental repository when the Royal Anglians cleared their own archives out, so the wealth of specific information held by them is certainly worth checking.

Having searched their on-line catalogue, if you need to contact them directly, email them on archive@bedscc.gov.uk

The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment Museum

Within the Wardown Park Museum is the regimental museum gallery. This holds the physical items and memorabilia, whereas BLARS (above) hold the information and archives. Opening hours are in line with the main Wardown Museum and every Wednesday (at the time of writing) one or more of the trustees or volunteers are present to help with enquiries and the like.

Call the museum to check before visiting as a degree of redevelopment is in progress (as at 2015).

The Great War Forum

The Great War Forum is a very useful source of collective knowledge. There are thousands of people like yourself there looking for or happy to share information. Most are everyday folk with an interest but some are more 'professional' historians or have been researching the subject for so long, they are 'experts' in their own fields of interest.

Family history sites

I have only subscribed to Ancestry and Find My Past for the purposes of extending the research into the regiment, but there are other options available, all with their own benefits and restrictions. Find My Past hold the pre war Militia records amongst others and others, as I understand it, offer similar services so which one is the better option is really down to personal preference. Look out for trial offers and the like to test them out beforehand.

If you go with any subscription site, remember that when you are searching, the results are only as good as the data you enter and the individual who created the catalogue entry on behalf of the site. Therefore, if your searches return 'no results' think a bit laterally and try different spellings and the like. For example, the Medal Index Cards on Ancestry appear to have been catalogued by people who do not appear to live in the UK so, whilst we may think that it is obvious that 'Beds' means Bedfordshire, do not assume everyone else does! One of my favourites under the county heading was 'Beols' which, had it been catalogued correctly, would have been listed as 'Beds'. I have seen many examples of strange and wonderful places in the UK that only exist in the minds of the cataloguer (who apparently knows little of our geography).

Further Reading and Understanding

There are not a huge number of books on the Bedfordshire Regiment available, so specific regimental books can be rare and relatively expensive. Therefore I have tried to establish the best 'reading list' possible to cover the areas of the conflict that are readily available and won't cost a fortune. Most importantly, remember your local library as they can sometimes help out with little or no cost to yourself.

'The story of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire regiment (the 16th regiment of foot)' in two volumes. By the Royal Anglian's Regimental History committee.

420 and 430 pages respectively. Two A4 sized volumes using large print and produced on a limited print run, so not usually cheap! Try ordering a copy from your local library in the first instance, as this is by far the most detailed compilation on the history of the regiment, as suggested by the sheer size of it. The Great War period is predominantly taken from the regimental journal 'The Wasp' and is essentially the war diaries written out in longhand. However, some areas (such as the early phase of the 1st battalion's war) contain personal accounts to add more details to the story.

'Historical Record of The Sixteenth, or, The Bedfordshire Regiment of Foot: containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1688, and of its subsequent Services to 1848'. Compiled by Richard Cannon, Esq., Adjutant-General's Office, Horse Guards.

45 pages, published by Parker, Furnivall, & Parker in 1848. This book briefly sumamrises the period from 1688 to the 1840's only but is an interesting read.

'The 16th Foot. A History of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment'. By Major-General Sir F. Maurice, with a foreword by General, The Earl of Cavan, Colonel of the Regiment.

240 pages, published by Constable & Company Ltd., 1931. A slightly more detailed summary of the regimental history, but still very limited.

'A guide to the history to the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire regiment', by J.D. Sainsbury.

32 pages, 1987. This is very brief summary of the regiment, with no specific details of individuals or engagements.

Published by Leo Cooper Ltd., 1970. 100 pages giving a brief summary of the regiment's history. A brief, summarised history of the regiment with some interesting elements, although there is not enough space to go into huge levels of detail.

'The 54th Infantry Brigade, 1914-1918. Some Records of Battle and Laughter in France' by E.W.J. Rowan, published by Gale and Polden, 1919.

The 7th battalion served in this Brigade from 1915 to May 1918 and the 2nd battalion served between May 1918 and the end of the war and the book can be downloaded for free here. This book is written from a particular perspective but contains details on the brigade's activities, with many individuals covered. Although not specifically about one of the regiment's battalions, this provides a good context to their activities and includes numerous references to their part in various engagements, as you would expect.

'The Doings of the Fifteenth Infantry Brigade: August 1914 to March 1915'. By Brigadier-General Count Gleichen, K.C.V.O., C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O.

Published by William Blackwood & Sons Edinburgh and London 1917. This book was written by the Brigade's commander and covers the period from August 1914 to March 1915. It provides a good record of the Brigade in which the 1st battalion served and can be downloaded free here.

'Cap Badge: The Story of Four Battalions of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (T.A.), 1939-47'. By R.H. Medley.

Second World War, almost entirely concerned with the 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment. 352 pages, published by Pen & Sword Books Ltd., 1995. Hard to find although the Regimental Museum have copies available at the time of writing - contact details can be found here