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#1
20-10-15, 06:01 PM
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Researching WW1 records
Hi all
I've been using ancestry.com to research WW1 individuals, including SWB's, MIC's etc. I've been wondering about IWM's lievesofthefirstworldwar.org as an alternative. Not the least because it's a bit cheaper. Does anyone have any experience of this site? I've looked around the faq's etc, but am still not sure. Does it give direct access to digitalised images (not just transcripts ) of MIC's and SWB rolls and cards? Or redirect to ancestry.co.uk? In which case I might as well stay there. Thanks Colin
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"The Devonshires held this trench. The Devonshires hold it still " "One day I'll leave you, a phantom to lead you in the Summer, to join the Black Parade" 
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#2
20-10-15, 07:01 PM
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Hey Colin
Lives Of The First World War is run in conjunction with Findmypast.com so as a subscriber you get access to the digitalised documents. I know the website has recently had a few tweaks as it was a bit clunky to use, for instance adding facts such as date of birth etc was like jumping through hoops. I haven't used the site since it's been tarted up so can't say if the tweaks have made a vast improvement. But I would say although I use ancestry for the bulk of my research, I also use Findmypast and The Genealogist. Findmypast sometimes shows up service records you can't find on ancestry, because ancestry have on occasion stuck a few service records together under one name. Also the notorious ancestry transcriber errors mean having a second subscription can be incredibly helpful in cross referencing census records etc. That's my preference anyway! Alli
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#3
20-10-15, 07:43 PM
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Thanks AllI!
After testing out the free service on LOTFWW, it seems to be ok to navigate after the updates. The thing with ancestry and Findmypast is that included in the service is the option to set up family trees, exchange info, etc. For my present needs, it's just access to the documents I need since I'm not looking to trace family histories, so I don't need the extra services. Lives...subscription is about half the cost of the others. That's why I was wondering if they granted access directly to the digitalised documents. If so, I think I'll go for it! One site, I can't remember which, found reference to documents, but in order to view them I was sent to another site (national archives?) and their viewer crashed my laptop  Also the viewer in ancestry plays up sometimes, and in order to get the documents I have to purchase copies... Cheers Colin
__________________
"The Devonshires held this trench. The Devonshires hold it still " "One day I'll leave you, a phantom to lead you in the Summer, to join the Black Parade"
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#4
20-10-15, 07:52 PM
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That's interesting. Lives.. brings up a transcript of a medal card, but to see an image I get sent to the National Archives. Well, that's no good then.
Also, they apparently don't have access to SWB rolls. Oh, well..
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"The Devonshires held this trench. The Devonshires hold it still " "One day I'll leave you, a phantom to lead you in the Summer, to join the Black Parade" Last edited by ubervamp; 20-10-15 at 08:11 PM.
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#5
21-10-15, 05:35 AM
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That doesn't sound great, kind of sounds a bit sloppy.
It's also irritating that different sites have different exclusive record sets to lure you in. Like The Genealogist has the casualty lists. I think Forces War Records has hospital records but as the bulk were destroyed and it only covers a few units it's not worth it. Well that's a pain. As I say I have a subscription to the 3 so if you want me to do some look up's just give me a shout, it's no bother. Alli
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#6
21-10-15, 08:26 AM
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Colin,
I really would not pass the time of day with any transcribed material, simply because it is only as good as the person who transcribed it in the first place, usually this has been contracted out overseas anyway. FMP and Ancestry offer all that is a basic requirement, even if you lived here, you would still be unable to perform a manual search in WO363, so it would only be the incomplete digitised folio that is already available to you. FMP have what his been digitised within WO96 and WO97 as well as WO363 and WO364, Ancestry have the latter, but, they also have digitised copies of most of WO372 and WO339, all needed as a basic requirement by any Great War researcher. Regards Frank Quote:
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#7
21-10-15, 09:14 AM
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Do National Archives show images of the backs of MICs nowadays?
They never used to, which gave Ancestry the edge there, along with colour images. I did'nt get many hits re. entries.on the backs of the cards but I got a few. Ancestry misfiles and combines service records and invents units. Ancestry has casualty lists and "Soldiers Died" (I still have the "Soldiers Died" CD somewhere), does Genaology add to what's available on Ancestry?
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#8
21-10-15, 09:29 AM
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Quote:
And maybe pick your brains for researching tips while I'm at it  Cheers Colin
__________________
"The Devonshires held this trench. The Devonshires hold it still " "One day I'll leave you, a phantom to lead you in the Summer, to join the Black Parade"
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#9
21-10-15, 09:33 AM
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Quote:
I had some transcribed material which, when I got hold of digitised copies, proved to be lacking in the extreme. FMP and Ancestry seem to cover most of what I need, then, so probably the combo I'll go for! Cheers Colin
__________________
"The Devonshires held this trench. The Devonshires hold it still " "One day I'll leave you, a phantom to lead you in the Summer, to join the Black Parade"
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#10
21-10-15, 09:35 AM
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Quote:
Colin
__________________
"The Devonshires held this trench. The Devonshires hold it still " "One day I'll leave you, a phantom to lead you in the Summer, to join the Black Parade"
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#11
21-10-15, 09:39 AM
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I don't think The Genealogist adds much to be honest, I'm pretty sure they are the only site to have fully digitised British Casualty lists. It's a bit of a swine to navigate as well, although it's supposedly the most popular now. Maybe it's just me.
And no TNA doesn't show the backs of MIC's. I prefer to use Findmypast along side Ancestry, quite a few times I have found names on a service record or census that Ancestry has lost through transcriber or data input error. Forces War Records have some exclusives but when I was a subscriber I didn't use much more there than I did on Ancestry. https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
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#12
21-10-15, 09:41 AM
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#13
21-10-15, 03:00 PM
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Colin,
Almost all of WO372 is available free whilst actually at the NA on their own machices via Ancestry, otherwise you need to pay for it, don't bother with the NA's old downloads from their own site though. Regards Frank Quote:
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