Search for a Former Comrade

There are two options if you are trying to establish contact with a lost comrade who is still alive and served in South Wales Borderers, Welch Regiment, Monmouthshire Regiment or, more recently, in The Royal Regiment of Wales:

• Post an message in the Discussion Area on this website
• Write a letter to the regimental journal The Men of Harlech, which is published twice a year.
  

Family Military History Research

We are really only able to answer questions on soldiers who have served with the South Wales Borderers, Welch Regiment, Monmouthshire Regiment, the Royal Regiment of Wales, and of course the former Regiments of Foot, 24th, 41st and 69th. Some archives of local militia and volunteer regiments have survived.

We are not always able to answer all questions asked of us. Although we do hold substantial archives, we have never received all material relating to the Regiment or to the soldiers who have served with the Regiment - but we will do our very best.

World War One and earlier
Surviving Service papers for soldiers who served prior to 1920 are held at the National Archives, Kew near London. Before commencing your research, we would recommend that you read:

• Readers Guide No.2 'Army Records for Family Historians'
• Readers Guide No. 19 'Army Service Records of the First World War'

Available from the National Archives Bookshop Kew - email orders: bookshop@nationalarchives.gov.uk

Useful National Archives web sites:

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk (includes on-line catalogue PROCAT)
www.documentsonline.pro.gov.uk (WW1 Medal Cards)
www.census.pro.gov.uk (1901 UK Census)

It is often worth contacting the National Archives in advance of a visit to see what information they may have available - also their catalogue PROCAT is available on-line. From March 2004, WW1 medal index cards - a good starting point for finding WW1 soldiers - will begin appear on-line under documents online .

Post 1920
A ll service papers for soldiers who served after 1920 are held at the Army Personnel Centre, Historic Disclosures, Mailpoint 400, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX. A fee is charged (about £25) for each search, even if no material is discovered. A special form has to be completed prior to the search. It is essential that you quote the Regiment and personal number of the soldier concerned. (Note: this information is usually engraved on the medals of soldiers). There is a long backlog of enquires at present so it may take some weeks to receive a reply.

Casualties in World War 1 and 2
For soldiers who were killed during the two World Wars, grave or memorial details are available on the Internet from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: www.cwgc.org

Enquiries to the Museums
If you wish to email us about research, tell as much as you know about the soldier concerned: full name, army rank, when he was born, who he served with, where he served, his regimental number, dates of service, medal awarded. Remember, some 250,000 men served in each regiment between 1850-1970 so it is not an easy task to pinpoint the correct man. We know that 2,500 men named Jones served in the South Wales Borderers in the Great War. It is therefore almost impossible to identify those with Welsh names without knowing his regimental number. We often use outside researchers for the difficult cases and a fee between £5-£15 has to be charged to cover these search fees and any photocopying and postage. It is also helpful if you could include your postal address in your email so that we can post copies of original documents to you.

For soldiers who served in 24th Foot, South Wales Borderers, Monmouthshire Regiment and The Royal Regimental of Wales
Email: swb@rrw.org.uk
Or write to: The SWB Museum, The Barracks, Brecon, Powys, LD3 7EB.
For further avenues of research: see the fact sheet 'Do it yourself Guide'.

For soldiers who served in 41st Foot, 69th Foot and The Welch Regiment
Email: welch@rrw.org.uk
Or write to: The Welch Regiment Museum, Cardiff Castle, Cardiff, CF10 2RB.
For further avenues of research: see the fact sheet 'Do it yourself Guide'.