Other Research Sources
Museums
To find a Regimental Museum try the website of the Ogilby Army Museums Trust at www.armymuseums.org.uk. If the Regiment has a Museum, this will find it for you.
The National Army Museum. www.national-army-museum.ac.uk They hold a full set of Army Lists (British and Indian Army), which are useful when tracing an officer, and most regimental histories, along with many other documents. As with other records offices and study centres a Reader’s Ticket is required.
Medal Entitlement
Most medal rolls for the armed services up to the Second World War are available at The National Archives, Kew, though a few are still pending transfer (eg. Long Service Medals - Regular and Territorial after 1930). Medal rolls for the General Service Medal (1918) now include Palestine (1936-39), SE Asia 1945-46 and Palestine 1945-48.
Medal rolls from 1948 onwards (eg. Malaya, etc) are held by the MoD Medal Office, Building 250, RAF Innsworth, Gloucester. GL3 1HW. Telephone 0800 085 3600. Medal rolls do not exist for campaign stars and medals awarded 1939-45 to soldiers – their entitlement is stated on their service papers (see The Army Personnel Centre web page). Download the form below and retirn to the MoD to request more information.
Casualties
Deaths on active service during the two World Wars are covered The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Their website www.cwgc.org will enable you to locate the name, number, rank, regiment (and battalion), age, date of death, awards, next of kin and grave or memorial.
Local papers are also a useful source of information on casualties, and are sometimes accompanied by a photograph. Central Libraries and Study Centres usually have these on microfilm.
Other useful Websites
www.1914-1918.net gives a full background and history of units involved in the conflict, information on battles, campaigns, notable characters and much more. This is an excellent site for those researching the Great War.
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/L/lostgeneration/index.html gives a great deal of information on the Nation’s War Memorials – most of it supplied by interested researchers.
www.omrs.org.uk - the website of the Orders & Medals Research Society – informative for the novice and lists a number of useful links, though full access is only available to OMRS members (details available on the site).
QORWK Research Service
We have a high volume of genealogical and historical enquiries, which incur costs in both time and resources. We charge a fee of £15 to carry out research on your behalf. If our search successfully locates documents such as a medal index record or service papers we will send you the downloads for no additional fee. Please consider that while all is done to answer enquiries as fully as possible, a successful search cannot be guaranteed, and a refund will not be given. Cheques should be made payable to 'The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum' and sent to:
Giles Guthrie
QORWK Keeper
Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Art Gallery
St Faith’s Street
Maidstone
Kent
ME14 1LH
The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum is a registered charity, no 1083570.
Please see our National Archives page to access reference numbers if you would like to search the National Archives yourself.
QORWK Regimental Museum
11/2007/ammd/08/2008
