Military Research Examples
Every military research enquiry begins with a different piece of evidence. It might be a British Army service number, a regiment or corps, a medal record, a photograph, a surviving military document or simply a family story. History Recon provides specialist British military research, using surviving records and wider historical sources to investigate the service of soldiers who served during the First World War, Second World War and beyond.
The examples below are taken from genuine research commissioned by our clients. Each shows the original question we were asked, what our research was able to uncover, and the finished report produced for the family.
From an Army Service Number to a Regiment and Battalion
The Original Enquiry
A client contacted History Recon while trying to discover more about her grandfather's service during the Second World War. The family had his Army service number and medals, together with a long-standing belief that he had served with a Welsh regiment, but no evidence to confirm the story.
“All the information I have for my grandad in WW2 is his service number 3976528 and three service medals for France, Belgium and Germany. I'm trying to find out which regiment he was in. It has come down in the family that he was in the Welsh, but we have no proof of this. It is confusing for me as he was born and lived in Gorton, Manchester.”
What Our Research Uncovered
Starting with Army service number 3976528, our research identified the soldier as serving with the 4th Battalion, Welch Regiment, confirming the family's long-standing belief that he had served with a Welsh regiment.
Identifying his battalion opened up a much wider picture of his Second World War service. The 4th Welch spent an extended period on home defence duties in Northern Ireland before deploying to Normandy in June 1944. The battalion landed at Courseulles-sur-Mer and moved inland towards Bayeux before becoming involved in the bitter fighting around Caen and the Odon Valley.
The research placed his service within the wider Normandy campaign, including the fighting associated with Operations Epsom and Jupiter and the strategically important Hill 112. It also helped explain why a man born and raised in Gorton, Manchester, could have served in the Welch Regiment, and showed how the family's surviving medal information corresponded with the battalion's later advance through France, Belgium and into Germany.
View the Research Report
The finished military research report brought together the soldier's Army service number, battalion identification, unit movements, campaign history and medal evidence to turn a fragment of family history into a much clearer account of his wartime service.
Research Type: "Who Was This Soldier" - £30
Client Feedback
“Thank you so much for all the information. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to finally know the battalion and regiment.”
Turning First World War Records into a Soldier's Story
The Original Enquiry
A client approached History Recon after professional family history research had identified three relatives who served during the First and Second World Wars. Although records, regimental numbers, units and medals had already been found, the client wanted to understand the story behind their military service.
“I have recently had my family history researched through a professional. He identified three people who had served in WW1 and WW2. He found information like regimental number, unit, medals and, for WW1, their records. I would like to explore each member further to get the narrative behind their service.”
The first investigation focused on Nicholas Jackson, who served during the First World War.
What Our Research Uncovered
Nicholas Jackson's surviving First World War service records allowed us to reconstruct an unusually detailed military story. He enlisted in September 1914 and joined the Coldstream Guards, receiving regimental number 12066. After training at Caterham and Windsor, he was sent to France in February 1915 and joined the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards on the Western Front.
His service subsequently placed him in some of the defining fighting of the First World War. During the Battle of the Somme, Nicholas fought at Flers-Courcelette and was wounded in action on 15 September 1916, suffering a gunshot wound and shell shock. After recovering, he returned to the battalion in March 1917 and later served during another major period of fighting before being wounded for a second time.
His second wound ultimately ended his career as a Guards infantryman. In November 1917 he was compulsorily transferred to the Army Service Corps (Mechanical Transport) and given a new service number, M/354137. The finished research followed his story through this second phase of military service, his medical history and eventual demobilisation in March 1919.
View the Research Report
The completed 11-page First World War research report combines surviving Army service records with battalion and campaign history to follow Nicholas from enlistment and training through front-line service, two combat wounds, his transfer from the Coldstream Guards to the Army Service Corps, demobilisation and medal entitlement.
Research Type: "Discover Their Story" - £99
Client Feedback
“Wow, that is an amazing story! Very interesting — he was at the heart of some major battles.”
Following completion of this report, the client commissioned History Recon to investigate the military service of another member of the family.
Reconstructing a Second World War Soldier's Service
The Original Enquiry
A client contacted History Recon with a straightforward question about his late father's wartime service:
“Trying to trace the Army record of my late father. Served in the Scots Guards and was in North Africa and Italy during the Second World War.”
What Our Research Uncovered
Although a precise wartime service record could not be located, surviving documentation confirmed service with the Scots Guards, while his Army number 2696992 could be compared with neighbouring enlistments to place his recruitment in a narrow period during November 1939. Combining this evidence with family information and the wartime history of the regiment allowed us to reconstruct his likely service with the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards.
This transformed the family's broad knowledge of service in North Africa and Italy into a much more detailed military narrative. The research followed the 2nd Scots Guards through the Battle of Gazala, the fighting at Medenine, the Salerno landings and the gruelling battles for Monte Camino, before tracing the battalion's return to Britain and its final campaign through North-West Europe and into Germany.
The surviving records also revealed something not mentioned in the original enquiry. His military career did not end after the Second World War. In 1949 he re-enlisted in the Territorial Army under a new Army number, beginning a second period of service connected with the Army Air Corps and Territorial airborne forces.
View the Research Report
The completed 14-page military research report reconstructs a service career stretching from enlistment in 1939 through the campaigns in North Africa, Italy and North-West Europe, before exploring the soldier's unexpected return to military service after the war.
Research Type: "Discover Their Story" - £99
Client Feedback
“Thanks for the detailed research report. I can relate to the parts referring to the action my father saw in Africa and Italy... My father actually named me after a guardsman in his regiment from London who saved his life in Italy.”
More Military Research Case Studies
Our research blog contains further examples of how British Army service records, service numbers and other surviving military records can be used to investigate an individual's service. These shorter case studies explore some of the challenges involved in reconstructing First and Second World War military histories.
From One CWGC Record to a Soldier's Story
How a single Commonwealth War Graves Commission record led to the reconstruction of a Royal Artillery gunner's Second World War service and his journey to Singapore.
Reconstructing a First World War Soldier from a Single Medical Form
How one surviving 1916 medical document provided clues to enlistment, service number, regiment and the wider story of a First World War soldier.
Untangling a Confusing Second World War Service Record
How apparently contradictory postings and unit movements in a King's Liverpool Regiment service record were interpreted to build a clearer wartime timeline.
The Mystery of Two First World War Service Numbers
How two different Army numbers became the starting point for reconstructing the service of a Manchester Regiment soldier.
Researching Your Own Family's Military History?
History Recon provides specialist British military research for families wanting to discover more about a relative's service. Whether you are researching a soldier who served during the First World War, Second World War or later British Army, even a small amount of information can provide a starting point.
An Army service number, regiment or corps, medal record, service record, photograph, military document or piece of family information may open up further lines of research. Depending on the surviving evidence, we may be able to identify a regiment or battalion, interpret military records and service numbers, trace changes of unit, investigate medal entitlement, and place an individual's service within the battles, campaigns and wider history of their unit.
Our research ranges from answering a specific military history question to producing a detailed report which brings together the surviving evidence and reconstructs the story behind an individual's service.
Have a relative you'd like us to investigate? Explore our military research services and find out how we can help.