Free Records - The War to End All Wars
- Leslie Ryan
- Oct 22
- 2 min read
World War I, known as "The War to End All Wars" was fought 1914 - 1918. It ended on Armistice Day, on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, 11/11/18.
Armistice Day is now known as Veterans Day, and it is upon this occasion we honor the service of our veterans, and perhaps your ancestors! The various genealogy websites have given free access to military records annually for this holiday keep your eyes open!
You can find service records for FREE right now for your ancestors from many places around the world. Starting with FamilySearch.org where you don't need a subscription you just need to open your free account. They have records and information about where to look for American and European records, including German!
Just doing a quick Google search I found free records for the UK at their National Archives, and for the US at our National Archives (not being maintained or updated due to the Government shutdown). Sadly most of the US records were lost in a fire in 1973, but you can also research at the World War Museum Website.
World War II was also a War to End All Wars, battling the Fascist Regimes that began in Italy and Nazi Germany. Service records can be found at each country's respective national archives or at FamilySearch for free and also at the World War II Museum website.
Ancestry has a partnership with Fold3.com that has extensive collections, but you must have a subscription. You have probably already seen Draft Registration cards, but you can also find Service Records showing where your Ancestor spent his time!
My grand uncle Eddie served in the "152 Dep Brig" until October 1918, which according to Google was a processing station for military going out and coming back from overseas. He then served in "Ord Dep" until discharged in December which was where the military stored its weapons.
Nose around and see what you can find out about your ancestors you may not already know! Maybe there is a decorated hero hiding in the bunch! We have 3 weeks till Veterans Day to learn about our veterans from both of the conflicts known as the War To End All Wars, just a couple of weeks after that to be Thankful there has not been another Word and War.
If you too should happen to be a child of the Sixties or know one, you will certainly recall the Charles Schultz "Peanuts" cartoons and The World War I Flying Ace, Snoopy. For a little smile, here is a YouTube link to the ballad about one of Snoopy's adventures in the air by the Royal Guardsmen from 1967.
I hope that your Pumpkin Patch Family Tree is full of sincerity as we await the arrival of the Great Pumpkin next week. Send me an email for a free evaluation of your Brick Wall!
Thank you for sharing your time with me again,
Leslie Ryan
No compensation is received for any links or referrals herein.
No Copyright infringement is intended. I do not own the rights to "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron."
