Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919 - Headington



Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919

What is the source of information?

• There are two sources to the information, "Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-19" and "Officers Died in the Great War 1914-19". See below.

"Soldiers Died"

• "Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-19" was originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) in 1921.

• It was published in 80 parts. Most parts covered a single regiment, subdivided into its various battalions. However, some parts covered groups of units such as the cavalry, smaller infantry regiments or other corps.

• "Soldiers Died" covers "other ranks" of the army only, not officers. "Other ranks" includes Privates, Lance Corporals, Corporals, Sergeants and Warrant Officers. In some units of the army, the rank Driver, Gunner, Pioneer, Rifleman, Sapper or Trooper is equivalent to Private.

• "Other ranks" includes non-fighting men, such as cooks, stretcher-bearers and transport drivers.

• "Soldiers Died" covers deaths within the period from 4th August 1914 (the declaration of war) to 11th November 1918 (Armistice Day) and, in some but not all cases, up to 25th March 1921.

• The names of 661,960 other ranks are included within "Soldiers Died".

• The name used by the soldier upon enlisting and in army records is given. This means that the alias appears instead of the true given name (which of course might be unknown to the army). It is a well-known fact that many men enlisted under a false name.

• The regimental number shown is that in use as at the date of death.

"Officers Died"

• "Officers Died in the Great War 1914-19" was originally published by HMSO in 1919.

• It was published as a single volume covering all officers in the cavalry, infantry and other corps.

• "Officers Died" covers officers only. "Officers" includes, among others, Lieutenants, 2nd Lieutenants, Captains, Majors, Lieutenant Colonels, Colonels, Brigadier Generals, Major Generals, Lieutenant Generals and Generals.

• "Officers Died" covers deaths within the period from 4th August 1914 (the declaration of war) to 11th November 1918 (Armistice Day) and, in some but not all cases, up to 26th September 1919.

• The names of 41,846 officers are included within "Officers Died", although this includes some duplicates where, for example, an officer served first in the Royal Flying Corps. 

What period is covered?

• These records cover deaths within the period from 4th August 1914 (the declaration of war) to 11th November 1918 (Armistice Day) and, in some but not all cases, up to 25th March 1921. 

Which parts of the British Army are covered?

• All units: the cavalry, the infantry and all supporting corps.

• All ranks: officers, non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and other ranks are all included. You do not need to know the rank of the soldier you are looking for. The rank shown is that held at death.

• All areas: soldiers from all parts of the British Isles (including Scotland, all of Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) are included.

• Only serving soldiers are included. If a soldier died after having been discharged from the army, even if his death occurred due to wounds incurred during his army service, he will not be included here: rather, usually his death will be included in the relevant civil death registers for England and Wales, Scotland or other jurisdiction of death.

How many records are there?

• The names of 703,806 soldiers are included. Of these, 661,960 were "other ranks" and 41,846 were officers.

Understanding the results fields:

How died

• The records include those who were killed in action (approximately 66% of the total), died of wounds (21%), and died of disease or other (including natural or accidental) causes (13%). Soldiers who were recorded as missing presumed dead are also included.

• Please note that the records exclude most of the 350 or so British and Commonwealth soldiers who were court-martialled and upon whom death sentences were carried out. Whether or not an executed soldier is included depended upon whether or not the regiment or other unit included him in their returns upon which the original volumes were based.

 Theatre of war

• All theatres of war are included: while the majority of casualties occurred on the Western Front, all other areas (such as North Africa, the Middle-East and the Mediterranean) are included.

• If the theatre of war is given as "Home", this usually means that the soldier died either while serving within the UK (for example, in a reserve battalion or in a home service garrison), or else died back in UK of wounds sustained overseas without having been discharged from the army.

• If the theatre is given as "At Sea", this usually means that the soldier died on a vessel crossing to or from France.

 Supplementary notes

• These are not always present.

• For other ranks, this field is used for former regiment and regimental number, or for decorations (gallantry awards) such as the Military Medal (MM) or Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). Campaign medals are not included.

• For officers and some other ranks, this field may contain a note beginning with the abbreviation "Att". This denotes a particular battalion or regiment to which the soldier was attached.

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