War Office: German Record cards of British and Commonwealth Prisoners of War and...

WO 416

1939-1945

This series comprises some pre-printed cards, containing personal details of some 200,000 individuals held by German Authorities during the Second World War, most relate to prisoners of war though there are several hundred relating to civilians. The collection also includes details of several thousand airmen whose bodies were found in German occupied territory. Cards are printed in old style German and have been completed in English, and are in a number of differing formats. Some cards have very few details completed whereas some include photographs and fingerprints of the prisoners. A few cards include chest x-rays, and there are separate, usually pink, cards which record basic medical conditions (if applicable). The number of cards for each individual varies from one to fifteen, but in most cases there are just one or two.

The cards record (with certain exceptions) a varying amount of detail which can include the following:

• Camp name.
• Camp number.
• Country of origin.
• Surname.
• First name(s).
• Place and Date of birth.
• Father's first name.
• Mother's maiden name.
• Name and Address of Next of Kin.
• Religion.
• Date and Place of Capture.
• Where transferred/transported from.
• Details of escape.
• Details of death.
• Service (e.g. Army, Air, Navy, Civilian).
• Service rank.
• Service number.

While the majority of the cards are of British military service personnel, many cards relate to Merchant Navy Ratings, Merchant Navy Officers, South Africans, Canadians, Rhodesians, Palestinians, New Zealanders, and Australians, and a limited number of cards are for individuals from other countries such as Norway, China, Arabia, the USA, and Cyprus. Although there are separate pieces (WO 416/407-414) for those serving in the Merchant Navy and for those of Cypriot, Australian, New Zealand, South African and Palestinian origin, such details may instead or in addition be found in the main alpha-numerical run (WO 416/1-406) and a number of cards have been misfiled (see arrangement).

There are also a number of cards for individuals who are listed as 'unknown' at WO 416/415-417. The entries on these cards are written in German only (and are usually noted as English with a blue cross).

Cards show details of deaths by use of symbols such as blue, black and red crosses.

Information recorded at item level in square brackets indicate information added from other sources to confirm an individual's identity. Sources include Prisoners of War (Polstead: J B Hayward in association with the Imperial War Museum, Dept of Printed Books, 1990) and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Cards for some service personnel may be missing as part of claims made by ex-POWs, cards were taken out of the collection and used as evidence to support the claim. In most cases, the card was placed on the claim file and not returned to this series. Some cards for RAF Personnel are attached to Casualty files in AIR 81.

Cards are arranged in boxes by surnames according to alphabetical groupings, though some cards are mis-filed (e.g. cards for an individual named James Thomas may have been filed as Thomas James). Also, some can be found in pieces with descriptions outside their surname range. Plus, occasionally, cards for the same individual can be found in multiple pieces. There is one main alphabetical run by surname (pieces 1-406) and a smaller run (pieces 407-414) arranged by specific nationalities and/or service arm.

With the support of volunteers between 2017 and 2023, all records have been fully catalogued by name of individual. Please note, for most of the items in WO 416/415-417 the individual is unknown, as the cards relate to deceased personnel, mainly airmen.

Public Record(s)

417 box(es)

Open unless otherwise stated

In 2014 Ministry of Defence

Topics

Shipping

Internment

Army

Trade and commerce

Asia

Religions

Europe and Russia

Air Force

Conflict

Population

Museums and galleries

Americas

Middle East

Armed Forces (General Administration)

Operations, battles and campaigns

These cards came into the possession of the British Army at the end of the Second World War, which passed them to the War Office in London. As part of claims made by ex-POWs, cards were taken out of the collection and used as evidence to support the claim. In most cases, the card was placed on the claim file and not returned to this series.

1939 to 1945

No further accruals are expected

Selected under Records Collection Policy, selection criteria 3.1