Record revealed
Japanese Instrument of Surrender, 1945
After six years of brutal global conflict, this document marked the end of the Second World War.
Series
War Office: Soldiers' Documents, First World War 'Burnt Documents' (Microfilm Copies)
Catalogue reference: WO 363
What's it about?
WO 363
This series contains microfilm copies of the surviving records of service for non commissioned officers and other ranks who served in the 1914-1918 war and did not re-enlist prior to the outbreak of war in 1939. Electronic images of these records...
Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- WO 363
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Title (The name of the record)
- War Office: Soldiers' Documents, First World War 'Burnt Documents' (Microfilm Copies)
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Date (When the record was created)
- 1914-1920
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Description (What the record is about)
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This series contains microfilm copies of the surviving records of service for non commissioned officers and other ranks who served in the 1914-1918 war and did not re-enlist prior to the outbreak of war in 1939.
Electronic images of these records can be searched online through our partner website.
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Arrangement (Information about the filing sequence or logical order of the record)
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The records were stored and filmed in alphabetical order of a soldier's surname (as stated at the time of enlistment). Files discovered out of alphabetical sequence (after their correct place has been filmed) were filmed as a sequence of mis-sorts and placed at the end of the series.
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Related material (A cross-reference to other related records)
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Equivalent records for the Coldstream, Grenadier, Irish and Welsh Guards are held by the Ministry of Defence. Records for the Scots Guards are held by their Regimental Headquarters. See: www.theguardsmuseum.com/Family-Research
Further soldiers' records of World War 1 are in WO 364
Records of the soldiers of the Household Cavalry WO 400
For soldiers' service records pre-1914 see WO 97
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
- Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
- English
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
- 29889 microform
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Access conditions (Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
- Available in digital format only
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Subjects (Categories and themes found in our collection (our subject list is under development, and some records may have no subjects or fewer than expected))
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Custodial history (Describes where and how the record has been held from creation to transfer to The National Archives)
- In September 1940, as the result of a fire caused by an incendiary bomb at the War Office Record Store in Arnside Street, London, approximately two thirds of 6.5 million soldiers' documents for the First World War were destroyed. Those records which survived were mostly charred or water damaged and unfit for consultation and became known as the 'burnt documents'. Commencing in 1996 and with the aid of Lottery funding and volunteers from the Genealogical Society of Utah under an agreement with the Ministry of Defence, the surviving records were the subject of a large microfilming programme designed to capture as much information as possible from these fragile documents and enable them to be permanently preserved.
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C14567/
Catalogue hierarchy
Over 27 million records
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
9,787,085 records
Within the department: WO
Records created or inherited by the War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General,...
You are currently looking at the series: WO 363
War Office: Soldiers' Documents, First World War 'Burnt Documents' (Microfilm Copies)
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