There are two things I like to find in a family history research tool: (1) a large set of names to search on, ideally, a million or more, and (2) a price tag of absolute zero! You just can't beat free family history searches.
The Military Records Search at Forces Reunited does the job on both counts, though it just squeaks by on #2...you can search for free, and get preliminary results on members of the UK military, both present and past. But if you want the full record, you'll need to subscribe to the Forces Reunited site.
Still, a million-plus records makes for a pretty good, powerful search, and the free results are enough to let you know if there's more information in the dataset that makes it worthwhile to sign up for the full service.
Masters of the Hound ca WWI
The records themselves are a combination of publicly available information, along with information voluntarily submitted directly by members of the Forces Reunited website. These latter records are a large set of data in their own right, and are not going to be found anywhere else.
There are also good military history search tools at the site for information on different services (Army, Air Force, Marines, etc), or individual corps, regiments, units, or conflicts.
Earlier posts here at Free Genealogy Tools have covered other military databases in the UK that are good family history resources, including the Debt of Honour Register (WWI and WWII deaths), and, stepping back a few centuries, Soldiers and Knights from the 14th and 15th centuries.
Visit the main page of Free Genealogy Tools for more, umm, free genealogical tools.
And don't forget to also check for your family history at Ancestry.com and NewspaperArchive.com.These are subscription databases, but they are among the most powerful research tools available for looking into family roots.
32 comments:
I found this an amazing resource!
Don't subscribe to Forces Reunited - you cannot unsubscribe and they keep sending emails. They should be rated as spammers
I fully agree with anonymous January 13, 2010 11:49 AM .
These people are a waste of space , almost impossible to unsubscribe and get rid of unwanted emails .
Will try and find somebody at the very top and get something done that way .
Now , they may be OK for some ex-military types , but not for me thanks .
OK
Anybody find the answer to the above?
Telling where someone came from and that they fought in the Crimea War is not genealogy, but simply what the genealogist already knows. This plus a lack of real records makes this site worse than disappointing.
This site provides almost nothing beyond what appears in the initial free search. There are no service records- just a list of people of that name who died, when and where.
I was so dissatisfied that I cancelled immediately. In spite of seeing my (recurring - not ordered) order cancelled in my profile they still attempted to extract a new monthly payment this month from my VISA card. Luckily I had written to Visa making sure that this was cancelled last month. Completely unethical. Who are these people?
I've found the site enormously useful, obviously I can only sympathise with people who think that when a site boasts of 2 million records it is going to have everyone who ever served for the past 400 years in it!
Clearly 2 million is a fraction of that.
I love it and think it to be a great free initial search and even better when paying for a whole month of searching various records: you can't get that eleswhere!
I joined and paid: the recurring payments are all there in the payments process so i didn;'t think them unclear: as were the email preferences?
Perhaps others are less observant, although they were clear as day for me?
Forces Reunited DO NOT hold service records. When you subscribe and find out that the info is very basic and mostly what you already know they refuse to refund your stolen cash.
For my family members the so-called records gave name, place of birth, rank, regiment, Theatre of war, and date of death. I needed to know the name, approx place of birth, age, and which war in order to find this non-information so how they can claim this is access to military records is beyond me.
I asked for a refund and have now had three very rude emails from them and no chance of a refund. I may as well have thrown my cash down the drain.
I would warn everyone to avoid these scammers like the plague.
I've been a member of FR and I can't see anywhere they claim to have 'service records' although i found my great granfathers on there so the above poster is certainly talking out of his hat (polite term)
you should pop down the police station mate if they've stolen your moneyand stop talking crap.
I would agree: at least you get to view millions of records without annoying credits to buy and screw around with and I've always found the 'support desk' to be knowledgable and polite so maybe it was the OPs problem in their own attitude?
how can it be 'spam'? surely you can register any email address you want or not? sounds to me like you dont know your PC from your elbow mate!
anyway you can search for free: didnt think when you got something for free it could be a scam? sounds to me like the moaners above are either thick as 2 short planks or have a commercial interest in doing down this useful site!
Perfectly happy with my searches
I've just read their fantastic tutorial: the best I've ever seen and free to anyone too: well worth reading as it lists all the resources available elsewhere.
Frankly whoever wrote it should get a HUGE pay rise: it's helped me past my 'brick wall' and I've got a lot further today.
Just as they also warn you: those moaners above should contact the swiss red cross who want £70+ just to do a search!!
I think to be fair to some of those that have clearly been disappointed with this company (and I have no doubt almost all genealogy services reading their comments as this particular one is no different in that respect) that they have assumed records can or will be found despite the site making it clear that not all records are held or even exist.
I don't think some of the rude and frankly libellous comments are either fair or balanced.
If a searcher goes into genealogy particularly niche genealogy blindly they will waste an extraordinary amount of time and money before they find anything useful, I would suggest that the disgruntled 'anonymous' users are either in that camp or have some other reason to make such assertions.
I find this site a little basic but it 'does what it says on the tin' it offers unlimited searches over date listings from the 17th century onwards, it doesn't list classified records, it doesn't hold huge amounts of scanned original documents either, but it does give a researcher the opportunity to search listings without annoying credit/usage limits and at a very very reasonable price.
I would suggest to those wishing a quick fix to spend their time more wisely by simply contacting sites before they pay asking what they hold or do a few simple free searches, rather than upsetting yourself and posting indefensible comments here & elsewhere that make you look foolish and bitter.
No help at all with tracing war records. Emailed and surprise, surprise, didn't even receive an acknowledgement.
Wish I had read this blog sooner, now sucked into the monthly payments and can't seem to get out of it. Anybody out there who was able to stop these payments going out of your account ?
Why not contact them?
They have a pretty knowledgeable support desk: theres a PO box too for postal mail.
po box 3645 Melksham Wiltshire SN12 9AJ if it helps!
I've always had a reponse when i want to know something: sounds like you're not email the right address mate.
Perhaps Thomas Hayward works for Forcesreunited.org.uk?
I have recently calcelled my account ... or tried to. As a result, and as with some of the other posters on here, I received some very rude emails/messages.
They keep your account open even if you try to cancel.
They extract money from your account.
Terms and Conditions are unclear.
They claim that there is an area in your profile where you can deselect automatic subscription updates - they said it was at the bottom of the page and it was not.
They are very rude! And they threaten you with legal action - they're bullies.
AVOID THIS SITE like the plague!
And perhaps you and all the other anonymous customers on here work for one of the other genealogy sites?
A ridiculous comment.
I've used this site and all the others, it's very enlightening to do a google for ancestry complaints; make sure you've plenty of time though!
Sour grapes from people who expect a no find no fee IMHO on all there sites!
I think the comments about me are a little silly really: I can categorically say I have no connection to this company and use them occasionally for general research work as they are cheaper to do a general search of quite a few records or get regimental info that any other site.
I also think it a little hypocritical to doubt my identity when everyone else on here is anonymous and expect viewers to draw their own conclusions.
I didn't give this site a completely glowing recommendation in any case: their records are by and large basic, however they do cover more conflicts and wars than anyone else and military genealogy is all they do.
Anonymous could mean you work for a competitor after all!
I'm a free member on them all, genes reunited is the worst IMHO, ancestry has some great records but you have to be very clever and lucky to find them.
You get what you pay for: if you want basic and regimental stuff try forces, if you want to spend silly money try ancestry
I think it's so important to know genialogical tree of your family. We must'nt forget our roots and people, who die to we can live
Great site, found everyone I wanted on here.
Glad I read this. I already suspected when I tried to just register - supposed to be free! and then got directed for payment!
All very well if you have been in the forces, but not I think set up for genealogy....
If you sign up to this site then be very careful. I didn't find the site of any use, but thought that as I had only signed up for a one month subscription then the cost was minimal. No such luck. When you sign up they don't tell you on the front page that you will automatically be charged for a month on month subscription. You have to read through all the terms and conditions and then go in to the profile they have set up for you and change the automatic renewal from YES to NO. Otherwise they will automatically charge you month on month. BE WARNED. I'm happy to put my name to this review because what I have said is factual
Eh? if its on the front page how did you miss it?
I like the site and it offers free searches: can't see anywhere it was totally free though: perhaps some people have glasses that only see what they want to see perhaps?
I agree with Roy, although to be balanced, all subscriptions of anything aor any other agreements shoudl be advised as be careful.
To be fair to the site they do make it perfectly clear you are signing to an ongoing sub, unlike ancestry for example who hide their auto renew and won't allow the user to switch it off very easily.
Not sure about reading ALL the terms as the instructions are clearly written in plain english and make it pretty foolproof in my opinion.
Ho hum.
I have used www.forces-war-records.co.uk and found it useless they say its a free search but show you nothing and you have to pay to make sure the name you are looking at is the one you are after. you may then find the name you are looking for is not even on the site once you have paid
I have found them difficult to deal with and when you have a comment about content, all you get is its in our terms and you signed up for it.
I found Ancestry.com the best for all for this sort of information
Ironic as I used Find my past and Ancestry and neither had the anything for my G Grandfather but Forces war records did!
Perhaps it was due to my very unsual surname but I found the free search told me exactly what I needed to know before payment, I saw that they auto renew payments and could find how to switch these off very easily (far easier than 'ancestry' since we're now comparing them), I asked a question in their forums and had a prompt polite and informative reply, perhaps it depends on how you approach for help as to how helpful it will be to you?
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