Genealogy fans in England: How do I get WWII records?

February 12, 2019 3:19 PM

I am researching my son's great-grandfather, born ~1911 in England. A census in 1944 lists him as Pvt #[6 digit number], R.A.S.C. Can I use this information to get the rest of his service record? Family lore says he died in the war, but I suppose we don't know that for sure.
posted by xo to Grab Bag (2 answers total)

Yes, https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records
posted by richb at 3:50 PM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

Another public resource that might be useful is the Wills Finder; you can look up any soldier's will for free, and their regimental number is one of the search fields:
https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/?advancedSearch=True&isGrantSearch=False&isSoldierWillSearch=True#soldiers
posted by vincebowdren at 1:52 AM on February 13, 2019