fourteeneighteen

Latest client testimonial

Peter Hurdwell wrote from Mount Colah NSW, Australia, on 17 August 2010:

I have now had a chance to go through the copious information you sent me and am thrilled with the result. My friend and I are now in possession of a credible guide to where my grandfather fought.
We pored over the Intelligence Reports which were a great help and as a result managed to obtain typewritten copies which facilitated our reading. When we tour the battlefields of Belgium and France in October we will take with us a summary of your research which will be invaluable. Once again, sincere thanks for the tremendous effort you put in to shed light on my grandfather’s wartime service. I have been trying for years to find out more about him and regret tthat I didn’t contact your organisation sooner.

Our services

If you are researching men or women of your family who served in the British army during the Great War of 1914-1918, you may be finding it hard. You may even have hit the brick wall. We can help. Welcome to our website.

When? You will need our services if you are finding it hard to search the sources of information, or if you are struggling to understand what the military documents are telling you. More

What? We search for army service records, medals records and all other known sources of information. We then interpret what they say and create as detailed a narrative history as it is possible to produce. This is where the experience of more than 3000 such projects comes in. More

Why? You not only need documents – you need insight. There are many people who will look things up, but fourteeneighteen brings real value by turning words, acronyms, squiggles and abbreviations into family history. More

Who? fourteeneighteen is the brainchild of Chris Baker (past Chairman of the Western Front Association, producer of the Long, Long Trail website, founder of the Great War Forum and military author). More

Online quote now!

Online? Now? fourteeneighteen communicates electronically with our clients. You can obtain a quote for research, place your order, track our progress and receive all documents and reports fully online. Why not start right now? Get your quote and place your order now

Another happy client

Peter Sheard wrote from Huddersfield on 29 July 2010:

Thank you for your research on Frank Shaw. I am extremely impressed with the professional presentation of his history. Your analysis has given the family a tremendous insight into his military career and filled in the missing years of which we had no idea.

Great War image of the month: August 2010

Viewed from the tower of the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery sits in the open landscape of the Somme valley. There are 2,142 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 609 of the burials are unidentified.

What is the picture in the frame at the top?

The men in the frame are from the 527th (2nd Durham) Field Company of the Royal Engineers. Top left is Tommy McSloy, a blacksmith from Blyth in Northumberland. When he returned from the war, Tommy’s employer had filled his job, so Tom moved to the nearby colliery town of Ashington. Formerly a shipyard worker, Tom worked on the surface at Woodhorn Colliery. He gained some small fame in later years as one of the Ashington Group, the artists known as the “Pitmen Painters”. He was Chris Baker’s grandfather-in-law.