Professional service
Researching soldiers
My professional service for researching a soldier of the British Army of the Great War. Learn about my approach, what it would cost and how you would benefit from the service. Welcome!
Please note that I am not accepting new orders at present. I hope to recommence work in early February 2025.
Expertise and innovation
Features
Your unknown soldiers become known again. Rebuild their story from a range of official sources; base it on knowledge of army ways and regulations of the time; and set it in the context of the history of the war.
Widest and deepest search for information
When you have researched more than 10,000 soldiers, you get a pretty good idea where to find relevant information, fast. Your search will miss nothing out. Even if your start point is fragmentary or uncertain.
Make sense out of nonsense
Military records can be very confusing as they are loaded with abbreviations and acronyms; they are not always in chronological sequence; and they sometimes contain errors. My report will make it all clear for you.
Your own secure online access to my report and information found
No need to worry about saving and keeping the report and documents I produce for you. You’ll have your own password-protected web page where you can find it all and download or print it at any time.
Happy customers
Feedback
I receive many happy emails and letters from clients that are more than satisfied with my work. Here is a sample of the feedback I have received over the years.
Lyn London
Thank you so much for your incredible help. Peter and I can’t thank you enough for taking the trouble to fill in some of the gaps that previously existed when you first did research for me in 2009 into his Father’s war history. As I explained Peter is now dealing with dementia,and because of that has become very preoccupied with his father’s involvement in WW1. This new batch of information is fantastic, especially the war diaries from his regiment. You are a Star! Thank you again (August 2024)
★★★★★
Michael Smith
I recently asked Chris if he could help find information on my grandfather who served in ww1, after months of trying myself and getting no where with my inquires I turned to Chris. Within a matter of a week Chris had the information I was looking for and has answered a lot of questions for me. I now have found out I have another 2 relatives that died in ww1 and will be asking Chris for assistance in this again. Thanks again Chris (August 2024)
★★★★★
Rory Grant
Thank you for this fascinating report, a really interesting story with a sad ending, as you note. I am delighted you have been able to draw out such a thorough picture of his time before and during the war, it was certainly more than I had expected and brought to life a family member whose memory had otherwise been limited to our knowledge of a war grave and little more. I am particularly pleased with how you have knitted together references to our ancestor with a deep knowledge of the war to combine the two into a compelling narrative. I need to spend much more time reading the material you have provided and this represents a lot of value for the modest fee you charge. Thank you very much and please feel free to use any of the feedback above on your website. (August 2024)
★★★★★
Balanced
Three-part Pricing Approach
Before you start to research a soldier, you never know how much you are going to find, or how complex his story will turn out to be. Each project is different. My approach makes sure you pay a fair fee that balances the amount of work and the degree of detail that emerges. Nothing to pay upfront.
Core Fee
£80
Standard fee that covers all the searches, plus
Production of report, plus
You own secure access, plus
Ongoing help and advice as needed
plus Additional
£20
/event
Add a sum that covers the additional work in producing a more detailed narrative of a special event
So for example, for a man was who was wounded and on a separate occasion later taken prisoner, £40 would be added to the core fee
less Reductions
£0-50
But even the most complete story can still have gaps and uncertainties. The total fee is reduced to reflect the overall outcome
Experience shows that a reduction is applied in 80% of all projects
Benefits
Making a difference
You will be assured that all sources have been searched, without the need for you to subscribe to many different providers.
You will receive as full an explanation of the soldier’s own story is possible, set in the context of the complex history of the Great War. All your questions will be answered.
You will be able to show or send the results to members of your family and others and be proud of adding to their knowledge.
Stay Updated
Chris’s research blog
Thoughts as they occur to me: projects I am working on, soldier’s stories, research and interpretation tips. And occasional book reviews and other scattered thoughts on the work of being a military researcher.
Latest project
September 2024
Born in Londonderry in 1889, Thomas Carlin joined the Militia of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 1906 and served until it was disbanded in the army reforms of 1908. He re-enlisted, by then a married man with children, in September 1914 and served successively with the regiment’s 5th, 7th and 1st Battalions. Thomas went to Gallipoli with the 5th and was wounded at Suvla Bay and then at Kosturino in Salonika. With the 7th, he was hit again in the attack on Beck House and Delva Farm in August 1917. And on 22 March 1917 he was captured at Fontaine-les-Clercs while serving with 1st Battalion. Thomas was held at Langensalza and Merseburg POW camps.