What our clients say

We receive many happy emails and letters at the end of our projects, from clients that are more than satisfied with our work. Here is a sample of the feedback we have received over the years.

Colin Looker wrote on 23 November 2023

A few years ago, November 2015 to be precise, fourteeneighteen made a report on my Great uncle Sydney WW1. I now realise what fantastic job you did. Having now visited the site where Syd was fatally wounded and where he was buried. I have now compiled a diary of my visit and Syds WW1 time in the trenches. Thank you so much, worth every penny.

Better late than never, Colin! Thank you

Ruth Parsons wrote from Cummaquid, Massachusetts USA on 21 November 2023

So many thoughts and images have run through our heads this weekend after reading the reports and documents you provided. My grandad and dad would’ve been spellbound and proud to learn about what Albert experienced in the last few years of his life. … this has added essence to his life and we are eternally grateful to you and all your efforts.


Julian Boardman-Weston wrote from Ashby-de-la-Zouch on 14 November 2022

Many thanks for your report and the appendices. I delayed emailing you until I had the opportunity to give it the attention it deserves. I really can echo some of the glowing testimonials on your website. Because of your experience you have been able to lay your hands on all sorts of things that a beginner does not even know exist. The report is fascinating as history of a well-loved family member and gives me a starting point for visiting the places you have identified. It is also very good value for money when compared to the fees of similarly experienced specialists in other professional fields.


Hannah Shore wrote from London on 31 July 2022

Thank you so much for your report. It is incredible how much you have put a story on some very bare (and unreadable) facts! I’ve long been baffled by what regiment he was in and so couldn’t place him at all. It is so wonderful to know where he fought, and what battle he was injured in. It is almost a comfort really to know that he was injured in something so epic. I shall certainly read the war diaries. Something that allowed me to place exactly where his brother was killed. I really never thought his story could come to life!


Matt Davies wrote a belated follow-up from Carmarthenshire in Wales on 12 October 2021

Since you issued this report in March 2019 I have been extremely thankful for the information that you had provided to myself and my family. We cannot express how much in words really and over the last two years it has provided a great springboard for me to research my family history using Ancestry and other such platforms.


"An honest and trustworthy company" - we like that!
“An honest and trustworthy company” – I like that!

David Stebbings wrote from Wigan, Lancashire, on 6 August 2021

This is AMAZING!! Thank you so much. This was more than expected and a wonderful treat.
I will sort the invoice immediately. I will certainly be back in touch for assistance with another Great-grandparent I am currently researching. My teenage daughter volunteers for the CWGC and we are in the process of planning our trip to France and Belgium to visit some of the Western Front and areas of interest. This report has identified some places we will most definitely be staying


Ivor Brown wrote from Hereford on 18 January 2021

A very comprehensive report carried out in an efficient and professional manner. I am absolutely delighted with the report. Well done.


Alan Taylor wrote from Bolton in Lancashire on 1 January 2021

Thank you most kindly for your excellent reports on my grandfathers. You were able to find information I was unable to find after a period of 20 years of research. The cost of the research was more than reasonable, long may you continue. Please feel free to use this feedback as you wish, if and when required.


David Sewell wrote from Ellsemere Port on 27 August 2020

Thank you very much for your eagerly awaited report.  You have certainly put a lot more ‘meat’ on the bone than I had been able to. I have just paid your invoice and consider it money very well spent as it answers so many questions I had about my grandfather.  Unfortunately I never met him, as I wasn’t born until October 1954, which was some 18 months after he passed away. Anyway thank you once again.  Please feel free to use any part of this email as feedback on your website.


Susan Broman wrote from Victoria, Australia on 13 July 2020

Wow – I was delighted to receive the huge files and the amount of reading I now face!! The detail on William’s service looks so interesting. And so prompt!


Peter Carter wrote from Teddington on 16 July 2020

Thank you so much for these reports – they have filled big holes in the collective family memory.


Mike Meyrick wrote from Wales on 11 May 2020

Thank you so much for your detailed report. Fascinating and informative, a pleasure to receive and read. Amazing with so little to go on. A visit to Glamorgan Archives next for me as suggested. Thanks again, much appreciated.


John and Dawn Hadlington wrote from Brierly Hill on 5 January 2020

This is the second time we have used the service that fourteeneighteen provides and we have been thrilled both times. Although it’s always possible to find records on various sites, interpreting and understanding what they mean needs experts and fourteeneighteen are certainly that. They have not only filled out the bare bones of our ancestors’ lives, but have given us so much more detail about the battles in which they fought so that we have a much better understanding of what they experienced. Thank you!


David Cantor posted to the “Who do you think you are”” website from Leatherhead on 2 January 2020

 I have received a comprehensive 25 page report giving detailed background about Ernest’s service including a pension card! Also, precise maps where events affecting Ernest took place. There are a number of attachments, most of which I had (census, etc) but also my mother’s whereabouts on the 1939 Register that I previously failed to find. The turn round has been amazingly swift, the charge very reasonable and from my experience I can thoroughly recommend this service to anyone researching a WW1 veteran.


Vanessa Meades wrote from Ontario, Canada on 3 August 2019

What a package. Thank you for this. I certainly got more than expected. I was happily surprised with the newspaper notice regarding the death of my great grandfather.  Believe it or not, it gave me a few more leads to track down. More importantly, it is your narrative provided with the maps that really helps to tell us the story. The narrative allows us to get a grasp of Uncle Michael’s whereabouts in such an unimaginable time. I have tried to read war diaries before but never got anything out of them.  I appreciate what you have done.


Malcolm Haynes wrote Boston in Lincolnshire from on 6 June 2019

Whilst researching a relative I came across fourteeneighteen. Everyone else wanted mega money but Chris Baker seemed reasonable so I gave him a try. Blow me down! Although my relative had a relatively short life in the Army Chris’s report was emailed to me with other documents securely sent via dropbox. The report was absolutely brilliant, well formatted, well prepared and with a “what you can do next” page. The price was superb and I would recommend Chris and fourteeneighteen to anyone.


Steve Saker wrote from Florida, USA, on 17 January 2019:

Many thanks for your excellent and very comprehensive report. My great-uncle Alan was the brother of my paternal grandmother who died in 1972 and of her sister, my great-aunt, who died in 1994. Neither ever mentioned a brother who had died. His existence was completely unknown to me, or even to my 88 year old aunt (my grandmother’s only daughter), until a few years ago when I learned about him through my own research. You have uncovered so much that is interesting. … You have done splendid work and I am very grateful.


Graham Cann wrote from Norwich on 25 April 2018:

I am writing to thank you so much for the report you produced on my grandfather’s First World War service. Despite the absence of many of his records you have given me a much fuller picture than I expected and certainly far more, and far quicker, than I could ever have achieved through my own efforts. I am most grateful too for your prompt and responsive service, enabling me to learn where he served (both the Somme and the Third Battle of Ypres – I had no idea!) and when and where he was wounded. It has brought his story alive, brought back fond memories of him when I was a young boy and also wonderfully set the scene ahead of my visit to Belgium and France next week. On my return I intend looking further into your report and attachments, plus some more general reading about the First World War – my interest has really been aroused by what you have sent me. I shall probably be in touch also to ask you to research my other grandfather once I have confirmed basic details of date, place of birth, etc. Again, thank you very much for the work you have done, with exemplary service and, in my view, for a very reasonable price.


Tony Berry wrote from Truro, Cornwall, on 14 April 2017:

Huge thanks. Am most impressed, not only by what you have come up with but by the speed and efficiency with which it was done. And such a comprehensive report, too.


Alan Redfern wrote from Coventry on 31 October 2016:

Please excuse the delay in responding to your excellent report on my Fathers 1914-1918 war service. My home situation does not give me as much time as I would wish to study your excellent report. I am amazed at the very high level of detailed information you have unearthed and I am very grateful. I note your suggestions for further study and I will give some thought. Thanks again yours most sincerely.


Dominic Crossley wrote from Skipton, Yorkshire, on 26 September 2016:

Many thanks for preparing these excellent reports, which were exactly what I was after and have helped me to navigate through the fog of military records and understand the context in which it all took place. In particular I found the way in which you blend the specific details from the records with explanations of the background and (where applicable) campaign maps, really helpful.


Pam Baker (no relation!) wrote from Bracknell, Berkshire, on 20 September 2016:

I just wanted to write to you to thank you for the report and supporting documents you sent through for Henry. I am still working my way through the war diaries but the details of his army career that you have sent through are amazing. It’s been really interesting to see what Henry would have gone through whilst serving with the KRRC.


Bill Stone wrote from Greenhithe, Kent, on 5 September 2016:

Wow, I’m more than impressed what a comprehensive report, now I’ve got some reading to do, what a service you offer and deliver.


Gary Wright wrote from Stourbridge on 13 November 2015:

Thank you very much for sending me the results of your research into the military history of my grandfather, George Bloye Durman. It seems beautifully symmetrical that I requested the work on George’s birthday, and you responded at Armistice Day and I am enjoying the fruits of your labour, all within a few days of the centenary of his enlisting. The report makes fascinating reading for me, who barely knew the man, as it provides a context to the bald details of his being involved. Your reporting style is at once informative and factual, but realistic and human. Furthermore, you have been able to give the reader precious background information, by analyzing the official and vernacular jargon; especially helpful for me who does not know a battalion from a brigade! I now have an image of a young man who was probably a bit of a character and often broke the rules. He might well have been content to suffer the indignity of Field Punishment Number 1, compared to what the men were facing every day in action at the front. I, myself, can identify a curious irony that George was admonished for “being dirty on inspection” in an environment of mud, vermin, and disease, as I understand The Somme to have been at the time. Furthermore, I can see that George was indeed lucky to come through the war alive, despite three episodes of wounding, and, not to put too fine a point on it, the wounding on his thigh probably meant that I was within six inches of never having been born! Once more, we see the resilience of that generation and it is with gratitude we remember them. Not that they were all doers of great deeds, but that they were heroes for going out and fighting for a cause and a country. So now I have an excellently researched and composed, personal history of a man, amongst men who “did their bit”, regardless of their fears and, maybe, even opinions. The report is accompanied by excellent and comprehensive supporting documents, all delivered within the proposed timescale and at the quoted price. I am happy to have a delightful memento of George’s history for myself and, hopefully generations to come, to treasure. Thank you for all the assiduous hard work you have devoted to this project, especially at this auspicious time, when you are probably overwhelmed with inquiries. You have obviously devoted attention to my topic without shortcut or compromise. No doubt most of the information is available to the public, but your expertise and knowledge adds an insight most of us would lack. I hope you can continue to provide this excellent facility. I would certainly recommended others to use your meticulous services.


Lee Stanley wrote from Dunstable on 10 September 2015:

Your work is incredible! I have tried to find details of James Murphy on so any occasions and always gave in. I can’t thank you enough. It has been a long time wish of mine to be able to share James’ military record with my Dad. I am now going to purchase replica medals and present them to him on his coming birthday. Once again thank you.


Maurice Whitmore wrote from Cornwall on 7 September 2015:

We can’t thank you enough for the ACRES of info you found for our WW1 ancestor: his movements in Belgium, Regimental Diaries, even pics of where he was killed, & of his cemetery & his grave number! All this from a photo of him on sentry duty showing his cap badge, & knowing that he came from Aston Birmingham area with his name of Arthur SMITH. We had found 00s of them, but you found the right one. A big hole in our Tree has been plugged, & all in a couple of weeks! Phenomenal!


Jim Howarth wrote from Coulanges, France, on 4 September 2015:

Hello Chris. I am gobsmacked by the content and depth of your research. I have been researching my dads army service for a couple of years now with so called professional researchers but besides telling me bare details such as reg.no. and regiments they found lttle else. Your detail of his entire army career is outstanding. I am left reeling because it is altogether different to what I have always believed but you have given the proof that you are correct. I cannot praise you enough Chris, I will be reading your account a few more times today.


Margaret O’Brien wrote from Vancouver, Canada, on 14 March 2015:

We are mostly a naval family and over the years we have happily researched our sailors’ careers in visits to the National Archives. But one region of the family tree contains three Scottish soldiers, and we were not confident that we could investigate their World War 1 experiences thoroughly. Thanks to fourteeneighteen we are now quite sure that we possess all the military information about these men that is publicly available. Fourteeneighteen not only found and interpreted all the relevant documents, they also made maps to show where our men had been wounded or had earned gallantry awards. Considering the work involved and expertise applied fourteeneighteen’s fee was very reasonable.


Douglas Shearn wrote from London on 7 November 2014:

Chris, I write to put on record my appreciation for the very compelling and comprehensive report you produced relative to the military service of my father. It is something I attempted myself but repeatedly ran into difficulties and was unable to carry it to a successful conclusion. I particularly like the construction and clarity of the report, which I have to say made interesting reading. I would happily recommend anyone to avail themselves of the benefits you have to offer and, from my own experience, in the manner in which you conduct them.


David Harding wrote from Brussels on 1 September 2014:

Chris, I am writing to provide you some feedback on the really excellent report you did for my Father in January 2010 on his Father (my Granddad) – Harold Charles Harding. My Dad has been very keen to find out more about his father for a long time, and so when you were able to provide such a comprehensive report on Harold’s war service he was absolutely thrilled. The report provided with much excellent information and gave us a picture of his activities throughout the Great War. I was able to take Dad to both places. We took 2-days to visit both battlefields. It was an incredibly powerful experience to be able to stand at the places where Granddad fought and was injured 99 years ago. Gommecourt particularly was very moving. The casualty evacuation route he would have taken to Hebuterne can easily be followed, and the cemetery at Hebuterne here has many graves from the 1/4th Londons – many young men who Harold would have known well and who he would have been friends with (and noting the service numbers, several who also probably joined on the same day)


Edwin Cunningham wrote from Ballymena on 20 July 2014:

Chris, I felt the need to do something to honour my Great uncle Edwin Delmege’s army career with the 1st Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers who was killed in action on 1st May 1915, while at the same time commemorating the 100th anniversary of WW1. By providing you with sparse detail to begin with, you have been able to paint a detailed picture within the contents of your report and accompanying documents I otherwise would never have had, this has now given me the appetite to research Edwin’s family. Please accept my grateful thanks for all your hard work and I would have no hesitation in recommending you and fourteeneighteen to others. “Spectamur Agendo”.


Chris Elliott wrote from Bawtry, Doncaster, on 1 July 2014:

Thanks very much for the report you have sent me about my Grandfather Albert Clark. My father didn’t seem to know anything about him only his name, so the information I gave you I found myself. I have downloaded all the information you have sent me – thank you so much – just starting to read it through – it’s fascinating. When I read that Albert had been in Italy it was such a coincidence, as my father was in the bloodbath that was Monte Cassino where he lost a leg. Thanks once again Chris for your help, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you to anyone.


John Mudd wrote from Norfolk on 5 June 2014:

Chris, I was listening to our local news where a WW1 exhibition via the BBC was travelling the country, starting at Ipswich, their second stop was Norwich. The lady Prof from Cambridge giving the interview was “slating” people offering to do WW1 searches on relatives who lived or fought during 1914/18. The point she was making that you could do all the relevant searches either free or at little cost on your own account whereas the fees being charged were exorbitant. I thought her comments were crude and unfounded in the light of the service provided by you. Your fees are clearly stated up front and in my case you have adjusted any charge to take into account the volume of information you have discovered exactly as stated in your acceptance letter before commencing searches. Therefore I have no hesitation in recommending your services to any person wishing to trace their relatives. My youngest son and I will be travelling to France in October and in the light of your report know where to head for to follow Granddad’s footsteps.


Our past client Stuart Nelson wrote from South Africa on 5 June 2014, concerning a question on another relative:

You have achieved more, in less than one hour, than another researcher has in 5 months.


Gary Summerville wrote from Ireland on 4 February 2014:

Chris, Thank you ever so much for a really professional report on my grandfathers Great war service. I read it with a lump in my throat, as I only remember him very vaguely as I was four or five years old when he passed away. My dad said that he never talked about the war, but he did say that he rode the lead horses in the gun team. Once again thank you ever so much for a really professional job.


Anne Casson wrote from High Barnet on 8 January 2014:

Dear Chris, Wow! I am amazed at how much information you found and what a picture it builds up, both of the individual, and the course of those parts of the war that touched him – the training, his application to enlist and the detail of the battle in which he died, and the description in the war diary. There is so much digest that it will take a while to absorb it all – especially the war diary. I think my mother and uncle will be fascinated to learn about their uncle, whose photograph hung on their nursery wall throughout their childhood.


Margi Preece wrote from South Africa on 20 July 2013:

I had been searching for the past decade for information on my paternal grandfather Albert Edward Harrison, with very little success. I found Fourteen Eighteen and Chris Baker on the internet, and that was the beginning of joy in my life. Chris was the consummate professional from the first email, and in a short time I received a full report on Albert’s long military career, together with many copies of documents relating to his life in the army, as well as photographs of the medals he received. I would heartily recommend Chris Baker to everyone out there trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together. I, in fact, visited some places in England, but as a lay person you don’t know where to start trying to find documentation, and in my opinion Fourteen Eighteen is the only way to go, at a very reasonable cost.


Stuart Nelson wrote from Farndale in Yorkshire on 13 May 2013:

I had had little success in my own research into my great-grandfather.  I managed to locate his Medal Index Card eventually, but that was the limit of  my success.  He had died when even my grandfather was young, and so little  had been passed down to my father. I knew  almost him. I looked for a researcher to assist and found Chris Baker and the  fourteeneighteen website.  From the first communication it was evident  that he is a consummate professional.  When I received the final report a few weeks later, it was evident once again how much pride and diligence he shows in this his chosen work.  I had never expected to find so much of the story of my great-grandfather.  It was a revelation.  It even gave me details of his physical stature.  There was a wealth of supporting documents provided with a comprehensive,  individual report.  My father too is speechless, having spent his whole  lifetime knowing nothing of his grandfather’s service in the Great War. I have asked Chris to do further research on my behalf, and look forward  to adding to my increasing knowledge of my family’s history.


Bernice Priestnall wrote on 4 November 2012:

My very grateful thanks for the research you did on my Grandfather Harry Clarke. The detail you were able to provide has certainly given me not only fresh leads in my research but has, in a way, brought him back to life. As he passed away before I was born I have only stories told about him from relatives. I see from his wedding certificate he was on leave at that time and I remember being told that he was gassed at some point. My Grandmother told me his job entailed bringing remounts to the front line so this could explain his relative “good luck”. After the war they farmed and he had a retired race horse so his connection with horses continued. During WW2 he joined the Home Guard in Thame, Oxfordshire but he never spoke about his time in WW1. Once again my sincere thanks and I would not hesitate to recommend your company.


Gill Heyworth wrote on 24 October 2012:

Thank you so much for ALL your work – I have now downloaded it all and read  it – amazing! We will be able to visit all the places as our son and daughter-in-law live there and I can visit the memorial – it’s a small world. I just love all the history attached to your research as this places it. Once again, many many thanks.


Andy Dowle wrote on 23 October 2012:

Thank you so much for the completed report in regard to my Grandfathers War project. I must say how pleased I am with your findings. The main point for me was to know which battalion he served in and you have answered that for me. I must say that my Grandfather must have seen some quite serious action! It also answers a lot of personal questions about his life, like the fact that he married late in life and that he adopted my mother into his family. I did always wonder if his wounds and war experience may have stopped him from having children of his own! Anyway thank you so much for the fantastic service, which I will recommend to anyone interested in this type of research.


Victoria Wilkes wrote on 6 September 2012:

Thank you so much for your email and all the information you have sent. I am thrilled with the report and cant wait to show my father – Samuels grandson. We have the bronze penny and the scroll at our family home and I have a wonderful photo of Samuel in his uniform. And with all this information, it will make my planned trip back to Abbeville next spring all the more poignant. As I read through, I may end up with questions. So thank you for the offer of being able to contact you with these. I am also heading to the Dudley Archives next week and it may be that they have additional information that I can follow there.


Caroline Thornton wrote on 25 May 2012:

I would like to thank Chris Baker and the team at fourteeneighteen for the very interesting report they produced on my grandfather, Albert.  They frankly had very little to go on and managed to start a story that I know will surprise some family members.  These little details obviously come from their wealth of knowledge about WW1 soldiers in Britain.  I would recommend anyone thinking of researching a soldier in WW1 to use fourteeneighteen.  Their service is incredible value for money.


Kaye Nutman wrote from Australia on 20 April 2012:

A long delayed thankyou for the fascinating report on my grandfather Walter. Having hit a brick wall in my attempt to write a family history biography of his life I was relieved to find that you were able to tell me something about his war experiences and that of his unit. Though his records are presumably among the ‘burnt’ records of WWII I was amazed at how much you were able to piece together. It certainly makes fascinating reading and I will use it as a jumping off point to try and garner more information from my mother when I come to the UK next week, from Australia. It is truly great to be able to turn to a professional like yourself when we are so far aways.


Fiona McGregor wrote on 6 April 2012:

I am delighted with the information you have been able to find about Great-uncle Tommy. Uncle Tommy had few relatives who survived him and even they are now long gone. As a result, no one nowadays knows much about him. You have been able complete the many gaps in my knowledge, not least the fact that Uncle Tommy had probably joined the regular army in 1907. Although Tommy’s records were part of the WW1 records destroyed in 1940, through your own extensive knowledge you have been able to amplify the facts which we do know and set them in context, and have made educated guesses about some of his other war service. I confess I am finding it all quite “mind blowing”. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I have no hesitation in recommending your research services.


Roger Gibbons wrote on 6 April 2012:

You recently did some research into my great uncle Phillip on behalf of my brother Neil.  Neil has passed that info to me and I am writing to thank you myself for the excellent work you have done for us.  I was stunned by the amount of information you sent us and fascinated by its content. I, in turn, have passed it on to our father who is Phillip’s nephew although of course they never met.  He is now 87 and until quite recently never knew of his Uncle’s existence never mind his fate. He is quite amazed by it all. Although we have sadly lost Phillip’s military record, the picture you have painted gives us a very good idea what happened to him and his battalion. What a tragedy that was. Once again many thanks for your excellent work. You have helped to shine a light into the darkness for us.


John Shearer wrote on 4 February 2012:

Please let me thank you and your team for a first class service in researching my great-grandfather’s WWI military service history. To be honest I didn’t expect half as much of the information included in your report as we had tried on our own in the past: specific battles, trench maps, war diaries, etc….outstanding! We will follow your recommendation and try attain additional info from the MoD via the Kinship certificate you supplied and, rest assured, if this is successful we will take up your services again, interpreting the record! Cannot thank you enough.


Anne Allderidge wrote on 3 February 2012:

Thank  you once again for everything you found and compiled in respect of my grandfather.  Now had time to read each section and although he didn’t go anywhere much, the detail is amazing and the precis exact and sensitive. Many thanks, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you to anyone I know.


Brian Caldwell wrote on 30 January 2012:

Fourteen-Eighteen did a wonderful job digging into all possible sources. Their report was concise yet full of interesting data. It painted a portrait of my Grandfather which I am proud to pass onto my now teenage grandchildren.


Phil Nicholls wrote on 30 January 2012:

The content of your report is most interesting and informative and will undoubtedly assist my wife her brother and I when we visit the 1914-1918 Battlefields  n May this year where their Grandfather Herbert Roach (subject of your report) was killed – we also hope to visit the Montauban Cemetery. I have a number of friends whom I am aware are undertaking research into their relatives First World War experiences and I will have no hesitation in recommending your excellent services.


Sandra Leavy wrote on 28 September 2011:

Thank you so much for the wonderful report you did for me on my father’s military service history in WW1.  My family and I have found it compelling and interesting reading, with so much detail to ‘take in’. I imagine we will be looking through it for a long time. I have been trying to find information for years, with no luck, always told that the records were destroyed during the blitz.  When I came across your website and applied I really didn’t hold out much hope, so when I received your report, and so quickly, I was amazed.  Thanks once again.


John Hayes wrote on 25 September 2011:

Thanks for the report you sent me for my late great uncle Joseph it was a very enjoyable read. I have since obtained copies of his war medals and a copy of his death certificate on your advice. I am so very pleased with your work on obtaining the facts for me.


Terry McCreary wrote from Dublin, Ireland on 15 July 2011:

All I can say is, Wow, Wow, Wow! The information is amazing. Reading through the war diary of my grandfather’s regiment between 1915 and 1917 is like watching a ‘BluRay Video’ of World War 1 for the first time. It is unimaginable how my grandfather and everyone else could go through such things. All documents and reports supplied by you amount to a brilliant service!


John Murray wrote from Chryston, Glasgow on 15 July 2011:

Thank you very much for such a professional and detailed report on my grandfathers First World War experiences, fascinating reading for the whole family for generations to come, worth every penny.


Elizabeth Scarr wrote from Pontefract, W Yorkshire on 13 July 2011:

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am with the research that you have done regarding my Great Uncle William.  I have put a lot of effort in to researching what happened to him during the war but could only find so much information and eventually I hit a brick wall.  I didn’t think that I would ever know where he fought and how he died but you have managed to find all this for me and much more besides. Although there are some things which we will probably never know I’m content in knowing that I have enough information to pass on to my children and hopefully to keep his memory alive for many years to come.


Olwyn Shaw wrote from Southport, Lancashire on 6 July 2011:

Many, many thanks for all the interesting documents you sent, I’ve hardly slept since I received them. I did not know that he had been in the 15th as a Private, or that he had been wounded then. I had only known of him as an officer with the 20th, incidentally I didn’t know that he had been married and also widowed (another line of enquiry.) What a long drawn out awful task for his poor widowed Mother trying to finally get probate.  I really cannot thank you enough for all your help, it was worth every penny, just wish I had started with you instead of finishing.


Sue Byrne wrote from Croydon, VIC, Australia on 30 June 2011:

You say you have great pleasure in sending these documents, this would be a great understatement for me receiving the report and documents.  I am so appreciative of the research you have done regarding my grandfather.  I can now direct my reading to more specific areas of the war as noted in your report.   I never knew my grandfather and could only rely on family hearsay, and now after reading your information, you have given me a little insight into the man I knew as my ‘grandfather’.  Thank you.


Paul Murphy wrote from Teddington on 28 April 2011:

I have just received your report on my grandfather. Thank you so much for your research, the report and accompanying documents are fascinating reading. As my grandfather’s service record cannot be traced, it appears likely to be one of the many destroyed by fire during the blitz, when the records office was bombed. We are also limited by a lack of his unit’s war diaries. Despite the limitations in this case, you have provided much useful and interesting information, and clear advice on how I might be able to discover more. Excellent value for money, I would happily recommend your services to others.


Malcolm Bradford wrote from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, on 15 March 2011:

Thank you for the very excellent report on Albert. I knew that he perished at Passchendale as my son pointed out on the CWGC site a few years ago. My brother in law and I decided to pay a visit to the Tyne Cot Memorial a couple of years ago and found it a very moving experience. It was so quiet. I decided then that I must find out more about my great uncle and you have done a champion job for us.


Frank Lee wrote from Newtownards, County Down, on 2 February 2011:

I have just received the report back on my grandfather Alfred William Lee and would just like to take a moment to thank you and your colleagues for the outstanding work that you have carried out on my behalf. It goes above and beyond what I expected and I am delighted with the findings. I would be pleased to recommend your service to anyone desiring to retrace the steps of their family members during the First World War.


Paul Halford wrote from King’s Lynn, Norfolk, on 25 January 2011:

I must say thank you for the excellent report I received from you on my great grandfathers military service. The data you included was very interesting, reading the regiments war diary gave some insight into life ‘on the front’.  The summary of his military service was more than I expected and I was most excited to read the hither to unknown details you uncovered. You provide an excellent service and I am extremely grateful for you efforts and so pleased I came across you in the first place.


Steve Clark wrote from wrote from Bournemouth, Dorset, on 4 January 2011:

I cannot thank you enough for all the work you must have put in researching my fathers military history. When he was alive he never spoke about it. When I started researching him I found too many gaps that I could not resolve. Chris, you have solved all the blank spaces. Thank you very much. If I get lost again I will be back.


Pauline Batty wrote from Stockport, Cheshire, on 1 January 2011:

Thank you so much for the report on my Great Uncle which I received  yesterday. I haven’t been able to stop reading it! I stayed in Ypres a  few years ago and visited the battlefields and cemeteries. This was  before I had started researching my family history and didn’t know  anything about John. We are hoping to visit again in April and your  report and research will certainly put a different perspective on it.  Having found the experience really moving last time I think it will be  even more so. The horrors are unimaginable.    Once again many thanks for all your hard work.


Cliff Sturman wrote from Newark, Nottinghamshire, on 4 December 2010:

Many thanks for your excellent report on the activities   of Jeremiah Charles Sturman during the campaign. The insight and   background information you have provided brings a renewed respect to the    generation who fought for our freedom. All the documents you have sent   will be added to the Sturman Family tree and be readily available to the   next generation when the school curriculum covers this period in our   history.

Emerson McCarthy wrote from Ireland on 21 November 2010:

Very many thanks for the report on my uncle Matthew. I am   surprised and pleased to read how much information you have retrieved   from the rather meagre records. I was very interested to read the   history of his battalion, the 6th Connaught Rangers, during World War I   and pleased that you decided to include it as additional information.   All in all, a very professional report.

Helen Barson wrote from Sidcup (UK) on 13 October 2010:

Quite by chance I discovered “fourteeneighteen/research”   on the web and I am so pleased I made such a discovery. The company were   friendly, helpful and within the time they stated the search would
take, they sent me a beautiful presentation of my relative’s military   history and much more.  The amount paid was very reasonable when you   take in to consideration the time and effort put into the search. Thank   you fourteeneighteen. You did a great job!

Nick West wrote from Bournemouth (UK) on 8 October 2010:

Thank you so much for your efforts regarding the   production of numerous document files, maps and others and especially   your report; so fitting that this was being written on the anniversary   of my Grandfather’s death.

Alan Blackman wrote from Croydon (UK) on 13 September 2010:

Just a note to thank you for the report which you   recently sent me regarding my late grandfather John Blackman. I am very   impressed with the information which you have been able to supply me   with and would have no reservations whatsoever in recommending your   services to other people.

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.

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.

Lynda Doig wrote from Canada on 23 July 2010:

Just wanted to thank you very much for the wonderful   report on my grandfather Albert Edward Hunt, Warwickshire Yeomanry.  I   have just recently learned that he was my grandfather so of course I was   very eager to learn about him.  Your detailed report with not only his  military records but personal information as well introduced me to him.     I was very impressed with your presentation format and will be very   pleased and proud to pass it to my son and grandsons.

Louise Watson wrote from Wolverhampton on 5 July 2010:

Many many thanks for the report and documents. It was   really moving to know exactly what had happened to my grandfather during   the war, and although he seems to have had it better than most, at 18 I   can’t imagine what it would have been like! I have shared the   information with my family, importantly his 2 remaining children, and   all of us are very pleased with the work you have done for us. It has   answered a lot of unanswered questions. Thank you so much for your help   in helping shape just a fraction of my family history.

Ralph Surry wrote from Wellingborough on 4 July 2010:

Thanks to your research, William French is no longer just   a name on the Arras memorial. Armed with the information from the   regimental war diary, modern aerial photo’s showing old trench lines and    a GPS, I could take my daughter to a field in France within feet of  where her Great great grandfather stood before an attack at Noreuil. It    was good to go to the village to pay our respects. A grave of  ‘a   soldier of the great war’ in the Australian cemetery at Noreuil has been    adopted by her, to represent William where he fell. We have lain a   wreath at the headstone of the grave, complete with photo’s of William  and his descendants to her. It’s been emotional. Thanks.

Robin Gray wrote from Glasgow on 23 June 2010:

May I take this opportunity to thank you very much indeed   for researching and presenting the story of my Great Grandfather,   Charles Kirkcaldy Wells. It is a most fascinating story and I am most   grateful to you for doing such a thoughtful and professional job. The   whole family will be most eager to read it, and it will also serve as a   most valuable dossier to future generations in enlightening them on what   their ancestor did in the Great War. I am sure we will now plan to make   a trip to the area and the setting of Charles’s conspicuous act of   gallantry.

Robert Johnson wrote from Manchester on 15 June 2010:

I can’t thank you enough for the work you have done on my   Great Grandfather, it brought tears to my eyes reading it.  How awful   the War was, I cannot imagine the gallantry and bravery of those fallen   men.  I was in the Royal Air Force myself, so I can kind of empathise   with it, but not to the horror of “No Man’s Land”.  It has made me even   more determined to visit the resting place of James and his comrades.    To salute him and his colleagues, and to give them the respect and   honour that they all deserve. I want to take this opportunity to wish   you a wonderful future, and if there is anyway that I can be a reference   for your work, then I would be more than happy to.

Kevin Drane wrote from Cambridge on 14 June 2010:

Absolutely thrilled with your report about my great   grandfather William Gibbs.You will definitely have some more business   coming your way from me in the future, as I have a few more ancestors   that served in the army during the first world war. Thank you very much.

Tony Reilly wrote from London on 7 June 2010:

Many thanks for the fantastic work you have done on   researching Grandfather, after many, many, many months of frustrating   negative results with our own efforts you have been able to provide the   family with a fascinating insight into our “unknown” warrior. There are   also other leads (names and dates of other family members) within the   report that will allow us to expand the family tree further.

Paul Smith wrote from Rathfarnham near Dublin in Ireland on 16 May 2010:

Just downloaded your report / research documents on my   Great Uncle Edward Dunne. Fantastic work, thank you so much, a job very   well researched and presented.

Karen McKenna wrote from Essendon in Hertfordshire on 6 May 2010:

Thank you very much indeed for the report on my   great-uncle, Charles Luff.  I have found it fascinating reading and am   extremely grateful to you for explaining and illuminating his Great War   service.   I found it surprisingly moving to read the battalion’s diary   and to look at the maps trying to imagine what he must have witnessed   and endured.  It’s amazing how it touches and humbles you even at the   distance of a couple of generations.  The smallest detail you explored  such as how his physical build measured up to the standards of the day   was a wonderful insight as is the narrative backstory on his enlistment,   training and discharge which you brilliantly filled in. I do wish there   were other services across the world of genealogy that could offer the   same. I will settle payment today and thank you very much for the   discount.  The integrity of your service is very obvious and may I say   sadly unusual in today’s world.  Thank you for your kind assistance and   your excellent service.

Alex Atkinson wrote from Ballyclare in Antrim on 5 May 2010:

Thank you very much for the expert report prepared for me   regarding my cousin’s grandfather James Moore who fought at the Somme   during WW1. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and delighted with   the professional layout, content and easily readable interpretation of    the available documents on James’s Military Service History. The   reconstruction of his Service History displayed the depth of the   investigation and the expert opinion applied in compiling the report.   Many thanks – your efforts are appreciated very much

Stuart McAlister wrote from Paris on 27 April 2010:

Thank you so very much for the well-presented file you   sent me regarding my grandfather, William Cooke McAlister. Since I was a   youngster, I’ve heard many different stories about him which, over the  passage of time, became ingrained in my memory. Now for the first time,    using your evidence and other documents, we can unravel and tell the   true story of his life. The results of your search gives a ‘colour   feeling’ to the story for which I am most grateful.

Pearl Severinski wrote from Australia on 16 April 2010:

Thank you so much for the research and personal   information you were able to send me on John, who, before now, I only   ever knew of as “Granny’s brother who died in the war”. Your research   turned him into a real person for me. I did not know he had ever   married, it was heartbreaking to think his wife probably never saw him   again after they married whilst he was on leave. Also his link to   Australia was of great interest, working on the Aquitania, and serving   the Gallipolli route. As you will know Gallipolli plays a big part in   Australian war history and it is one more way he is bought closer to us.   I am absolutely rapt with all the work you have done. Thank you also   for the photo of his grave. My payment for work done has been sent and  I   hope to be in touch again soon  with another research project for you   to do on my behalf!

John Beech wrote from Stapleford, Notts, on 9 April 2010:

Can I take this opportunity to thank you for the support   that you have given and the prompt response to my query. Your service,   as usual, is excellent and with Edward’s records arriving this evening, I  can see a weekend assimilating all this information lying ahead!!!. I  will send payment for Edward’s file later today. I have recommended your   services to others and will continue to do so.

Mark Oldmeadow wrote from Horsham in Sussex on 28 March 2010:

I have now had three reports done for my ancestors that   fought in WW1 and would like to thank Chris and his team for all their  hard work in putting these reports together. They have all been very   well researched and give a great insight into the trials they all had to    go through. It was of great interest to learn of the battles they   fought in and the medals that they were awarded. I would recommend   fourteeneighteen to anyone that has an interest in discovering what   their relatives got up to in the Great War, and shall definitely be   using their services again.

Joseph Payne wrote from Sutton (Surrey) on 25 March 2010:

I’ve read your report with great interest and I’m   pleasantly surprised at the amount of detail that you have managed to   uncover. I’m sure the rest of the family will be interested to learn of   James’s service history and the insight your research has been able to   shed on his family life. I would happily recommend your services to   anyone researching relatives who served with the British Army in the   Great War.