You will find on the internet companies that say they will charge you almost £200 for researching a soldier. I believe that you would be a fool to consider it. You’ll also see very low offers that amount to about four cups of coffee: ask yourself what degree of expertise and how much effort that implies. You will even see demands for upfront payment or deposits. No. My approach is different and, our clients have told us over many years, very fair.
My fees fairly reflect depth, quality and value
Over the years and thousands of projects I have developed a feeling for what works, fee-wise, for us and our clients.
I have a unique pricing model. The final fee is built up by a combination of
- a fee for carrying out the defined set of searches, plus
- a fee for interpreting the findings and producing a comprehensive narrative, plus
- a fee for detailed description and illustration of key events such as when a man was killed, wounded, taken prisoner or carried out an act of bravery
In other words, the fee will depend on how complex the man’s story is and the level of detail I am able to provide for you.
In most cases, the fee will be within the range £50 – £85.
And you pay nothing until you are satisfied.
My service and the applicable fees and terms are described in detail in this downloadable Fees and Terms specification.
2021-22 Fees and Terms (opens in new tab)
What can you expect in terms of deliverables and turnround time?
Payment methods
We do not require any advance payment.
We send an invoice when we deliver the results of the work.
We can accept payment by cheque (UK banks); credit or debit card (online via Paypal); direct payment via internet banking (our preferred method). We’ll give you details of how to do that at the appropriate time.
Matters of copyright
Most of the documents we will find for you are Crown Copyright. We will advise you where this is not the case. Digital versions that we obtain on your behalf are usually the copyright of the provider. Generally these do not permit you to reproduce them and we advise reading their terms. In obtaining these documents we are acting as your agent or representative and do not take any form of title to the documents.
Our report and all of its contents are our copyright, as are digital photographs that we take of original documents or of battlefield or other locations. All of these documents also remain as our copyright but you are given a free licence to reproduce them for any non-commercial purpose.