Regiments have always maintained a
varied amount of records although until the First World War they
tended to relate more to accountancy in relation to expenses
rather than for personnel and their routine activity.
In 1907 the War office issued new field
service regulations that required units in active service to
maintain War Diaries.
This continued through the First World
War and continues to include recent conflict.
The War Office required a war diary to
be kept but made few requirements as to content which means that
there is a tremendous variance in content and style.
Compilation of the war diary to cover
periods of active service was the responsibility of the
Commanding Officers although this was normally delegated to the
adjutant or a specific junior staff officer who would handwrite
the diary on a daily basis. The diary would then be inspected by
the Commander at intervals and signed as correct.
Although at times the diary was updated
almost hourly in most cases the diary was updated on a daily
basis.
There is some variation of details
included depending on the skill and interests of the Officer. At
best they are a treasure trove of information and at worst
sketchy records.
Operational orders for advances or
operations are sometimes included in the diary and even notes on
a torn off sheet of paper will appear in the diary.
Officers names appear occasionally but
other ranks names are infrequent and then usually in relation to
specific noteworthy incidents.
Every unit in active service will keep a
diary including non-combat units such as field hospitals and
catering units although these tend to have short factual and
rather repetitive entries.
What use are war diaries to my research?
War diaries will provide an accurate
record of the movement and activity of each unit which will help
you follow the path of your ancestor through the war and if they
were injured or killed it will help you to find out what they
were doing on this day.
They do mentions some names of officers
and men, sometimes for surprising events like winning a unit
boxing match and often record more details than a citation for
events that led to the award of a medal.
Downloading the war diary
for your soldiers battalion is a great place to start your
research.
Where will you find war diaries
War diaries are held on the National
Archives website. Most diaries are online and the remainder are
in the process of digitalising.
There is a small fee, currently £3.30 for downloading a whole war diary.
