“What did Grandpa do during the war?”
I can help you find out the answer to questions such as this and guide you through the sometimes difficult task of obtaining copies of service records from the military.
I completed a project in 2018 for a local town Council who were keen to find out the back stories of the men whose names were on the First World War memorials. This involved researching military records of over 100 servicemen to establish when, where and how they died, what age they were, who were their families, where did they live and what did they do before the war.
My great-uncle fell at Passchendaele in 1917, just months after he was married. By using newspaper archives, accessing daily intelligence logs and regimental records, I was able to build a very clear picture of his final hours.
The medals in the picture above were awarded to my uncle, Wing Commander Terence Nightingale Staples, including the Distinguished Flying Medal (second from left) for for “exceptional valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy” during World War Two.