Online sources for WWI research
There are two main online subscription sites which are available free at the Devon Heritage
Centre.
These are Ancestrylibrary (www.ancestrylibrary.com) and Find My Past
(www.findmypast.co.uk) Both include images of original census returns and indexes.
Census Returns
Census returns are useful for finding out about the families of war casualties and their
backgrounds and occupations etc. before the war.
Ancestry Library (www.ancestrylibrary.com) (www.ancestry.co.uk)
Databases include census returns 1841-1911 which are searchable by name, birthplace,
etc.
Birth Marriage and Death
There are indexes for birth, marriage and death which are searchable by name and date.
These give year and registration district but the full details can only be found by purchasing
a certificate for £9.25. They do however give an idea of names and years of birth, marriage
and death.
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),
1858-1966
This is useful in identifying deaths of individuals. The index entry gives the occupation, date
of death, and address, as well as the name and occupation of the executor.
Find My Past (www.findmypast.co.uk)
This site also has census returns and indexes of birth, marriage and death.
Additionally it also has indexes of parish baptisms, marriages and burials, including the
Devon Family History Society indexes of baptisms and burials to 1813 and marriages to
1837. Some Devon parish registers are now available on this site but at present only the
Plymouth registers are online.
There are newspapers covering Devon on this site. The indexes can be searched but the
images can only be viewed on the newspaper library archive or by looking at the microfilms
we hold.
Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, 1827-1950
Exeter Flying Post, 1800-1900
Western Morning News, 1922-1950
Western Mail, 1869-1900
Other sites
Devon Heritage Services
The Devon Heritage Services homepage is at: www.devon.gov.uk/record_office.htm
The online catalogue and guides to sources etc. can be found here.
For information on all Devon Library-based local studies services go to:
www.devon.gov.uk/localstudies.htm
Access to Archives (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/)
This contains copies of catalogues from archives throughout England and Wales.
The National Archives Catalogue (http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI)
This site is subscribed to by the office and includes copies of online records such as PCC
wills, Army Medal Rolls 1914-18, Royal Navy Service records and many more documents.
Some war diaries are now being digitised and information is available about this project and
how to get involved.
Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates
These can be ordered online from the General Register Office.
The General Register Office homepage is at:
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Registeringlifeevents/index.htm
To order certificates on-line, go to: www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/default.asp
General Register Office indexes on-line
FreeBMD (www.freebmd.rootsweb.com) is an ongoing project, the aim of which is to
transcribe the Civil Registration indexes of births, marriages and deaths for England and
Wales, and to provide free Web access to the transcribed records. It is a part of the
FreeUKGEN family, which also includes FreeCEN (Census data) and FreeREG (Parish
Registers).
Devon sites
Genuki Devon homepage (www.genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/). Useful source for information on
Devon towns and villages also has Devon Wills Index.
Devon Family History Society site (www.devonfhs.org.uk) has a link to parish maps (click on
‘Maps’). Also a useful site for help and advice on tracing Devon ancestors.
World War I Sources
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Website (www.cwgc.org.uk)
The CWGC maintains a register of war graves and cemeteries across the world for both
wars. These are indexed and are searchable online. The register of war dead records
details of an individual’s name, rank, service number, date of death, age, regiment, service
country, grave reference and name of cemetery. Additional information is also given
regarding family and any awards given and a picture and location of the cemetery with links
for further information.
There is also a register of cemeteries which can be searched by place (county or exact
place) and this will give information on how many war graves are maintained in these
cemeteries and details of the casualties buried there.
Friends of Devon’s Archives (www.foda.org.uk)
The Friends have a World War One project transcribing parish entries from the Devon Roll
of Honour and collecting information about the names and people recorded.
Imperial War Museum (http://www.iwm.org.uk/centenary)
This is a project commemorating the centenary of World War One.
Devon Remembers (www.devonremembers.info)
Devon County Council project to co-ordinate and assist with research in connection with the
centenary of the First World War.
Family History Sites
Genes Reunited (www.genesreunited.co.uk)
LDS Church Index (www.familysearch.org)
Records span billions of names across hundreds of collections, including birth, marriage,
death, probate, land, military, IGI extracts and more.
Newspapers
On the library website under reference there is access to a wide range of online reference
sources including 19th century newspapers (including Trewman’s Exeter Flying Post),
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, Nineteenth Century British Pamphlets Online, Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography, Times Digital Archive, Oxford Reference Online, Oxford
English Dictionary
British Library Newspaper Library Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
The Devon Heritage Centre and the North Devon Record Office now have subscriptions to
this site which is free for users to access.
This can be used to find information about the war, as well as obituaries and casualty
announcements.