Four new collections of WWII Military Records have been added to the Ancestry website this week including the following collections.
UK, British Army World War II Medal Cards, 1939-1945
This collection contains an index of cards with information about medals awarded by the British Army for service during the Second World War.
The medal cards served as applications for war service medals, which includes the Defence Medal, the War Medal 1939-45, and campaign stars that were awarded for service in specific theatres of the war. Veterans or their family members were required to submit an application to claim the appropriate medals, and many veterans didn’t file applications to receive their military honours.
Records include a link to the image available on Forces War Records and Fold3.
Note in the collection description the regiments for which medal cards are believe not to exist and the rules regarding redaction.
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62862/
UK, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Service Records, 1942-1959
This collection contains records of service for soldiers who served in the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (officers excluded) between the years 1942 and 1959. In this collection are soldiers who served during and after the Second World War, as well as those who were discharged for “aging out” of service (over 45). Only records of soldiers born over 100 years ago have been published, more will be released annually as they exceed 100 years since their birth.
The collection description details what is and isn’t included in online record.
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62682/
UK, Selected Smaller Units Service Records, 1921-1959
This collection contains military service records for members of the British armed forces created between 1921 and 1959. A majority of the records in this release are related to the discharge of over-age personnel who served during the Second World War between 1939 and 1945.
This collection includes service records from the following Corps:
Army Air Corps Royal
Army Veterinary Corps
Royal Military Police (or Corps of Military Police)
Royal Army Pay Corps
Royal Army Physical Training Corps
Military Provost Staff Corps
Royal Corps of Army Music
Royal Army Education Corps
Royal Pioneer Corps
Intelligence Corps
Officer Training Corps
Non-Combatant Corps
The collection description details what is and isn’t included in online record.
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62683/
UK, World War II Photographs, 1939-1945
The World War II collection includes photos of the Second Great Fire of London and the destruction following the Blitz air raid bombings.
Please note that some photographs in this collection may contain graphic or sensitive content.
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62210/
Poland and Great Britain, Polish Air Force in Great Britain, 1940-1947
This index-only collection captures over 16,000 Polish aviators who served in Great Britain during the Second World War. The index also includes service members who worked in other divisions of the Polish Air Force (PAF) in Britain—such as the Aviation Inspectorate—as well as Polish volunteers for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). The records are in Polish.
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63126/
A subscription to Ancestry is required to view records. A subscription to Fold3 or Forces War Records will be required to view the UK WWII Military Records images.