OCAD MILITARIA COLLECTORS RESOURCES
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      • Euroclones - An essentiel collector's guide
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      • Les Casques Militaires des Etats de l'Amerique Latin
      • M1 v. M75 An essential comparison: US M1 and Austrian M75 steel helmets.
      • Not without my helmet!
      • The M1 Helmet of World War Two - A Basic Overview.
      • THE HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN STEEL HELMET 1916-1945
      • Showcase: A beginner's guide to COMPOSITE HELMETS.
      • 10 other uses for military helmets
    • Uniforms and Headgear
      • An introduction to British and Commonwealth WWII Officer's peak caps.
      • Anodised Aluminium: The ‘No Bull’ Cap Badge of the British Army
      • British Officers’ Peak Caps of the Second World War
      • Grunt
      • Understanding Austrian Army caps
    • Shows & Events
      • A trip to a museum
      • HGM Auf Radern & Ketten 2016 review
    • General Interest
      • A guide to selling your militaria.
      • Action Guide
      • A Time to Reflect
      • Dad's Army – the movie!
      • Forgotten Hope 2 PC game
      • Last Execution
      • Matthew Cook – War Artist
      • Radio Controlled mini submarine review: T2M B2 Sub Explorer II
      • The History of the Springfield M1903 Rifle
      • The Mysterious Lt. Dr. Humphry By James Katzenstein
      • The South African Air Force in colour
      • ​Three Reasons Why War Memorabilia Collecting is a Viable Investment Strategy
    • Bookshelf
      • An End of Empire
      • An exciting new book series from Pen & Sword Books
      • French Warships
      • From Colonial Warrior to Western Front Flyer. The Five wars of Sydney Herbert Bywater Harris.
      • John Lewes author interview
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  • HQ
  • BOOKS
    • Reference Books
  • ARTICLES
    • Helmets
      • Euroclones - An essentiel collector's guide
      • Helmet trends
      • Les Casques Militaires des Etats de l'Amerique Latin
      • M1 v. M75 An essential comparison: US M1 and Austrian M75 steel helmets.
      • Not without my helmet!
      • The M1 Helmet of World War Two - A Basic Overview.
      • THE HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN STEEL HELMET 1916-1945
      • Showcase: A beginner's guide to COMPOSITE HELMETS.
      • 10 other uses for military helmets
    • Uniforms and Headgear
      • An introduction to British and Commonwealth WWII Officer's peak caps.
      • Anodised Aluminium: The ‘No Bull’ Cap Badge of the British Army
      • British Officers’ Peak Caps of the Second World War
      • Grunt
      • Understanding Austrian Army caps
    • Shows & Events
      • A trip to a museum
      • HGM Auf Radern & Ketten 2016 review
    • General Interest
      • A guide to selling your militaria.
      • Action Guide
      • A Time to Reflect
      • Dad's Army – the movie!
      • Forgotten Hope 2 PC game
      • Last Execution
      • Matthew Cook – War Artist
      • Radio Controlled mini submarine review: T2M B2 Sub Explorer II
      • The History of the Springfield M1903 Rifle
      • The Mysterious Lt. Dr. Humphry By James Katzenstein
      • The South African Air Force in colour
      • ​Three Reasons Why War Memorabilia Collecting is a Viable Investment Strategy
    • Bookshelf
      • An End of Empire
      • An exciting new book series from Pen & Sword Books
      • French Warships
      • From Colonial Warrior to Western Front Flyer. The Five wars of Sydney Herbert Bywater Harris.
      • John Lewes author interview
  • COLLECTORS
    • Militaria Dealer Directory
    • Collections Directory
    • Reference Directory
    • Forum Directory
    • Museum Directory
    • Military Publications Directory
    • Regimental / Association / Historical Directory
    • Living History & Vehicle Club Directory
    • Facebook page Directory
    • Veteran Charities Directory
    • Researching a Veteran.
    • Ranks & Marking ID Charts.
  • SHOWS
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Search

Researching a Veteran.                              

Unless you are the next-of-kin or a family member, trying to find information about the man who owned your helmet, cap, jacket or other, can be a daunting and mostly fruitless expedition.

However you can try some things before you give up hope. If you have only the initials of the soldier then there is not much you can do, on the other hand, if you know the surname and atleast an initial, then you have something to work with.

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German soldiers on parade, WW2
WW2 German soldiers on parade.

The London Gazette.


This Newspaper is an essentiel source for tracing British Military Officers from WWII, among other eras. It notes when an Officer was promoted and retired, aswell as listings for all ranks who were MID and/or given awards. Not all the names will come up but it is definitely an important place to look. Use the advanced search option and "with the exact phrase:" option. You will then get a list of names that fit your search. You can narrow this down by looking for the Supplement closest to the years in question, or use the "historic event" option.

Tip. If a search result comes up but you are still not satisfied, try to guess the first name, or type in the rank abbreviation together with the surname, and hopefully more results should appear. Try a few things out and you will soon see what works to your advantage.

Examples of ways to insert the name into a search:
A. Brown        or       Andrew Brown     or        Capt. A. Brown

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/search

WWII Unit histories and Officers.

Another useful website with a broad range of information on Officers who took part in WWII. Mostly British and Commonwealth men. Of course not all the serving Officers of WWII are listed however this site is indeed an interesting read.
http://www.unithistories.com/

Dunkirk, tommy helmet
An Artists impression of the noble 'Tommy'.

Google search

Ok, this may sound obvious, however when typing Captain Brown into Google you will be bombarded with results, and unless your are extremely lucky, they will probably not be the results you are looking for. Now try the search again, but this time select the "Advanced Search" option on the right of the search box, and then proceed to insert your search name into the box named "this exact wording or phrase". Again you might get lots for results, but if you search for initials with the surname then you should hopefully get something interesting.

Rolls of Honour, Regimental Associations / websites.

Regiment websites often list names for Officers and men who were active in their certain Battalions. Not all names will be listed but perhaps you could look around the site, look at the photo gallery, Roll of Honours, POW lists, Awards etc. Contacting the Regimental website or Association might also drum up some background on your man, that is of course providing you know what regiment he served. A last resort are Rolls of Honour, which can usually be found with a little internet based searching.

Military Lists and Books.

Official Army lists and Official Regiment history books / War diaries can be a great resource. Look for the list most relevantly dated, however Military lists are hard to come by, but Ebay offers Unit books from time to time.

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  • HQ
  • BOOKS
    • Reference Books
  • ARTICLES
    • Helmets
      • Euroclones - An essentiel collector's guide
      • Helmet trends
      • Les Casques Militaires des Etats de l'Amerique Latin
      • M1 v. M75 An essential comparison: US M1 and Austrian M75 steel helmets.
      • Not without my helmet!
      • The M1 Helmet of World War Two - A Basic Overview.
      • THE HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN STEEL HELMET 1916-1945
      • Showcase: A beginner's guide to COMPOSITE HELMETS.
      • 10 other uses for military helmets
    • Uniforms and Headgear
      • An introduction to British and Commonwealth WWII Officer's peak caps.
      • Anodised Aluminium: The ‘No Bull’ Cap Badge of the British Army
      • British Officers’ Peak Caps of the Second World War
      • Grunt
      • Understanding Austrian Army caps
    • Shows & Events
      • A trip to a museum
      • HGM Auf Radern & Ketten 2016 review
    • General Interest
      • A guide to selling your militaria.
      • Action Guide
      • A Time to Reflect
      • Dad's Army – the movie!
      • Forgotten Hope 2 PC game
      • Last Execution
      • Matthew Cook – War Artist
      • Radio Controlled mini submarine review: T2M B2 Sub Explorer II
      • The History of the Springfield M1903 Rifle
      • The Mysterious Lt. Dr. Humphry By James Katzenstein
      • The South African Air Force in colour
      • ​Three Reasons Why War Memorabilia Collecting is a Viable Investment Strategy
    • Bookshelf
      • An End of Empire
      • An exciting new book series from Pen & Sword Books
      • French Warships
      • From Colonial Warrior to Western Front Flyer. The Five wars of Sydney Herbert Bywater Harris.
      • John Lewes author interview
  • COLLECTORS
    • Militaria Dealer Directory
    • Collections Directory
    • Reference Directory
    • Forum Directory
    • Museum Directory
    • Military Publications Directory
    • Regimental / Association / Historical Directory
    • Living History & Vehicle Club Directory
    • Facebook page Directory
    • Veteran Charities Directory
    • Researching a Veteran.
    • Ranks & Marking ID Charts.
  • SHOWS
  • FREE STUFF