Great Britain, Prisoners of War Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Great Britain

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes military records from the wars in which the United Kingdom took part, covering the period 1715-1947. The records were filmed at the National Archives of England and the index is being created by Findmypast.com. The nationalities of prisoners of war include, but are not limited to, the following: • 2

Reading These Records
Although some of the WWII records of prisoners in Japan are written in Japanese, English translations are included for most information on the record. If you should need further help, see the following resources:
 * Glossary of Japanese Genealogical Terms

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Foreign Office Records
 * First-hand prisoner accounts
 * Dates of military service
 * Dates of imprisonment
 * Letters regarding prisoners of war

Records of prisoners of war in the Far East
 * Records or certificates of death
 * Name of deceased prisoner
 * Date of death
 * Cause of death
 * Nationality of deceased
 * Rank and area of service

Records of prisoners of war in various localities Second World War Records
 * Prisoner's name
 * Nationality
 * Place and date of capture
 * Quality (military rank)
 * Ship name
 * Place of nativity
 * Age
 * Date and cause of death
 * Physical description
 * Name of prisoner
 * Father’s name
 * Mother’s name
 * Place of origin
 * Date of Birth
 * Date of Capture
 * Occupation/rank
 * Camp/unit
 * Destination of report

Inventory
Records from the following National Archives record series are included in this collection. Please note not all records in each series are included in this collection.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Approximate date of the event

I Found the Person I Was Looking for, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * If available, check the image for additional information
 * Analyze the entry to see if it provides additional clues to find other records of the person or their family
 * Use the estimated age to determine an approximate year of birth, if that is yet undetermined.
 * Find the individual in civil records. Particularly useful for research in nineteenth-century England are the England Census and the England Civil Registration records.
 * WWII Japanese prisoner of war records may include “destination of report”. This may be where the prisoner’s family were living at the time. Use this location to search for family members’ names in local records.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try searching by surname only
 * The person may be recorded with an abbreviated or variant form of their name
 * Remember that spelling was generally not standardized until the early part of the 20th century
 * When looking for a person with a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which individual is correct. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, or names of parents, to determine which candidate is the correct person. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records.
 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names. Remember that it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name.

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales
 * GuidedResearch:England, GuidedResearch:Ireland, GuidedResearch:Scotland, GuidedResearch:Wales
 * England Record Finder, Ireland Record Finder, Scotland Record Finder, Wales Record Finder
 * England Research Tips and Strategies, Ireland Research Tips and Strategies, Scotland Research Tips and Strategies, Wales Research Tips and Strategies

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

Gran Bretaña, registros de prisioneros de guerra (Registros históricos de FamilySearch)