Filed under What Is Really Free Online? A Method Guide
First checks before you go further
The Gazette is the official public record and its archive is searchable online without charge. It is free to search, which makes it one of the most reliable free starting points for awards, commissions and notices.
Two people with the same name in the same unit are not an edge case. In large units they are the normal case, and the number is what separates them. If any one of the four filters fails, name, number, unit, dates, stop and re-check before reading further into the record. Begin with the filters the catalogue itself uses, because a search that fights the catalogue structure will return noise however carefully it is worded.
A step by step way through
If a step produces nothing, record that nothing. A documented negative result is part of the research, and it stops the same step being repeated blindly. Work one question at a time, and resist the urge to answer three questions from one record. A record that answers one question well beats a record stretched across three. At the end of each step, ask whether the timeline got shorter or longer. A timeline that only ever grows is probably absorbing guesses.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Start from the official holder catalogue or site for the record you need. |
| 2 | Note whether what is free is an index, a transcription, or a digitised copy. |
| 3 | Check a transcription against the digitised copy or the catalogue entry before relying on it. |
| 4 | Plan paid steps, such as copy orders, only after the free finding aids have fixed the reference. |
Reading what the record actually says
A date written in one format on one sheet and another format on the next is the same date wearing two formats. Convert carefully, and keep the original. Dates decide meaning here: the same title, rank or place name can shift across a career, so anchor every term to its date before you interpret it.
An entry that gives a town but no county, or a camp but no town, is deliberately vague or locally obvious. Local knowledge, not a global search, usually settles it. A single sheet can contain several dates: the date of the event, the date of writing, and the date of filing. Keep them separate in your notes.
Dead ends to expect here
If the same name keeps appearing in the wrong unit, the problem is usually a filter, not a missing record: widen the dates, or narrow by number, and try again. A record that is closed, a record that is withheld in part, and a record that is lost are different outcomes with different remedies. The holder reply says which. Do not let a single failed search end the inquiry. Note what was searched, what filters were used, and what remains untried, and the next session starts from that list.
What to open after this one
Keep the person, the number and the dates together as you move to the next record, and re-check them on arrival. Filters drift when they are carried in memory. Where the next step involves a different holder, take the reference with you. A holder approached without a reference can only offer general guidance.
Let the question this record raised choose the next record. A record opened out of curiosity, rather than out of a question, rarely advances a timeline. The best next step is the smallest one that answers a real question. Grand searches rarely beat a single well-chosen record.
Primary sources for this guide
This guide keeps its claims general and points to the official holders, so the holder itself is the place to check the current position. It is general educational information only, not personal professional advice, and it offers no record lookup service and no determination of any individual's service.