What does this section cover?
Home service is still service, but its records sit in different places from front line unit records. Home Guard, auxiliary and civil defence roles generated local, county and departmental papers, so home research is often a local archive job as well as a national archive job. This section is organised as one pillar guide plus supporting guides that each answer one question about the same record type. Read the pillar first for the shape of the records, then follow the supporting guides for the detail that matches your case.
The records in this section are held principally by The National Archives, local archives, and service museums. Holdings change as transfer and digitisation programmes proceed, so the holder and coverage statements in each guide describe the general position and point you to the holder's current guidance for the exact position.
Starting here, in order
A single record can be wrong on a detail, so a match needs more than one agreement, and a disagreement needs a note, not a deletion. The catalogue entry is a record in its own right. Read it fully before you open the record it describes, because it tells you what you are about to see.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fix the person first: name, number, service and dates. |
| 2 | Fix the unit or ship, where the record allows it. |
| 3 | Open the record for those dates only, and note the reference. |
| 4 | Add dated facts only to the timeline, each with its source note. |
The organisation behind these records
Numbers matter more than names in these files. A service number, a roll number, or a piece reference will survive spelling changes that defeat name searches. A word that looks familiar may have meant something narrower, or something entirely different, when the record was written.
When is a match safe to use?
A record set described as complete usually means complete for its own purpose, not complete for yours. Check what the set was made to record. The quietest dead end is a record you never open because a search snippet looked irrelevant. Open the catalogue description, not just the snippet, before you dismiss it.
Where do you go next in this section?
Ask what single fact would most strengthen the weakest link in the timeline, and let that fact choose the next record. If the next step is unclear, return to the timeline and find its weakest link. The weakest dated entry, not the most interesting gap, is what to strengthen next. If in doubt, re-check the filters before opening another record. Most wrong turns start with a filter, not with a record.
Primary sources for this guide
Claims in this guide are kept general and point to official holders, so you can check the current position with the holder itself. This guide is general educational information only. It is not personal professional advice, it does not offer a record lookup service, and it does not determine any individual's service.