Filed under MOD Records for Deceased Persons: A Method Guide
Where should you start looking?
Read a released record against the rest of your timeline, note what was withheld, and do not publish material about living people named in it. A released record is research material, not material for publication about others.
Keep a note of every filter combination you try, including the ones that failed. A failed search is only useful if you can prove you already tried it. Do not trust a result because it is the only result. A single result with one matching filter is a lead that needs a second record, not a conclusion.
How to read this kind of entry
Watch for the clerk hand as well as the officer hand. Different hands in one file mean different dates of writing, and later hands can introduce later errors. A form filled in at enlistment and a form filled in at discharge describe the same person from opposite ends of a career, and they will disagree on details.
Entries in pencil, entries in ink, and entries stamped later are not the same kind of evidence. The medium often tells you when an entry was made. Do not modernise a place name, a rank or a trade in your notes without keeping the original wording alongside it. The original wording is what the next search needs.
What are the common dead ends?
Do not confuse a record that is hard to find with a record that does not exist. Difficulty is a property of the search, not of the record. 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. A trail that depends on a single fragile link, one spelling, one initial, one date, will break. Strengthen the link with a second record before you build on it.
How do you work through it step by step?
Do the unglamorous steps first. Fixing names, numbers and dates feels slow, and it is what makes every later step possible. Start from the reference, not from the search box: know which record you are about to open, and why, before you open it. Note the date you consulted each source. Catalogues change, holdings move, and a note without a consultation date cannot be rechecked.
- Fix the service, the dates, and the branch of service from what you already know.
- Check the holder current guidance for proof of death and next of kin requirements for your case.
- Prepare the identifying details the holder asks for, name, number, unit and dates, before making any request.
- Note what is released and what is withheld, and keep the holder reply with the record.
The next record in the chain
The next record in the chain is usually the one for the same dates in a different record set, not the next date in the same record set. From here, the productive move is usually sideways, into a different record set for the same dates, rather than forwards into the next date.
If this guide answered the question you brought to it, the next guide should start from a new question, not from the momentum of this one. Trust the dated entry over the vivid memory, and keep both in your notes, clearly labelled, so neither can quietly replace the other.
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.