Filed under Photographs and Personal Papers: A Method Guide
What to check first in this record
Use a diary as a personal day by day account, and check its unit and place claims against the unit diary for the same dates. A personal diary and a unit diary that agree are strong evidence; one without the other is only a lead.
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. What you do not know matters as much as what you know, because a search built on an assumed date or an assumed unit will miss the right record. Start from the person, not from the record type, and fix name, number, unit and dates as firmly as you can before you open anything.
The order to work in
A useful habit is to write the question at the top of your notes before each step, and the answer, with its reference, underneath it when the step ends. Do not skip the step that checks the filters. It feels redundant when the filters seem obvious, and it is the step that catches wrong persons.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Describe the item itself first: what it shows, what it says, and what marks it carries. |
| 2 | Date the item from its own clues, uniform, badge, format or handwriting, before attaching it to a person. |
| 3 | Use the dated item to frame a record search, unit, place or date, rather than as a substitute for one. |
| 4 | Note the item reference and where it is held, so the next researcher can find it. |
How to read this kind of entry
If an entry puzzles you, date it first and interpret it second. Most misreadings here come from carrying a later meaning backwards. A promotion, a transfer or a posting that looks sudden usually has an earlier entry behind it. Work backwards from the surprise, one dated entry at a time. Keep the original terms in your transcription and put your interpretation in a separate column. A transcription that already contains conclusions cannot be checked by anyone else.
Dead ends to expect here
A gap of a few weeks in a diary, a log, or a file is normal. A gap of months, in the same record, is a question. Learn the normal gap size for the record type. The most common reason a search fails is a date filter that is too tight. Widen the range by a year on each side before you conclude anything is missing.
If every search returns the same wrong person, stop searching and re-examine the filters. Repeating a search with the same filters will repeat the same result. A unit that moved, a ship that was renamed, and a camp that closed all break simple name searches. Follow dates and people, not names alone.
Where to go next from here
Where the next step involves a different holder, take the reference with you. A holder approached without a reference can only offer general guidance. Work the chain one link at a time. A timeline built link by link can be checked; a timeline built by jumping to the most interesting record cannot. If this guide has made the next record obvious, it has succeeded. Go to that record, and take the question with you.
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.