Starting here, in order
Records disagree more often than stories do, and that is useful: a disagreement points to a transfer, a renumbering, or a variant spelling, each of which can be tested. 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.
- Start with the person: name, number, service, dates.
- Settle the unit or ship from the record, where it allows that.
- Read the record for those dates, and note its reference as you go.
- Let only dated, sourced facts into the timeline.
The organisation behind these records
Read for the unit, the ship, or the station as well as for the person. A person entry makes sense only inside the unit entry that surrounds it. 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.
When is a match safe to use?
A record set that covers only part of a period will always look like a gap at the edges. Check the coverage dates before you conclude anything is missing. A transcription error can hide the right entry completely, because you search for the correct spelling and the index holds the wrong one. Try variants deliberately.
What does this section cover?
A war grave or memorial entry is a commemoration record, not a service record. It confirms death, commemoration and often unit and date, and it is strongest when it is matched to the service record and the casualty record, not when it stands alone. 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 Commonwealth War Graves Commission and local memorial records. 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.
Going further in this section
If you have reached the end of what this record type can show, say so in your notes, and name the record type that takes over from here. 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. The record set will not hurry for you, and you should not hurry for it. Slow, referenced work is the only kind that survives checking.
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.