tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4518232392780308567.post7275944507619312093..comments2024-02-06T07:18:51.137+00:00Comments on The Family Recorder: Soldiers' wills online - good news (up to a point)Audrey Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17109060807297085410noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4518232392780308567.post-38506235000163109092013-09-02T12:55:30.593+01:002013-09-02T12:55:30.593+01:00Luckily for me I did have the information I needed...Luckily for me I did have the information I needed to identify my grandfather, who died in 1942. I found him instantly, ordered his will on Saturday, and it arrived just after midnight this morning (Monday).<br /><br />Naively, though, I was expecting a document something along the lines of other Wills I have. Prepare to be disappointed. Mine consisted of two sentences - one to name the executor, the other to name the beneficiary. Plus a signature and date, all on a standard pre-printed form.<br /><br />Oh well, at least it confirmed the money was never coming MY way..... maidofkenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00502798017302024316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4518232392780308567.post-71809095861847964192013-08-31T20:03:23.356+01:002013-08-31T20:03:23.356+01:00The date range is wider than 1914-1921. Playing ab...The date range is wider than 1914-1921. Playing about I got 127 hits for Smith in 1943, but only 1 in 1948 and none in a random selection of years in the 50's and 60's.Andrew Millardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08035606100093142182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4518232392780308567.post-36763479697095548792013-08-31T06:08:53.955+01:002013-08-31T06:08:53.955+01:00History Man, I think you too are being somewhat ha...History Man, I think you too are being somewhat harsh. Writing a Will was not (to my knowledge) compulsory. It is highly likely that a very large percentage of servicemen did not do so. Of those that did, if as was suggested that it be carried with paybook in the tunic pocket it is probable that a great number did not survive a battle. It should also be borne in mind that the bodies of many soldiers were never found and that many were buried by the Germans who if they retrieved Wills, e.g. for intelligence purposes, probably did not preserve them. In my view, 230,000 surviving Wills is a far greater number than might have been expected in the circumstances.<br /><br />Geo.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10480952430651049552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4518232392780308567.post-66427275255450424042013-08-30T19:54:53.379+01:002013-08-30T19:54:53.379+01:00I think you are a little harsh - the search fields...I think you are a little harsh - the search fields are all you need to find a soldier, although I agree it would be useful to search across all years. The main problem is that it is not complete - with 230,000 wills it roughly includes wills for about 1 in 3 of the men who were killed during the war (about 705,000 British servicemen were casualties). For example, I have a soldier's paybook will for my great-uncle Stanley Crozier who was killed in October 1918, but there is no entry for him.<br />The best you can say is this resource is one of several probate sources that could be checked - the others being the National Probate Calendar (which contains a surprisingly large number of soldiers' wills) on Ancestry and the Scottish and Irish resources on the websites of their respective national archives. <br />Even so for the majority of men there will be nothing. History Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05957731800013301004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4518232392780308567.post-39378281888564159762013-08-30T16:07:27.086+01:002013-08-30T16:07:27.086+01:00Audrey, I checked out the search function last nig...Audrey, I checked out the search function last night and had two different suggestions for improving the site. As you suggest use the feedback button. Both emails came back as undeliverable. Maybe they don't want to hear from the users.<br />Paul MIlnerAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02328092252411159653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4518232392780308567.post-2805770031673121662013-08-30T07:31:55.808+01:002013-08-30T07:31:55.808+01:00So far as I can see, there is no wildcard search e...So far as I can see, there is no wildcard search either - so the ability to look for McLaren mis-spelled as MacLaren, McClaren etc (welcome to my world) isn't there. This needs some serious work to make it usable.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09194881271051758232noreply@blogger.com