Researching your Great War Ancestors
Layesbrook Research Services
Our Services
Layesbrook Research does not offer a set price for researching a soldier, as we feel that each project is different. Just some of the variables are whether the man survived the war or not and how much you know about him - his service number(s), the unit(s) he served with, his date of birth and other information all make a difference.
Therefore, we will quote for you on the basis of the information you can provide. This is collected by means of a simple questionaire which will be e-mailed to you when you contact us. This can be provided either as a Word file, or a text file (which is easy to open and complete on any computer). However we can post you a printed questionaire to complete by hand if you prefer.
Once we have the information, this enables us to provide a quote for the research.
The process then is that if you wish to accept the quote, we will undertake the work under a set of terms and conditions (copy also provided by e-mail), and once complete we will then provide the report to you. Once you have received the report, you then pay for the work. We do not ask for up-front payment. There are no hidden extras for copying or other items, and you will only pay the price you are quoted.
The time to undertake the project will depend upon the information provided and our workload; when we quote we will provide an estimate of the time the project will take.
The output is likely to be different for soldiers who died during the war, compared to those who survived. Typical reports are outlined below, but each case is different. We can just perform a service record search if desired, or can offer the full package to meet your requirements. You may well already have some information from Ancestry, or the soldiers Medal Index Card - this is excellent and gives us a great start.
If you have a larger project, or more specialised research, please get in touch.
For a Soldier who Died
A report will be provided, typically containing the following details
- Information from his service record (where this survives*). This will likely include details of his enlistment, when and where he served and a brief report of his death
- Print out of his details from Soldiers Died in the Great War, a record available for all soldiers who died during the Great War, and copy of Memorial Scroll
- Extract from the War Diary of the Unit he was serving with, which will give some detail on what happened the day he died (but be aware that private soldiers are very rarely mentioned by name). War Diary entries may be a few lines or a page or more each
- Summary of the service of the unit he served with (where this can be identified). This will give a brief history of the regiment/battalion, as well as the Brigade and Division it fought with during the War and the battles the soldier may have fought in during his service
- For the Western Front, a copy of a trench map showing the area he may have died in, but be aware that the exact date of the map will probably not match date of death
- Copy of the soldiers Medal Index Card which outlines which medals would have been made available to his next of kin
- Copy (if relevant) of pages from the Official History of the War, which may give additional information. Note that often small-scale attacks are not mentioned at all in the Official History
- Copies of all relevant primary source documents
- Interpretation and explanation of the data presented
- If you have a photograph of your ancestor and can provide a scan or a print copy, then we will include the photograph on the title page of the report
- All presented in a high quality report which will be sent to you by post
For a Soldier who Survived
A report containing the following details
- Information from his service record (where this survives*). This will likely include details of his enlistment as well as which units he served with
- Summary of the service of the unit he served with (this will give a brief history of the regiment/battalion, as well as the Brigade and Division it fought with during the War and list of the Battles the soldier might have fought in during his service)
- Copy of the soldiers Medal Index Card which outlines which medals he received
- Copies of all relevant primary source documents
- Interpretation and explanation of the data presented
- If you have a photograph of your ancestor and can provide a scan or a print copy, then we will include the photograph on the title page of the report
- All presented in a high quality report which will be sent to you by post
In each case, a clear quote up-front will outline the work that will be performed.
Once you have recieved the report, payment should be be made either by cheque, or (coming soon) via Paypal (either from a Paypal account or by Credit Card).
If you would like a quote please contact us.
* IMPORTANT NOTE: Only about a third of service records survive, and so the chance of finding one for your relative is the same - about one in three. Please be aware that this is the case before agreeing to a quote. The searches to find one still have to be undertaken, even if they are unsuccesful.