Update on Ancestry WW1 medal index cards release

Chris Paton · Post by **Chris Paton** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 2:13 am

Hi all,

There has been some confusion regarding Ancestry's recent medal index cards release, in that whilst it was announced by Ancestry as a complete release, it seemed to be anything but, particularly as The Western Front Association press release indicated that this was in fact a phased release, and not complete. I contacted Ancestry to get clarification on all of this, and have just received the following response, which hopefully sorts the issue!

Dear Chris,

Thank you for your email. The database “British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920” is only the first release of the collection. It contains about half of the total collection. The records in this release cover a wide range of surnames from all alphabetical ranges. It’s possible that the name you are searching for will not be found in this release. The second release will be coming soon but we do not have an exact date. You can read more about this database by:

*From the HOME page of Ancestry.co.uk (make sure you are logged in)
*Click on British Army WW1 medal rolls
*Below the search box read about the British Army
*Make sure to click on ‘For more information about this database click here’ There is a lot of information about the British Army medal rolls, the index cards and the types of medals awarded.

Kind regards,

Shauna
Member Solutions
Ancestry.co.uk

Chris

Post by **Pandabean** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:26 pm

Thank you Chris. I did wonder why I couldnt find any of my relatives in it. I will try again when the next release comes out. I am just wanting to check how different they are from the ones on the NA.

Chris Paton · Post by **Chris Paton** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:40 pm

Andy,

The main differences are a) they are in colour, and therefore much easier to read, and b) they are scanned on both sides of the cards, and not just on the fronts. Most cards just carried info on the front, which is why TNA only bothered with the fronts, but some have some additional details on the back - the card for my great uncle Charles Macfarlane had his Inverness address on the back which confirmed it was definitely him, for example.

Chris

Currie · Post by **Currie** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:41 am

That’s good news Chris,

And it rings the death knell for the whole of the TNA Medal Card Index rip-off, perhaps they can now show due respect for those dead and maimed soldiers by making their index free, especially considering how much information about them has been lost.

Why would anyone now pay 3.50 Pounds for one of their pathetic scraps when at http://www.ancestry.co.uk/ 6.95 gets you a proper scan, both sides, plus 11 other items besides. And for just 9.95 you get a whole month’s access to the complete Ancestry UK database including unlimited numbers of English census images etc.

Alan.

Post by **Pandabean** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:36 pm

Thanks Chris. I think I do remember you mentioning that earlier in another topic.

Alan, I can see it being worthwhile. The price will be better however I have never been a fan of the ancestry way of searching records. Maybe I am not using it right but I never seem to find what I want.