The desire to find out something about your ancestors can be very strong indeed. The information revealed will almost certainly be of great fascination, and, - where an Army regiment is involved, great pride. However, the search for this information takes a great deal of commitment, and may involve many hours of searching for records. VERY RARELY IS FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH A MATTER OF INSTANT RESULTS.

The Green Howards will be delighted to help you if at all possible, but they do NOT have access to readily available personnel data. Tens of thousands of men have served with the Green Howards, and finding information on a single man will almost certainly involve time and effort, - even if the relative already has a significant amount of data on their ancestor. The notes below outline how WE CAN HELP YOU, and also how YOU can set about finding some of the basic information which is essential for us to be able to help you.

 How the Green Howards can Help YOU.

The Green Howards Museum has access to all of the books listed in the Bibliography on this web site .

The Green Howards Museum also possesses back copies of "The Green Howards Gazette" over many years. This journal was the regiment's own news magazine, and every issue contained personal news stories. These news items not only include stories of regimental activities, but also personal items such as obituaries.

The Green Howards Museum possesses many thousands of photographs covering the past 150 years. Many of these are identified, and all of them are in archival storage.

The Green Howards Museum has a wealth of information on the history of the Regiment, including information and artefacts from the many campaigns in which the Regiment has been involved.

The Friends of the Green Howards Regimental Museum published a regular Newsletter. Each issue of the Newsletter was devoted to information on a particular period of the Regiment's history. Back copies of the Newsletter covered periods in the Regiment's history ranging from its founding, through to the Crimean War, service in British India, the two World Wars, through to modern times.
The "Friends of the Green Howards Regimental Museum Newsletter" and "The Green Howards Gazette" were combined on the formation of the Yorkshire Regiment into a new journal "The Green Howard". Each issue contains a section devoted to the history of the Green Howards.
Joining the Friends entitles you to a regular copy of "The Green Howard", free access to the Museum, and also puts you in touch with other Friends who may have similar interests.

The Staff of the Green Howards Museum have access to all of the above material, and have a thorough knowledge of the Regiment's history, commanding officers, medal winners and suchlike. They will be glad to conduct further research on your behalf, but on the following conditions;-

  How to Set About Finding the Basic Information on Your Relative / Ancestor

Once again, it is worth repeating that researching your ancestor's family history, including details of their military service, is NOT a matter of instant results (unless you are EXTREMELY lucky!).

To begin the search, it is worth doing some background research and reading beforehand.

If you are new to family history research, there is a very useful guide on the internet which should help you. This is the Genealogy Guide, produced by the Guides Network UK. This website can be found at http://www.genealogy-guide.org.uk/

The following books have been found to be particularly helpful in this respect;-

1     "Tracing Your Family Tree" by Jean Cole and John Titford. Published by Countryside Books.

2     "Army Records for Family Historians" by Simon Fowler. Published by PRO Publications.

3     "Tracing Your Family History - Army" published by the Imperial War Museum.

The National Archives provides a wealth of information on researching your ancestors, especially military ancestors. Of particular value are the National Archives Researcg Guides Index which give detailed guidance on where the records are kept, and how to set about finding them. For instance, British Army : Useful Sources for Tracing Soldiers (Military Records Information 14) is a very useful starting point.

DO, PLEASE, VISIT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES WEB SITE TO OBTAIN COPIES OF THESE GUIDES. They are all free, can be printed out, and are invaluable for setting you off on the right track.

There are several magazines which also provide help, including;-

1     "Ancestors", - the Family History Magazine of the National Archives.

2     "Family Tree Magazine",

3     "Practical Family History"

Personnel data on a soldier who has served in the British Army from 1920 onwards are held by the Ministry of Defence at the Army Records Centre.
To find out specific details of service, one of your approaches should be to
The Ministry of Defence, Army Records Centre
DR2B
Bourne Avenue
Hayes
Middlesex UB3 1RF

However, to quote from the Imperial War Museum's guide on "Tracing Your Family History" regarding the Army Records Centre;- ".... records......can only be obtained by written application. Family history research is not especially high on their list of priorities as they are primarily dealing with official enquiries relating to pensions, welfare, employment, legal matters etc. and this does sometimes result in a lengthy waiting period. An initial enquirer will receive an explanatory letter and form to be filled in which establishes that the enquirer is, or has the permission of, the next of kin. The standard Ministry of Defence fee of £25 is charged for each enquiry."

The Green Howards web site provides general advice on researching your ancestor's military history, but also provides a list (with addresses) of organisations which might be able to help you, a selection of useful Family History web sites and some case studies which indicate some of the work involved.