Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "The National Archives (United Kingdom)" in English language version.
In 2016–17 a study took place, and it gets a mention here
The documents states of that of the soldier's army service records, "out of 6.5 million documents only 1.25 million have been saved".
Collections of records and how to find them
Collection WO363, also known as the Burnt Records...
Collection WO364, also known as the Unburnt Records...
What is Discovery? Discovery holds more than 37 million descriptions of records held by The National Archives and more than 3,500 archives across the country. Over 9 million records are available for download.
Choose between a visit with a:
standard advance document order (up to 12 documents plus three reserves) – a one-day visit.
bulk advance document order (if you want to see 20–40 documents all from the same series) – a one-day visit. We require a minimum of four working days' notice for bookings.
FOI request reference: CAS-135021-C2R3D8. Publication date: August 2023
Access at The National Archives. Access to the 1921 Census online at Findmypast is free on the premises at The National Archives in Kew. You can access the Census via the on site computers, on site tablet devices or your own device (e.g. smartphone) while you are connected to the Wi-Fi. There is no need to book in advance to use the computers. All of our computers are in publicly accessible areas that do not require a reader's ticket.
This guide lists and provides access to all the record series at The National Archives which are available to view and download for free. These are all digital microfilm records.
When a surrogate version of a document is available you will not be able to order the original record unless...
Reference: ADM 188/631/39509
Ordering and viewing options: £3.50 – sign in to get this free. Download format PDF. Approximate size 0.5 MB Order up to 10 items per basket, and up to 100 in a 30 day period.
Reference: AIR 79/2155/239509
This is available to download from Findmypast. Partner websites are free to search but there may be a charge to view full transcriptions and download documents.
Reference: WO 324/70
Ordering and viewing options. This record has not been digitised and cannot be downloaded. You can order records in advance to be ready for you when you visit Kew. You will need a reader's ticket to do this. Or, you can request a quotation for a copy to be sent to you.
Reference: WO 420/7048
Ordering and viewing options. This record has not been digitised and cannot be downloaded. This record requires preparation for production. It will take four working days to prepare. You can order records in advance to be ready for you when you visit Kew. You will need a reader's ticket to do this. Or, you can request a quotation for a copy to be sent to you.
The National Archives UK has announced that records held by the MOD, including Second World War service personnel records will be digitised by Ancestry
Kew have been talking about the MOD service records since at least 2008...
