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In the last week or so World War 2 Prisoner of War Questionnaires have been indexed & published on Ancestry.
The new ‘UK and Allied Countries, World War II Liberated Prisoner of War Questionnaires, 1945-1946’ includes 83,560 records. Questionnaires were completed by anyone who was held as a prisoner by the German, Japanese or Italians during World War 2 & are part of the WO344 Record Set at The National Archives, Kew
Created by the War Office Directorate of Military Intelligence these Questionnaires were filled out by each individual Prisoner of War following their release.
Those completing the Questionnaire were asked to supply the following: -
· Name
· Rank
· Service Number
· Decorations (Medals)
· Ship/Unit/Squadron depending if they served with the Army, Navy or RAF
· Division or Command
· Date of Birth
· Date of Enlistment
· Civilian Trade or Profession
· Home Address
· Date/Place of Capture
· If they were wounded when Captured
· Details of the Camps or Hospitals in which imprisoned
· Details of any working camps they were held in
· If they suffered from any serious illnesses whilst held as a POW
· If they received Adequate Medical Treatment
· Details of any lectures received in relation to Capture or escape & evasion
· When, where & methods used in relation to Interrogation
· Any attempted escapes
· If they were involved in any sabotage
· Details of any British or American Personnel known to have collaborated with the enemy
· Any information in relation to war crimes
These records are a good way of confirming what camps your relative was held in, how they were treated & any illnesses they might have suffered & as they completed them themselves you are tapping into an amazing primary source that details their side of the story.
I am delighted at the recent launch of these records! Living in Scotland the only option I previously had was to either place an order to have them scanned, attend to view them myself or have a representative attend & do so on my behalf…. all at a cost!
Yes OK, you now require an Ancestry Subscription to purchase them, but this way of working seems to be the way forward for Archives as some of the big subscription websites have the budget & staff to have them indexed & put out there for all to access.
Don’t want to purchase an Ancestry Subscription for one Questionnaire? As a Genealogist I have access to all the main Subscription Websites If you would like me to obtain a copy of a POW Questionnaire on your behalf then please contact me to discuss.
We also recently placed a list of the subscription site collections we can Access in relation to Air Force Research on our website, if you would like us to consult these on your behalf then please get in touch.
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