The "British" Army of 1914-1918 also came to include troops from the Canadian Expeditionary Force, the Australian Imperial Force, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the South African forces, the Indian Army, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the British West Indies Regiment and Chinese and Egyptian Labour Corps. Some of these men were British, many were recent emigrants and some even enlisted in Britain. How do you go about finding details of their service?

Tip: if you can't find your man in the British records, try the Canadian and Australian ones It is surprising how often a man, believed to be British and living at home, turns up in the Canadian or Australian forces. Their records are quick and easy to search, so don't neglect the opportunity.

Canada

Library and Archives Canada holds the personnel records for the 600,000 men and women who enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. To identify the file references for soldiers, nurses and chaplains, you can search their Soldiers of the First World War database

The front and in most cases rear of the soldier's attestation form can be seen and downloaded at the website. This lets you check if it is the right man. To obtain the full record, once you know the file reference, you must order it from Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa: details

 

Australia

The National Archives of Australia confirms that all World War I service records (series B2455) have been digitised and are available to view (free) online. Go to the name search When you have whittled it down to the man you want, just click on View Digital Copy. Bliss.

New Zealand

The New Zealand records have not yet been fully digitised and are not searchable online. To obtain a record you may need to write, using the approved application form from the New Zealand Defence Force website

Digitisation does appear to be underway and some records can be accessed via Archway

South Africa

The South African records have not yet been digitised and are not searchable online. The records only date from 1912; prior to that they are with British Army records at the National Archives at Kew. I found a number of local researchers in South Africa simply by Googling and next to no information about the records themselves.

Others

I'll be adding details on researching the other Dominion and Empire troops in due course .