Find your ancestors in Second World War civilian casualties in Britain 1940-1945

What can these records tell me?

By combining the information produced by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) with data from other sources—such as online genealogical, civil and military records, contemporary street maps, burial registers and newspapers, as well as well-researched books and websites devoted to particular incidents or locations—the collection provides family, local and military history researchers with a significantly enhanced view of how enemy action affected individuals, families, neighbourhoods and communities across all parts of Great Britain. There are three particularly significant features:

• As well as civilians, the collection provides dates and location for more than four thousand members of the armed services who were killed by enemy action on the home front, either during direct attacks on military, naval and air force installations or when they were on leave or in transit. The collection also includes all traceable members of the Home Guard—some of whom do not appear in the CWGC’s Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour (CWDROH)—as well as the Merchant Navy and the fire, rescue and air raid protection services.
• About one in six of the civilians and service members killed by enemy action died days, weeks and even years later, in rest centres, hospitals and hospices, or at home. Using a range of information, this collection reconstructs when and where those people were injured, providing a more accurate picture of the people and places affected at different stages of the air war.
• To assist family and genealogical researchers, the collection includes information on women’s maiden and former married names, which was not always included in the CWGC’s Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour. (CWDROH)

This collection includes all people whose deaths resulted directly from enemy action (bombs, mines, shells, V1s and V2s, including those that exploded later) or from the outcomes of direct defensive operations (such as the crashing of enemy planes and the explosion of anti-aircraft shells). It does not include those who died in accidents or from illnesses not related to a specific incident.

These tens of thousands of people were the identified victims of enemy action. Identification was taken very seriously at the time and by the CWGC. Rescue squads laboured in difficult and dangerous conditions to ensure that the injured and the remains of every deceased person were found and removed. In turn, the meticulous work of local authorities, hospitals, mortuaries and cemeteries ensured that only a very small proportion of victims—perhaps one or two per cent—could not be identified and recorded in the CWDROH

Accuracy and completeness

Research in these sources involves a degree of judgement about times, places and identity. Cities and towns were sometimes raided on consecutive nights, making it difficult to distinguish between different incidents. People’s date of death sometimes reflected when they were found, which could have been days after the raid itself. The CWDROH does not always make clear where and even when people who died later were injured, or names an area—Westminster or Bootle, for instance—rather than a precise location. For servicemen and -women, and some of those in the Home Guard and Merchant Navy, the CWGC provides only the place of burial.

Accordingly, some of the location details in the collection use other evidence from online and printed sources. Most commonly, location and date of injury has been deduced based on proximity to other deaths and injuries, or the presence of family or neighbours.

Despite best efforts, there may still be errors and omissions, and the data can always be improved. Users are encouraged to send questions, corrections and suggestions to [email protected] so that individual records can be checked and, where necessary, amended.

About the key information fields

• Military -Branch and rank
• Service -Branch and title
• Given name(s)
• Former name(s)
• Maiden names first, followed by former married names where relevant.
• Last name
• Age -In line with the practice of the CWDROH, ages are given in years for everyone except children under the age of two, whose ages are given in days (under two weeks), weeks (under two months) or months (under two years).
• Day, Month, Year -The day, month and year of the death or of the injury causing death.
• Code and Time -As a particular district, town or suburb could be affected by more than one V-weapon on a particular day, V-1 and V-2 incidents are coded and timed in order to ensure that distinct incidents remain identifiable.
• Died later - Y indicates that the person died later.
• Address 1, Address 2 - The house, building or area in which the person was killed or injured.
• Town or district - Specific names of towns, districts or suburbs (only where these were used in the CWDROH)
• Local authority
• County

Common abbreviations

• AAS Anti-aircraft shell
• AR Air raid
• DAB Delayed action bomb
• EA Enemy aircraft
• SHL Cross-Channel shelling
• UXB Unexploded bomb
• UXM Unexploded mine
• V1 Vergeltungswaffe 1 (V1 flying bomb)
• V2 Vergeltungswaffe 2 (V2 rocket)