Remembering wartime stories with new records this VE Day
1-2 minute read
By Daisy Goddard | May 9, 2025
Discover new global military records this Findmypast Friday.
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, we've added Commonwealth grave records from Poland and Italy, as well as War Office and Royal Air Force lists spanning both world wars.
Are your family's wartime experiences documented in these ----- new additions? From battlefield sacrifice to home front struggles, uncover their experiences of these momentous years this VE Day.
The War Office List
This week's biggest update comprises 51,764 new images and transcriptions which document the stories of Second World War personnel.
Italy and Poland, Commonwealth War Graves and Monumental Inscriptions
We've also added two new sets of grave and monumental inscription records from Italy and Poland - these 3,579 additions span 1914 to 1945.
Royal Air Force Lists 1919-1945
If your ancestor served in the Royal Air Force between 1919 and 1945, their name may appear within this new record collection.
New titles from Barrow to Bolton
125,548 new pages joined our newspaper collection this week.
We've added five new titles and updated 18 existing publications.
New titles
- Altrincham Chronicle, 1889-1890
- Barrow News, 1888, 1890-1895, 1897-1898, 1906, 1908-1922, 1925-1934, 1939-1944, 1948-1961, 1963
- Barrow Times, 1876-1877, 1880-1881
- Hastings & St. Leonards Advertiser, 1862, 1873, 1891, 1894-1895, 1897-1900, 1913-1914
- Laisterdyke & Bowling News, 1895-1896, 1899-1911
Updated titles
- Banffshire Journal, 1979
- Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser, 1894, 1905–1907, 1909
- Bolton Evening News, 1914–1918
- Cannock Chase Chronicle, 1996
- Crowle Advertiser and Isle of Axholme News, 1877, 1884–1886
- Drogheda Advertiser, 1900–1901, 1903, 1907, 1925–1926, 1928
- Forres Elgin and Nairn Gazette, Northern Review and Advertiser, 1993
- Hebden Bridge Times, 1986
- Howdenshire Chronicle, 1893–1894, 1911, 1927
- Lytham Times, 1895, 1910–1911, 1914, 1917–1918, 1931
- Oxford Journal, 1913, 1917, 1919
- Peterborough Evening Telegraph, 1969
- Pudsey & Stanningley News, 1950
- To-day, 1900–1904
- Walsall Chronicle, 1986
- Warrington Guardian, 1914, 1917
- Whitehaven News, 1881, 1883–1885, 1900–1901
- Wigan Examiner, 1853, 1900–1909, 1911–1913
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