2 million UK prisoner of war records now freely available at FamilySearch

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25 May 2022
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The collection includes POWs of the Napoleonic wars
Explore 1,968,517 prisoner of war records, spanning the years 1715 to 1947 at FamilySearch.

The free to use collection is comprised of various records held by The National Archives (England) detailing refugees and individuals taken as prisoners of war during major conflicts around the globe. The records contain the names of military personnel, civilians, diplomats, missionaries, and merchant seamen from nations all over the world.


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While the records are housed at the National Archives of the United Kingdom, the events included took place all over the world. Conflicts include:

  • Napoleonic Wars, 1747-1889
  • Crimean and Boer Wars, 1795-1951
  • World War I, 1913-1918

You can start your search with a name and approximate date, and information you may find within the records could include date of birth, event date, service number, military unit, ship or prison camp, conflict.

Find out more about the record series included in the collection here and search the records here.