Was your ancestor a civilian casualty in World War Two?

This collection comes from multiple sources and includes 64,339 records. It is made up of mostly civilian casualties during the Second World War, in addition to 4,000 servicemen who died on the home front during enemy action.

You may find an exact address, standard biographical detail, and even the type of enemy action.  

What information do the records contain?

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 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 4,000 members of the armed services who were killed by enemy action on the home front. 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.

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