Forces War Records Help Center

How do I sign up for Forces War Records?

Choose a Forces War Records plan that is best for you by clicking here.

Forgot my password?

Reset your password here.

How do I renew my membership to Forces War Records?

Renew your Forces War Records membership here.

How do I upgrade my membership to Forces War Records?

Upgrade your membership here.

How do I cancel my membership to Forces War Records?

To cancel your subscription, visit Account Details under Membership Type or contact us here at least two days before your membership renews to avoid being charged for the next billing cycle.

How do I set up auto-renew or cancel auto-renew?

Adjust settings for your auto-renew here.

How do I create a Memorial for Forces War Records?

See instructions and a video tutorial for creating a Memorial here.

I found an existing Memorial for my ancestor, but I would like to make some changes. Why can’t I edit the Memorial?

When you create a Forces War Records Memorial, you can choose whether others can contribute information or just you. If a Memorial is private, others can’t make edits. You can contact the Forces War Records member to suggest an edit or create a new Memorial incorporating your changes.

Why Can’t I Find More Records For My Soldier? 

Some records are not yet available on Forces War Records, as they are still held by the archive, and for some there have been previous damage to records. Around 60% of British Army service records were destroyed or badly damaged during a German bombing raid in September 1940. Forces War Records is a great way to reconstruct a military history despite the loss of those official records. 

Why don’t you have records from more recent conflicts? 

Many records are still protected by privacy laws, and therefore are only available to the veteran or next-of-kin at this time.

Which Browsers does Forces War Records support?

Forces War Records supports Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari.

How come I can’t annotate or upload any records?

Forces War Records needs to verify your email before you can upload records or add annotations. Verify your email address is correct in Account Details, then watch for a message from accounts@forceswarrecords.com and click on the link in the message.

Why am I encountering issues with Search?

If you see an error message that occurs repeatedly, please contact us here so we can investigate further. Please provide as many details as possible and tell us what you did when encountering the error.

How do I create a free Basic Forces War Records membership to access free collections and create Memorials? From the Forces War Records home page, select ‘Join Now’ and use your email to register for a free limited membership.  

What is the difference between a free Basic Forces War Records membership and a Forces War Records Premium Paid Membership?

Some of our collections are available to search and browse for free. A free Basic membership allows you to search these collections, annotate, print, and add images to Your Gallery. You can also search and annotate Member images. Anyone with a Basic membership can also create Memorials. All other tools and collections require a Premium Paid membership.

Why does Forces War Records charge for publicly accessible records?

Some of our records are digitised through a partnership with The National Archives. This partnership allows researchers and the general public to access records from the convenience of their homes and devices rather than traveling to The National Archives research rooms, hiring private researchers, or submitting requests and accompanying fees to the Archives. In addition to records from the Archives, Forces War Records has an extensive collection of records from other sources not readily available to the public.

Contact us:

Contact Forces War Records Support here.