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Research at Cumbria’s Museum of Military Life
Unlocking Military Histories: Explore Your Soldier’s Journey
Discover the untold stories of soldiers who served in Cumbria’s Regiments through our personalised Research Service. Our dedicated team passionately assists in answering numerous research enquiries each year, contributing to the preservation of military legacies.
If you wish to make an enquiry about a soldier from one of our Regiments, please read the following before doing so…
Research enquiries
Curious about a soldier’s past? Wondering what medals they were awarded? Want to discover their activities and accomplishments during their time in the army?
Our research service is designed to unearth the details and provide insights into their military service. Through our archives and online subscriptions including platforms such as Ancestry and Find My Past, we have access to a wealth of information including documents held by the National Archives at Kew and several other sources.
What information can we tell you?
Typically, we can provide copies of medal index cards, service records (where they survive, and not for soldiers who served after 1920), and Regimental histories covering background information, as well as sections of some War Diaries of Border Regiment Battalions.
One of our research assistants will then write to you and help make sense of the documents that we send.
Examples of what information you can discover:
*Note: Please contact Cumbria’s Museum of Military Life before purchasing a Second World War Enquiry.
What information can’t we provide?
While we strive to uncover as much as possible, there are limitations.
Unfortunately, we cannot provide copies of service documents for soldiers who served from 1920 onward (or those who enlisted before 1920 but continued to serve afterwards) as these are currently being transferred from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to the National Archives. This is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
More information on how to get copies of these documents can be found via the following links:
Obtaining photos of individual soldiers can be challenging, so we are unlikely to be able to provide you with a copy. This is because a large proportion of photographs in our collection are unnamed, despite many being digitised, and so we do not always know who is in them.
We always welcome contributions to expand our photo collection, so please contact us if you have a picture of a Border Regiment Soldier, especially if they are named and/or in uniform.
How much does a research enquiry cost?
Our research service is charged at £30.00 per soldier. This is to cover the time and effort a researcher devotes to looking into your enquiry and preparing a response for you.
Payment is required prior to the research and due to the time invested into each enquiry, this fee is non-refundable even if no information can be found. We accept payment via cash, cheque, credit/debit card, or PayPal.
If you’re located outside the UK, additional postage charges may apply.
How long does it take to get a response?
We understand the anticipation of uncovering a soldier’s history.
Our goal is to respond to your research enquiry within 60 days of receiving payment. We receive a large quantity of research enquiries every year and our small team of staff and volunteers will get through them as quickly as possible.
In the event of potential delays, we will inform you at the time of enquiry.
Ready to make an enquiry?
If you want to go ahead and make an enquiry, please click the button below and follow the instructions carefully. Your soldier’s story awaits exploration, and we are eager to assist you in this meaningful journey into the past.
For more information about our Research Service, please read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below.
Frequently asked questions about our Museum’s Soldier Research Service
To initiate a research enquiry, we require three key pieces of information from you:
- A soldier’s name
- The regiment they served in
- Their service number
The more information you can give us, the better, but it is extremely difficult to find any information without a service number.
Making an online enquiry is quick and easy. Click here to get started.
Alternatively, you can download our Research Enquiry Form and post a hard copy to us, along with your payment. Please use the following address for posting letters and making payments:
Cumbria’s Museum of Military Life
Alma Block
The Castle
Carlisle
CA3 8UR
You can also speak to one of our team by calling 01228 532774 during our opening hours.
There are a few places where you can get further information beyond our research services and these are listed below.
For general background reading, there are several books that give a good overview of the Regiment’s involvements in various conflicts:
First World War
- The Border Regiment in the Great War (general)
- Glory is No Compensation (1st and 6th Battalions in the Gallipoli campaign)
Second World War
Other
- Lions & Dragons (King’s Own Royal Border Regiment 1959-2006)
- Lions of England (King’s Own Royal Regiment [Lancaster])
If the soldier in question was killed during the First or Second World War, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has all of the details of where they are buried or commemorated.
Contemporary local newspapers often have obituaries in. If you know a soldier was killed or died of wounds, it is worth having a look at these to see if there is any further information.
In the case of Cumberland Archives, there is an index of soldiers mentioned in First World War era newspapers. More details about the First World War online resources can be found on the Cumbria Archives website.
If the soldier in question enlisted, or was transferred to a Regiment other than the Border Regiment, the corresponding museums can be found through the Army Museums Ogilby Trust.
The MoD currently holds all records and service documents for soldiers who served from 1920 onwards. Sadly, this means we are unable to provide this information for you, but the nearest next of kin can apply for these records directly from the Ministry of Defence.
The charge for our Research Service covers the time that our researchers dedicate to your enquiry and is therefore non-refundable, even if no information is discovered.
