UK, World War II Royal Artillery Tracer Cards, 1939-1948

Historical Context

Since its inception in 1716, the Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as 'The Gunners', has served as the artillery arm of the British Army, supplying it's firepower. At its peak during the Second World War, there were over one million men serving in 960 gunner regiments and at the end of the War, the RA was larger than the Royal Navy.

This Collection

This collection comprises cards created to track the movements of soldiers between units within the Royal Artillery during WWII. The role of the Tracer card was to answer the question 'where is that man right now?', saving the burden of administration and searching through many files. Only 'Other Ranks', or in other words those who were not commissioned officers, are included. Please be aware that some cards will include dates outside of 1939-1948.

The following information can be found, where available:

• Name
• Inferred date of birth
• Place and date of death
• Place and date of enlistment
• Date of discharge
• Inferred gender
• Regiment and unit
• Service rank
• Service number

Updates: Mar 2020: Updated collection to include records for surnames beginning Q-Z