In November 2012, the Western Front Association acquired some 6.5 million Pension Record Index Cards and Ledgers. These help cross check information and can potentially provide unique information, such as an individuals unit, next of kin, wounds and injuries received (or disabling ailments), recovery from wounds and injuries in the post war years and pension entitlement. The Pension Record Index Cards are an invaluable source of information. They are divided into five unequal sections.
1. ‘Other Ranks Died’ (nearly one million individual cards);
2. ‘Widows and Dependents of Other Ranks’ (in excess of one million cards);
3. ‘Other ranks Survived’ (approximately 2.5 million cards)
4. ‘Officers Died and Widows of Officers’ (approximately 150,000 cards.
5. ‘Mercantile Marine’ (less than 5,000 cards)
The Ledgers are a series of numerically sequences books, and are divided unequally into the following seven categories:- Disabled Soldiers; Disabled Naval ratings; Disabled Airmen; Widows; Dependents; Alternative Pension cases, and Alternation Widows Pensions. However, there are still anomalies and errors within these records. There is also a fee to access them, which is to be paid in advance which can exclude researchers.
