Forces War Records

On this Mother's Day, we honour and remember all the mother figures, past and present. Your love and guidance are forever cherished. 📷© Mirrorpix

March is Women's History Month, and we'd love to hear about the women in your family trees. Whether they served in the forces, volunteered on the home front, took in evacuees or came up with ingenious ways to cope with rationing, feel free to share their stories. 📷©Mirrorpix

@scruffy65 Thanks for pointing that out, Saskia. We used the exact caption from the original image, but it's good to know that going forward

@F_W_Records Psst.. the town is IJmuiden, not Ijmuiden. The ij-combination is an existing letter in the Dutch alphabet 😉

Striking photo, taken #OTD in 1943. 📷 A Lockheed Ventura Mark I, of No. 21 Squadron RAF, flown by Warrant Officer L.L.G. Jones and crew, over the docks at Ijmuiden, Holland. ©Mirrorpix

@HistoryUnter @ThisDayInWWI Thank you for sharing his story. It's incredibnly poignant being able to put a face to a name.

@F_W_Records @ThisDayInWWI Yes My Great Uncle C Battery 95th Brigade Royal Field Artillery KIA near Ypres 15th October 1917 archives.passchendaele.be/en/soldier/4662

Did your family member serve with the artillery during WWI? Reply with their stories and photos. 📷 Royal Field Artillery gunners digging an 18-pounder gun out of the mud, near Zillebeke, 9 August 1917, during the Passchendaele Offensive. ©Mirrorpix

📷’Somewhere in Sussex’, October 1939. ©Hulton Archive/Getty Images Caption this photo.

Happy New Year, everyone. Thank you to all of you for sharing your family stories, photos, and comments throughout 2025. 📷 Soldiers stationed in Belgium in late December 1944 haul a crate of beer, perhaps ready to celebrate New Year's Eve. ©Mirrorpix

🎄Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. 📷 Soldiers serve Christmas dinner to children at a Christmas party at Greater Scotland Yard Recruiting Depot in December 1937. © Hulton Archive/Getty Images

📷 S/Sgt. Osso, of Hamilton, Ohio, playing Santa Claus, hands out presents to orphans and to the children of British forces at a Christmas party given by the soldiers of the Tactical Depot of the 9th Air Service Command. ©NARA: fwr.social/usafphotos

We were taken aback by this hand-drawn map in the WWI war diary of the 7th Bn East Surrey Regiment. The drawing depicts the town of Frelinghien in northern France in April 1915. Occupied by the Germans, it was 600 yards from the battalion's trenches. 📜© The National Archives

Lest we forget.

📷 A Scottish regiment at Gardiner's Battery in Gibraltar, c1867. ©Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Explore our blog dedicated to researching Victorian-era military ancestors: fwr.social/victorian

Today marks the 80th anniversary of VJ Day and the end of WWII. We remember the contributions made by everyone, military and civilians, at the front and at home, and give thanks for their sacrifices. 📷©Mirrorpix

Forces War Records members have access to the WW2 POW liberation questionnaires. The collection provides valuable information about POWs, where and when they were held, and if they tried to escape or carry out sabotage. Discover more in our latest blog: fwr.social/powqsblog

It's National Tattoo Day. 📷 In this photo from our archives, a sailor receives a tattoo in June 1942. ©Mirrorpix.

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. Discover the remarkable story of Fred Simpson, who was a prisoner of war during WWII and the Korean War: fwr.social/fspow

Happy Father's Day, everyone. 📷 Repatriated father of five, Corporal Frederick Phillips, aged 41, returns home to Hele, Torquay, in June 1944, on the third anniversary of his capture in Crete during WWII. His family and local villagers turned out to welcome him home. ©Mirrorpix

Today in 1944, Operation Overlord was underway. D-Day was a huge, ambitious operation, seeing over 156,000 Allied troops land in Normandy, either by air or on the beaches. The invasions marked a significant turning point in WWII. 📷© Mirrorpix

📷 Tea break for an RAF maintenance crew servicing Hawker Typhoon aircraft during WWII. Note the name 'Ritz Hotel' above the door of their hut. © Mirrorpix