British officers
(including Commonwealth officers serving in British units)

www unithistories.com

Sources
For all British & Commonwealth servicemen the primary (available) sources have been:

General & professional biographical reference works:

• The Catholic Who's Who, 1952
• Crockford's Clerical Directory, 1967/68, 1985/86
• Current Biography, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950
• The Guardian Book of Obituaries (2003)
• The Indian Year Book, 1943/44
• Lives Remembered : The Times Obituaries of 1991, 1992, 1993
• The Medical Directory, 1959
• Who's Who, 1897-1998 (CD-ROM version)
• Who's Who, 1946, 1953, 1968, 1990
• Who's Who in British Aviation, 1946/47
• Who's Who in Yachting (1969)
• Who's Who in Ireland, 1991
• Who's Who in Scotland, 1990/91, 1992/93, 2001
• Who's Who of British Engineers, 1968, 1980
• Who's Who, What's What and Where in Ireland (1973)
• The Wisden Book of Cricketers' Lives : Obituaries from Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1986)

Nobility:

• Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage 1947
• Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes 1946, 1969

Military:

• Boatner III, Mark M. The Biographical Dictionary of World War II (1996)
• Bishop, Edward (ed.). The Daily Telegraph Book of Airmen's Obituaries (2002)
• Davies, David Twiston (ed.). The Daily Telegraph Book of Military Obituaries (2003)
• Davies, David Twiston (ed.). The Daily Telegraph Military Obituaries Book 2 (2006)
• Davies, David Twiston (ed.). The Daily Telegraph Book of Naval Obituaries (2004)
• Massingberd, Hugh (ed.). The Daily Telegraph Second Book Obituaries : Heroes and Adventures (1996)
• Liardet, Guy & Michael Tillotson (ed.). The Time Great Military Lives : a Century in Obituaries (2008)
• Mead, Richard. Churchill's Lions : a Biographical Guide to the Key British Generals of World War II (2007)
• Smart, Nick. Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War (2005)
• Wilson, Alastair & Joseph F. Callo. Who's Who in Naval History from 1550 to the Present (2004)

Armed services lists:

• The Monthly Army List, 1931 (Mar.), 1933 (June), 1935 (Sep., Oct.), 1937 (Jan.), 1938 (Jan.), 1939 (Jan. & Nov.)
• The Quarterly Army List, 1940 (July, Oct.), 1941 (Apr., July, Oct.), 1942 (Jan., Apr., July, Oct.), 1943 (Jan., Apr., July, Oct.), 1944 (Jan., Apr., July, Oct.), 1945 (Jan., Apr., July, Oct.), 1946 (Jan., Apr., Aug., Dec.), 1947 (Apr., Dec. [vol. II])
• The Half-Yearly Army List, 1924 (Suppl. Dec.), 1939 (Jan.), 1940 (Jan.), 1941 (Jan.), 1942 (Jan.), 1946 (Jan.) [reprinted as: Services of British Army Officers &cc 1939-1945 (1999)]
• The Army List, 1955 (Aug.), 1959 (= Febr.), 1973 (Autumn)
• The Army Gradation List, February 1957 & February 1967
• The Army List, Part II Officers in receipt of retired pay, 1985 (= Febr.), 1990 (= Mar.), Suppl. 1992, Suppl. 1997, Suppl. 1998
• The Army List, Part III Biographical, 1978/79
• The Navy List, 1913 (Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.), 1914 (Jan., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.), 1915 (Jan., Apr., July, Oct.), 1916 (Jan., Apr., July, Oct.), 1917 (Jan., Apr., July, Oct.), 1918 (Jan., Apr., July, Oct., Dec.), 1919 (Jan., Mar., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.), 1920 (Jan., Febr., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.), 1921 (Jan.), 1922 (Apr. ^#), 1923 (Aug.), 1925 (Jan. ^#), 1926 (March, May), 1927 (Febr., July ^#, Dec.), 1928 (Apr., May, June, July ^#), 1929 (June, Aug.), 1930 (Apr., Aug., Oct.), 1931 (Jan. ^#, Febr., March, Dec.), 1932 (Jan. ^#, May, July ^#, Aug., Sept.), 1933 (Jan. ^#, May, June), 1934 (Jan. ^#, March, May, July ^#, Aug., Nov.), 1935 (Febr., March, July ^#, Aug., Oct.), 1936 (Febr., Apr., May, Aug., Oct.), 1937 (Jan. ^#, Febr., July ^#), 1938 (Jan., Febr. ^#, June, Aug. ^#, Oct., Dec.), 1939 (Febr. ^#, Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug. ^#, Sept., Dec.), 1940 (Feb., March, Apr., May, June, July, Oct., Dec.), 1941 (Febr., Apr., June, Aug., Oct., Dec.), 1942 (Feb., Apr., June, Aug., Oct., Dec.), 1943 (Febr., Apr. [vol. I & II], June*, Aug., Oct.*, Dec.), 1944 (Febr., Apr., June, Oct.), 1945 (Jan., Apr., July, Oct.), 1946 (Apr. [vol. I & III], July [vol. II & III]), 1947 (Apr. [vol. III], Oct. [vol. III]), 1948 (July), 1949 (May), 1950 (May), 1951 (May), 1953 (May), 1954 (July), 1955 (Jan., Apr. [abridged ed.]), 1956 (Jan.), 1957 (Jan.), 1959 (Jan.), 1960 (Jan.), 1961(July), 1962 (Autumn), 1963 (Spring), 1964 (Spring), 1968 (Spring, Summer), 1969 (Spring), 1971 (Autumn), 1985 (= Oct. 1984)
  * = incomplete, without RNR / RNVR sections
  # = containing Retired Lists as well
  For the war years vol. I contains the name indexes, vol. II the seniority lists, and vol. III the lists of ships & establishments.
• The Navy List of Retired Officers, together with the Emergency List, 1944 (July), 1949 (July), 1952 (July), 1959 (= July), 1962 (= July), 1965 (=Aug), 1967 (= Aug), 1973 (= Aug.), 1977 (= Aug.), 1979 (= Aug.), 1981 (= Aug.), 1983 (= Aug.), 1985 (= Aug.), 1987 (= Aug.), 1989 (= Aug.), 1991 (= Dec.), 1993 (= Dec.), 1995 (= Dec.), 1997 (= Dec. 1996), 1999 (= Dec. 1998), 2001 (= Dec. 2000), 2003 (= Dec. 2002), 2005 (= Dec. 2004), 2007 (= Sept. 2006)
• The Naval Who's Who 1917 [repr.: 1981]
• The List of the Officers, Masters and Cadets at the College, Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, 1935 (Sept.), 1936 (Jan., May, Sept.), 1937 (Jan., May, Sept.), 1938 (Jan., May, Sept.), 1939 (Jan.)
• The Air Force List, 1918 (Apr.), 1925 (July), 1939 (Oct.), 1940 (Oct.), 1949 (Apr.), 1954 (Apr.), 1956 (Apr.)
• The Royal Air Force Retired List, 1978, 1996
• The London Gazette (online at: http://www.london-gazette.co.uk)

      Commonwealth forces:

• The Army List of the Australian Military Forces Pt. II: The Australian Imperial Force. Vol. IV: Gradation List of Officers, 1941 (17th Sept.)
• Gradation List of Officers of the Australian Military Forces, 1945 (18th Jan.; 3 vols.)
• Defence Forces List Canada (Naval, Military and Air Forces) Pt. I, 1939 (Nov.)
• The Canadian Navy List, 1945 (May)

Civil servants:

• The Foreign Office List and Diplomatic and Consular Year Book, 1949
• The Colonial Office List, 1946
• The Commonwealth Relations Office List, 1957
• Davies, David Twiston (ed.). The Daily Telegraph Book of Imperial and Commonwealth Obituaries (2009)

School / college (memorial) registers:

Memorial records:

• Morris, Henry. We Will Remember Them : a Record of the Jews Who Died in the Armed Forces of the Crown 1939-1945 (1989)
• The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Roll of Honour 1939-1945 (2001)

Awards / decorations:

• Naval and Air Force Honours and Awards [World War I] (1970s)
• Seedie's Roll of Naval Honours & Awards 1939-1959 (1989)

Some websites that have been very useful in compiling these pages:

• George Cross Database
• Naval-History.net
• Fleet Air Arm Archive
• thePeerage.com