The stories of 65,000 British soldiers who were killed in the First World War are now free to explore on a new online tool.
Family history website Findmypast launched Military Lives ahead of Remembrance Day 2026.
The website has records of 9000 local war memorials across the UK, with more due to be added in the future.
Researchers can search for a memorial in a specific town, city or county and see the stories of some of the men commemorated there.
Findmypast’s AI tools have written the stories of the men’s lives, using record sets including census records, military records and old newspapers. Some entries also include photographs of the men and information about their families, as well as connections to other men commemorated on the same memorial.
Jen Baldwin, Findmypast’s research specialist, said: "Military Lives is unlike anything we've built before. Military research is most rewarding and special when we move beyond names and dates to understand the person, their family, and the community they left behind. That’s what makes this tool is so valuable to researchers.
“We’d love the support of the genealogy community to get involved early to experiment with the site and free tools on offer, and find forgotten local characters and new perspectives on familiar places.”
