The 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade

(1 Samodzielna Brygada Spadochronowa)

How To Get Polish Military
Records From the UK MOD

Background

As mentioned on the prior page, the Polish army (in the Middle East at the time) fell under British command from the 5th April 1942 and so all Polish army records were retained by the British Army.

There is an extremely good chance that your Polish Relatives records are here in the UK. We will show you how to get Polish military records from the MOD in Britain and then how to get records from Poland as well.

The process below was advised by the MOD in Nov 2023 (Therefore any other methods, email addresses etc are to be considered redundant).

Application Form To Use

Link to approved form: Get A Copy Of Military Service Records

On the online form, please select the British equivalent if your relation served in the Polish Armed Forces under British Command. Please ensure you have read the guidance on “What information you’ll get” and “How to Apply”.

You do not have to provide a death certificate, however, without one, information may be withheld unless the person died in service or was born more than 116 years ago.

When the form is completed print the form out (it does not submit online}

Where To Send The Application Form

If you are trying to locate Polish military records held by the MOD in the UK then send your completed application form here:

APC Polish Enquiries
Building 1,
RAF Northolt, West End Road
Ruislip
Middlesex
HA4 6NG

Email (as of May 2023): apc-sp-polishdisclosures@mod.gov.uk 

Detail You Need To Provide

When you complete the application form please include:

  • The name of your relative (including all variants)
  • Their date of birth
  • Military unit (if known)
  • Proof of kinship i.e all birth certificates leading back the way to the one that named your relative.
  • Death certificate of your relative

How Long Will It Take?

Polish Disclosures are working through a significant backlog of applications and as such are experiencing delays of at least 9 months in processing requests.

What Records Will I Receive?

The wait for your relatives records can be a very tense and exciting time, wondering what you will receive. Here I will tell you what will be received so that you can be prepared.

What If I Have Already Submitted A Paper Request (Using My Letter)

It's unclear what the process is if you have already submitted a paper copy. As of 16 Noc 2023 i'm awaiting guidance on this from the MOD.

Zeszyt Ewidencyjny

A "Zeszyt Ewidencyjna" is a small A5 16 page booklet or notebook giving some basic details on what commanding office they were under, their health grade, thumbprint and some other details on battles they were in etc. The booklet is written in Polish. Don't worry, i'm going to show you in due course how to get this translated. See my grandfathers one here.

Karta Ewidencyjny

Karta Ewidencyjna - A 2 page (double side, so 4 sides in all) document. Somewhat similar detail to the above, but in my grandfathers case a lot more further detail was provided.

There are a lot of military abbreviations PAY ATTENTION HERE these when properly decoded will tell you where the person was, what unit they were with and if you do the research on these dates, places and units will also tell you what your relative did.

Nothing is for free in this life, you are going to have to get good at research. I will show you methods, tips and tricks that I used to discover an explosive goldmine of information (no exaggeration!). See my grandfathers one here.

Army Profile Record

A simple one sided A5 document with the persons name, date of birth, parish, town they lived in, height, weight and a few other details. The best bit? It has a military photo of the person on it! Click to see my grandfathers profile record

What To Do Next

Once you have gotten your records from the UK MOD and had them translated here are just some of the things you can do next:

  • Update your family tree on a site such as www.ancestry.co.uk . On your Polish relatives records within the site, add all the key facts and dates. This open up the possibility of finding more relatives through the website.
  • Research what Gulag or camp they went to in Siberia or Kazakhstan. Then use Google extensively to find out information and life stories from that camp. (Try this site too "Chronicles Of Terror": https://www.zapisyterroru.pl/dlibra)
  • The UK MOD records should indicate where they were stationed in the Middle East in 1942. Research photos and life stories from that time and plot your relatives trip from Pahlevi to the temporary camp they were at in the Middle East.
  • Learn more about the Polish military unit they were with in the UK. There is plenty of info on Google about these!
  • Locate the ship they crossed from Krasnovodsk in USSR to Pahlevi in Persia under General Anders. Research more about Pahlevi in 1942, try to envisage what your relative went through.