USING THE SEARCH FUNCTION
To make the best use of the search function, the following hints and tips may be of use:
To search for an individual, enter any of their names as a search term. Generally, using simply the surname will suffice. Do not enter initials or abbreviations. Individuals’ records in the Roll of Honour will be displayed first in the search results, followed by references in the other sources on the website.
To search for Old Wellingtonians in a particular regiment or other military unit, enter a key word from the unit’s name, e.g. Somerset, Engineers, Guards, Navy, etc. To narrow this down, select to search by ‘Exact Phrase’ and enter a fuller name, e.g. ‘Somerset Light Infantry’, ‘Scots Guards, ‘Flying Corps’, etc.
To search for Old Wellingtonians from a particular school dormitory or house, enter the dormitory or house name as a search term. Alternatively, you can use the ‘Browse’ function and order the Roll of Honour by House; this will re-arrange the whole Roll by house/dormitory in alphabetical order, i.e. Anglesey, Benson, Beresford and so on.
To search for OWs who died or are commemorated in a particular area or theatre of war, you can search on terms such as ‘Ypres’, ‘Somme’, ‘Menin Gate’, etc. Please note: use the modern name for a country, not the historical one: i.e. use ‘Iraq’ rather than ‘Mesopotamia’, ‘Tanzania’ rather than ‘Tanganyika’, and so on.
Searching ‘France’ or ‘Belgium’ will not yield useful results; instead, use the name of an area, such as ‘Aisne’ or ‘Pas de Calais’, a town, such as ‘Ypres’, or a particular cemetery.
The first column of the search results tells you in which part of the digital archive the material is located (e.g. Photographs, Roll of Honour, Wellingtonian). For results which are located in the Wellingtonian magazine, Year Books, or similar printed sources, you will be able to open a PDF of the original document. When you have done this, you can locate your search term within the document by pressing Ctrl + F. This will allow you to enter the search term again and scroll through the document by means of arrows. Your search term should appear highlighted in the PDF document.