You can visit Royal Berkshire Archives yourself to research World War I or other local history topics. Download the guide to World War I sources held here.
Visit us this summer to see our exhibition, A Great Deliverance: Berkshire and the Aftermath of World War I. 22 May-16 August during normal opening hours 22 May-16 August during normal opening hours 22 May-16 August during normal opening hours.
The Reading Library WWI project includes digitised copies of the Berkshire Chronicle, Reading Mercury and Reading Standard newspapers for the war years, together with a selection of essays on aspects of the war locally.
The Illustrated London News for the war years is also now online.
The BBC has some excellent pages on the war, including BBC Radio Berkshire’s series of podcasts on Berkshire in WWI.
Local police forces during the war.
Other useful places to research World War I are:
The National Archives – they have a dedicated site on World War I which is worth looking at
The Royal Berkshire Regimental museum, at the Wardrobe, Salisbury: holds, among other things, the regiment’s War Diaries, which can be searched online. A published version is available for purchase from the museum website.
The Berkshire Yeomanry Museum, Windsor
Online sources
War graves at Reading Old Cemetery are recorded with biographical details at the excellent Cemetery Junction War Graves site.
Search the records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for a specific serviceman.
Get the European angle from Europeana 1914-1918, a major EU-funded digital resource including access to film footage. This project was co-ordinated by Germany but includes material from the Imperial War Museum, the British Library and other European national libraries, together with stories of individuals.
A helpful timeline with information on events each day
The Long Long Trail blog about the British army in the war
A blog about Belgian refugees
A collection of war letters
Berkshire at War 