The National Archives (TNA) has announced a contract to digitise, transcribe and publish the four million records of the Home Guard in the Second World War and 1950s.
The records are among 14 million records of personnel who served in all branches of the armed forces between 1920 and 1963 which are currently being transferred from the Ministry of Defence to TNA.
In a notice seeking expressions of interest in digitising the records, published on the government’s Contracts Finder website, TNA said: “The contract award will include a commercial licence to publish the images online, (and associated transcription data produced by the project) and to undertake all the required processes to complete this (including such activities as digital image capture and transcription of data, to allow for meaningful searches of the records’ online publication), for which TNA will expect a commercial return.”
TNA has already awarded a contract to digitise some of the post-1920 personnel records to Ancestry. The 1921 census for England and Wales, the last major set of family history records to be published, was also digitised by commercial family history website Findmypast.
The notice says that companies have until 12pm on 5 April 2024 to express interest in the contract. The contract is due to start on 12 August 2024 with an estimated length of up to ten years. TNA is not offering payment for the services, but the records will generate an estimated profit of up to £1 million for the partner company.
The Home Guard was formed in 1940 to prepare men to defend against a German invasion of Britain. It had 1.7 million members at its peak.
The Durham Home Guard enrolment forms are already available to download on TNA’s website and at Findmypast. The Lancashire Home Guard records from Lancashire Archives are available on Ancestry’s website.