Irish Family History Society

Connecting People With Their Irish Roots

World War I Irish Soldiers Their Final Testament – An index to the Wills of Irish Soldiers who died 1914-1918

Compiled and edited by Kiara Gregory (#2552)
CD-ROM. Published by Eneclann. www.eneclann.ie ISBN: 978-1-905118-07-4
Price: €29.90 including VAT
Over 200,000 Irish men served in the British armed forces during WWI. Soldiers sent to the front were encouraged to write their last will and testament and if they did not survive these wills were registered. 9,000 wills of Irishmen are deposited at the National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street, Dublin. This CD is a first time publication of an index to these wills.
The CD is very user friendly and simple to navigate with the search window asking only to enter Christian name and surname or surname only to bring up a listing of the sought after name. The window also has a box for “free text “which gets you into listing. The listing page has a number of column headings such as: Surname, Forename, War-Office No., Record No., Regimental No., and Rank. When I clicked on the row containing my own ancestor’s details the window which opened up displayed his place of death which I was previously unaware of. It also had a heading entitled “Property and effects received” which displayed his next of kin, his mother, and her address. All very helpful information to the researcher as it should indicate the soldier’s place of residence on enlistment. The date of the will is also shown.
This CD is a useful tool if your soldier ancestor happens to be among the 9,000 recorded though it maybe somewhat of a lottery at €29.90 per copy.
Reviewed by Eddie Brennan

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