TO KNOW more about ourselves, we need to know more about those who came before us, which is why family history has become something of an obsession for many in Britain. But where to start if you want to trace your family's involvement in the First World War?

Brigadier Colin Sibun, from the Army Museum Ogilby Trust, suggests hunting through old family memorabilia. “There is no single record of who served in the First World War, so you need to find out in which regiment they fought. Your best bet is to start at home, by looking through any old photos, medals or papers for clues.

“Ideally you also need to know that if a soldier left the Army before 1920 records will be held by the National Archives, which are available to the general public. If they left after 1920, the records will be held by the Ministry of Defence, which are available only to next of kin.”

The Ogilby Trust website (www.armymuseums.org.uk) has information to get you started (click on “ancestor research”), while “museum search” will direct you to regimental museums and their contact details.

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The Times listed all deaths in the “war to end all wars”. Officers recieved a small obituary, lower ranks just their name and number. On July 24, 1916, the paper printed the names of over 5,500 dead. See www.timesonline.co.uk/archive and www.times online.co.uk/somme

The National Archives' website (www.nationalarchives.co.uk) has information that is broken down into British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, as well as medals awarded and soldiers' records. Look for “Military History” on its home page. The site has also launched a “Voices of the Armistice” podcast series.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (01628 507200, www.cwgc.org) is responsible for commemorating the 1.7 million men and women from the Commonwealth who died in both world wars, and maintains graves in 150 countries. Its inquiries section can direct you to a particular memorial or cemetery, while its online computerised database, the Debt of Honour register, is a good place to start a search. The UK National Inventory of War Memorials (www.ukniwm.org.uk) is where, as the name suggests, you'll find records of UK war memorials, which can be a useful resource when tracing family history.

The National Army Museum (020-7881 2455, www.national-army-museum.ac.uk) in London has the Templer study centre (open Thursdays, Fridays and second Saturdays, admission free), which has regimental histories and battlefield diaries. However, it does not hold service records.

Also try: Army (www.army.mod.uk); Ministry of Defence (www.mod.uk); World War One Battlefields (www.ww1battlefields.co.uk); The Long, Long Trail (www.1914-1918.net); Ancestry.co.uk (www.ancestry.co.uk).

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