Join us for the August Family Tree Study Club meeting, at which Graham Bandy will be tutoring us in how to spot and decode the clues seen in old photographs of ancestors in British military uniforms
Join military history expert Graham Bandy on the eve of the 80th anniversary of VJ Day for a fascinating exploration of how to trace your British ancestors’ wartime service.
Discover how to identify regiments, ranks, and time periods from old family photos, and learn to decode the hidden clues in military dress and insignia
Graham will also tackle the most frequently asked questions about researching British military ancestors.
Whether your forebears served in the Army, Navy or RAF, this talk will help you gain new insights into their service and show you how to move forward with your military family history research.
Join us for Graham Bandy’s entertaining and expert talk and:
- Learn to identify uniforms, badges, and insignia in old photographs to help date and locate your ancestor’s military service.
- Gain practical tips for tackling common challenges in British military family history research.
- Understand service branches and ranks—vital knowledge for interpreting family records and wartime stories.
- Explore real-life examples that show how small visual clues can reveal big details about military lives.
- Mark VJ Day’s 80th anniversary by honouring and learning more about the wartime roles of your ancestors.
When & where?
The meeting will take place on Zoom, on Thursday 14 August, 1-2pm (UK time)
How to join the meeting
This presentation is part of the Study Club programme brought to you by Family Tree Plus.
Get your ticket for £10, or join Family Tree Plus for just £5, come along to this webinar and attend four webinars every month! Already a Family Tree Plus member? Log in now to get your link.
Got a query? Email us a [email protected]
About the speaker
Graham has been collecting militaria since he was a small child, when he started pestering the aged great-uncles from WW1 and 2 for badges and ephemera. He went on to serve in 2nd bn The Royal Anglian Regiment, later being commissioned as a Nursing Officer in QARANC, where he Nursed through the end of the former Yugoslavia crisis, Gulf War 2 and most of Afghanistan. Graham specialises in identifying military photos, and has an extensive WW1 and WW2 medical living history collection, which has led to several TV appearances, including Who Do You Think You Are?
Graham now spends his time writing books (see https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Graham-Bandy/a/4195), and helping people with their military “brick walls”, for instance via Facebook and the Society of Genealogists’ monthly Armed Forces Hour. Graham lives with his wife in a small village in East Sussex, where they are slowing drowning under his military artefacts, archives… and Warhammer.
