Client Testimonials

Client Testimonials

Please find below recent extracts from correspondence with clients. The name of the soldier researched is also noted.

Dr Stuart Kearns, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol wrote: In my role here, I meet a lot of people with an encyclopaedic knowledge of one field or another – what sets the really best apart is their ability to communicate. I can confidently say that you are certainly up there with the very best delivering your subject with such expertise, clarity, humour and probably most importantly in your work, empathy for the audience. To stand on a farm track or by a gate post evoking images of the horrors of the battlefield happening in front of us takes quite some skill and professionalism.
Having researched Private William Kearns, 1st Cheshire Regiment who was wounded near Longueval in July 1916

Margaret McGregor, AGRA Member wrote: As a professional genealogical researcher myself I was seriously impressed with the way Jeremy was able to research the military records and interpret maps to identify the locations of events affecting my relatives. To see the actual ground where the fighting took place and so many men died really brought to life the facts known to us previously only from the paper and memorial records.
Private Samuel Deaville Bannister, 1/4th Royal Berkshire Regiment & Corporal Albert Pritchett, 10th Worcestershire Regiment

Richard Western wrote: Many thanks for the quick and thorough response to my request for information about the battles around Arras. Of particular interest to me is the overlay of the trenches and battle front onto the modern map. Our visit to Brown’s Copse Cemetery puts us right in the middle of the battlefield where, on 11 April 1917 our relative was killed in action. I cannot thank you enough for this comprehensive report.
Private Thomas Barker Wilkinson, 2nd Duke of Wellington’s Regiment

Craig Turpie wrote: I contacted Jeremy after seeing him assist a celebrity on television. I asked if he could assist in looking into the service of my grandfather who had served in the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders and the Army Service Corps during the First World War and he responded swiftly and with enthusiasm. With very little information that I could share, Jeremy was able to assemble information from battalion war diaries and other sources. That really helped to build a picture of the experiences that my grandfather must have encountered and indeed survived.
The quality of the research and the report that Jeremy prepared was excellent. His style of writing is very accessible; making sense and light work of military terminologies that may have proven difficult to understand otherwise. I now feel that I know more about someone that I never met myself, but without whom I would not be here today! Jeremy’s work is inspiring and it has certainly spurred me on to learn more about family history more generally.
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Private James Christie, 1/7th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders & Army Service Corps

Gillian MacLean wrote: Thank you Jeremy for your help with my research. We can undertake our trip to Arras knowing we now have the correct information to hand. You were so helpful and I’m please that I made my enquiry to someone who deal with enquiries so promptly and efficiently.
Private David Sinclair, 2nd Seaforth Highlanders

Jeffrey Townend wrote: My Grandfather was killed in the Battle of Arras and has no known grave. My research into family history, in relation to Grandad, has resulted in considerable frustration due to the lack of knowledge about Military Records. Jeremy responded to my request for help and through his expertise and knowledge he has provided me with a considerable amount of material which I didn’t know existed. I now have some understanding of the experiences and hardships that many during the war had to endure. It has also provided me with details on where my Grandfathers Regiment were fighting in his final days and it is my intention to visit the Arras battlefields this summer. Thank you Jeremy your research is appreciated and welcomed by the whole family..
Sergeant Seth Shaw Townend, 10th West Yorkshire Regiment (KIA 12th April 1917)

Simon King wrote: Thank you so much for your time and knowledge used in putting together the report on my Grandfather. As so often the case he never spoke of his experiences and therefore our knowledge of his time in WW1 was minimal. My Father will be thrilled with what you have put together, a magnificent present for his 80th Birthday. I now hope to take my father over to see some of the places highlighted in the report and that will be very special indeed. The detail and content has exceeded my expectations and will give our family a lasting and personal record from such an important time in history. Much appreciated!.
Sergeant Horace King MM, 2/7th & 1st West Yorkshire Regiment

Peter Lawless wrote: I contacted Jeremy via his website requesting help to research information on my Great Grandfather; all I had to go by was his name, regiment and battalion. Jeremy responded very quickly to my queries and shared such knowledgeable information and offered to conduct a summary of research into his wartime service.
Once I received this information I was taken back by his professionalism off the presentation and the content put together as a book. The index page not only stated all the battles he had fought in but so much more. There are copies of his medal index card, medal rolls and detailed maps, which made it all so real and the break down of the days gave me a real insight of what my Great Grandfather went through. I’ve always felt so proud of my Great Grandfather and now even more so. I couldn’t thank Jeremy enough for my marvellous summary and once I informed him I wanted to travel and visit these places, he liaised on my behalf with a fantastic tour guide who gave me a bespoke tour based on Jeremy’s knowledge and research. Highly recommended.
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Private Michael O’Connor, 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers

Simon Dudman wrote: Following a chance meeting at the tunnels of La Boisselle in France I asked Jeremy if he would research my grandfather’s war history to present to my mother and her sisters as a gift. The amount of research and the knowledgeable explanatory comments Jeremy provided was brilliant! My family now have an understanding of what my grandfather was witness to, something he rarely spoke of.
Private Thomas Beirne MM & Bar, 2nd Duke of Wellington’s Regiment

Raymond Watts wrote: Your prompt investigation and report detailing and interpreting Walter Crook’s Career in the RAMC from 1906 to 1919 was outstanding.  When I started to read through his service purchase tramadol 50mg record images I realised how much time it would have taken me to understand the content.  Then there is so much information in the relevant War Diary images that I am very pleased that you interpreted them for me. With your interpretation I can see what is communicated. That might not have happened otherwise and would have certainly taken me many hours. I will be contacting you again with regard to other family members and have already lauded your service to my friends and family.
Walter Crook, 1 Field Ambulance, RAMC

Carol Grant wrote: Thank you ever so much for the report. I have read most of the pages of the war diary and was very moved by what the poor lads went through, how they struggled to carry on without supplies.   It was nice to finally find out about my Great Great Uncle Albert as none of my family actually knew anything about him apart from his name. Once again thank you for your help.
Albert Verity, 1 Field Ambulance, RAMC

Yvonne Goold wrote: I am delighted with all that you sent – I have looked at the contents of the disc, read a few pages from the War Diary and found them fascinating. I am more than pleased with the way you have presented the summary re. my fathers wartime service. Thank you very much.
Frank Collins, 1st Manchester Regiment & 6th (Reserve) Battalion Machine Gun Corps

JB from Wales wrote: Jeremy’s extensive knowledge and expertise in accessing the Kew Archives (which I wasn’t immediately able to visit myself), saved me so much time, expensive train fares and fruitless online searching; and he came up with some fascinating and surprising new details about my grandfather’s WWI army service, which I might never have discovered alone. Definitely recommend in future!
Robert Hunter, 17th Manchester Regiment & Special Brigade, Royal Engineers

Tim Parry wrote: First rate investigation, resource and result. You have put flesh back on bones from a distant past and “resurrected” my Grandfather who was born in 1890 and died in 1967. He was an old, sometimes irascible man with strict views – now I can understand the constant pain and suffering – and lack of mobility – he suffered most of his adult, family life. I would have loved him even more and would relish his humour, wisdom and insight were he to come through my front door right now. Thank you Jeremy, you have made a very worthwhile contribution to my life and I am 60 years old!
Captain William Jepson, RAMC

Judith Pike from Frenchay wrote: I was both amazed and delighted by the huge amount of detail you have unearthed. Your information has opened up that era in a fascinating way I never expected to happen. I would like to say a big thank you for your diligence in researching my grandfather, and of course, initially finding out so much about his brother Alfred. Thank you for all you have done to bring real colour into our family history.

Geoff Hedditch from Echuca, Victoria, Australia wrote: Our whole family is so delighted that you have been able to give us so much information about our long lost Uncle Alfred. Keep up the good work.
Corporal Alfred Ernest Flux, “Y” 61st Trench Mortar Battery, RFA – further details of this soldier and his family plus my discovery of his wartime graffiti under a church on the Somme can be found HERE.

Mark Boyden wrote: Having recently discovered my Great Uncle’s First World War medals I contacted Jeremy Banning to assist me with undertaking research into his experiences on the frontline in France.  Thanks to his expert knowledge and range of contacts, Jeremy has been able to discover detailed information about my relative’s unit (RAMC) and its movements form disembarkation in 1914 to the end of hostilities in 1918.  As a result I now have a real insight into part of my family’s history that I would not otherwise have been able to discover on my own.
Hugh Shields MM, 16 Field Ambulance RAMC

Phil Gaskell wrote: I would like to express our heartfelt thanks for the work you have done on our behalf. My wife is especially pleased that you have filled in so many gaps in the details of her grandfather’s service in the Great War. What you did far surpassed our expectations – especially as it took place nearly 100 years ago and so many records have now been lost or destroyed. I am now looking forward to going through the war diaries you so kindly sent me.
Alfred Love MM, 22nd Brigade, RFA

Jane Ward wrote: My dad was a little overwhelmed by the research that you did for us. Thank you very much for the exceptional research that you did into my Granddad, Albert Germany.  I have had the original photograph of him in uniform reframed to preserve it together with his papers and your research so that he will not be forgotten, and my children will be able to read about him later together with my dad’s experiences of WW2 as a boy.
Albert Germany, Royal Marine Artillery

Terry Davidson wrote: I really appreciated your help in finding out my Grandfather, Leonard Foster’s service history, and I am sure there are many people like me trying to find out what members of their family did in the services during the wars. I will certainly recommend you to anyone I come across who is looking for similar information.
Leonard Foster, 14 Field Ambulance RAMC & Royal Engineers