Cost of copying a war diary? 217 Field Ambulance with 78 Division

Discussion in 'RAMC' started by ttd0, Apr 28, 2011.

  1. ttd0

    ttd0 Junior Member

    Hi

    My grandfather served with 217 Field Ambulance with 78Div from their initial landing in North Africa through to the end of the war and into 1946.

    I would be very interested in getting hold of a copy of the war diaries for that unit over that period of time.

    I understand this is a photocopying job at Kew, not sure on their position with photographs or indeed if my photograph and or digi cam are up to the task.

    Was wondering if anybody had undertaken something similar and roughly what the cost involved was.

    Any help or better ideas appreciated!
     
  2. ttd0

    ttd0 Junior Member

    My grandfather served with 217 Field Amb, part of 78 Div from the North African landings through to 1946.

    I am interested in obtaining copies of the war diaries for that unit over that period.

    I understand this would be a photocopying job at Kew, am not sure on their position on photographs or if my skills and or digi cam would be up to it.

    Would be interested in hearing from anybody who has done something similar and roughly what the cost involved was, or if they have a better suggestion?

    The reason I am interested in the whole lot rather than possible specific mentions of my grandfather (he was a NCO) is to track their movements through the campaign to exact towns etc.
     
  3. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

  4. airborne medic

    airborne medic Very Senior Member

    You can use digital cameras at Kew...this is the best option as it costs about £0.20 per sheet for copying.......some war diaries extend to hundreds of pages.......you don't say where you are located but a trip either by yourself or get one of the people who 'copy WD's' to do it for you...but I expect they would want paying......the WD will give locations of where 217 was located......
     
  5. BFBSM

    BFBSM Very Senior Member

    There are quite a few members of this forum who would be willing to help I am sure. Drew5233 helped me out a couple of months ago, charging 10p per page, there are others, and I am sure they will pop up soon.
     
  6. PsyWar.Org

    PsyWar.Org Archive monkey

    There are a few options.
    - Kew can copy it for you, either scans (very expensive) or paper photocopies.
    - Make a visit yourself and copy the diaries for free with a digital camera
    - Pay for somebody like myself or Andy (Drew5233) to do the photographing for you. Both I and Andy charge 10p per page.

    How many pages in a diary is really anyones guess. It's cheaper just to get the diary pages and not the annexes but the annexes can hold a wealth of useful additional information.

    Lee
     
  7. ttd0

    ttd0 Junior Member

    Thanks for the info.
     

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