War Diaries Talk

How to deal with places that don't appear in the list

  • lukesmith by lukesmith moderator

    If the place doesn't come up in a list, just save the text as written on the page -- we can find map locations with later analysis.

    Posted

  • charcinders by charcinders

    I've found that having Google Maps open at the same time helps to locate places, especially if you get multiple instances of a name popping up. Once you know roughly where the unit is you can sometimes find the location just by looking around on the map. This helps too if you are not sure of the spelling, or if the writer spelled it wrong.

    Posted

  • Veegee by Veegee

    I do sometimes google how i think the place is spelled and have found several that way. I just type in the place name shown in the diary each time, is that OK? Never pay attention to any drop down window on the 'place' choice, just type it in.

    Posted

  • simonedi by simonedi moderator

    if you are unsure its probably the best choice, the historians will be able to nail it down exactly

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  • spof by spof moderator

    You also need to be aware that many place names in Belgium have been renamed since the war. For example Ypres is now Ieper and the drop down list doesn't always recognise the old name so just type what is written.

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  • mitcpau by mitcpau

    A number of persons in the Casualties section of the diaries were entered as 'reported'. does this mean that they were "missing in action'?

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  • HeatherC by HeatherC moderator

    Can you please link us to the page where this appears by commenting on the actual page itself so we can see it in context?

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  • looker1940 by looker1940

    Where several place names are given on the route of a march, for example, should they all be listed ?

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  • HeatherC by HeatherC moderator in response to looker1940's comment.

    Yes please. But with the "Is the unit here" box unticked.

    Posted