War Diaries Talk

How to tag uncertain names?

  • MiraclesHappen by MiraclesHappen

    In my first effort the sector and some batteries were put under control of a Lt Col ConXer. I can't be sure if its Conner as I tagged it, or Conover as I first thought, or something slightly different. How should that be tagged?

    Posted

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    In some cases, it's difficult to read a man's surname, isn't it? Depends on the adjutant, but there are a couple of ways to handle it.

    1. You can do your best to decipher it and fill in the Person tag that way. Keep in mind that four other people besides you will tag each page before it is considered completely tagged. Then a consensus is formed using the tags everyone put in. So if you think it is Conner and three other people agree with you and the fifth one says Conover, it goes in the record as Conner. On the other hand, if everyone else thinks it's Conover, it will go in the record that way.

    2. You can search online for another source to help you figure out the correct spelling. Lives of the First World War https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/ , which is often referred to as just Lives or LFWW in posts here, is part of the Imperial War Museum's First World War centenary and offers a page for nearly every man who served. There are multiple ways of searching such as by name, service number for an OR, and unit. Otherwise, you can just Google what you think his name is or try a couple of options and you may find him. The only caution with doing this is to be certain you have the correct man. If you have any doubts, it is best to just stick with what you can work out yourself.

    I've noticed you've asked a few questions about basic tagging here, so I am assuming you're fairly new to the project. Just want to say Welcome! And that any and all questions are also welcome. That's why we're here.

    Posted

  • Stork by Stork

    That LFWW site is wonderful, and I use it often. Here's a tip: if you're unsure of a letter in a name, use a question mark. In the example you gave, you would use 'Con?er.' If you're unsure about more than one letter, use an asterisk- if you could only read 'Con,' you would use 'Con*.' Also, the more info you put into the search box, the easier it is to find the person, so put in his rank, the name of his unit, and his service number if you have them.

    Posted

  • marie.eklidvirginmedia.com by marie.eklidvirginmedia.com

    Here is another link for List of Lt Col’s and Regiments, if you are tagging Regimental Diaries. It Gives names of those in Command for the Regiments named. (British Regiments of the Line in the First World War).

    http://www.ww1infantrycos.co.uk/british regiments.html

    Posted

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator in response to Stork's comment.

    Great tips, Stork. Thank you for adding that.

    However, I'll also add that if the first search doesn't find the man I'm looking for, I'll try searching using less information, such as not using the unit or service number. If a man is merely attached to the diary's unit he may not fall under it in LFWW. There are also many cases where service numbers don't match up exactly and can throw a search off. Using less information makes the search field larger and so more time-consuming to work through, but I do find a lot of men that way.

    Posted