Recently launched Free Access to the Royal Welch Fusiliers First World War Database

The Royal Welch Fusiliers First World War Database holds both those who died and those who served and survived the Great War 

The Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum at Caernarfon Castle has launched a research facility in honour of those who lost their lives in the First World War.  This new research database is hosted on the Museum’s website and is split between those who died Faces of the Fallen and those who served and survived All that is left of them.

The ‘Faces of the Fallen’ Project was initiated in 2014, at the start of the Centenary of the First World War, as a means of honouring those Royal Welchmen who died. Over 11,000 Royal Welch Fusiliers, serving in 40 Battalions (each of 1000 men), were killed in action, died of wounds/disease or in accidents in the service of their country. The men came, not just from Wales but from across the United Kingdom and the dominions. 

With the financial support of the Welsh Government’s Cymru’n Cofio Wales Remembers 1914 - 1918 programme, this free searchable database has been designed by the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum for their website. It is a unique and fitting legacy of the First World War Centenary events in Wales.

At the time of the database’s launch, over 2,530 photographs of fallen Royal Welchmen have been identified. 

The Trustees of the Museum are hugely indebted to a small group of volunteers who have made this fitting tribute possible. Shirley Williams, the Museum’s Education Officer, was the driving force behind the initial idea it was to start the project. Dr John Krijnen, a dedicated volunteer who built the database and has spent hundreds of hours researching to confirm casualty details. Many more families, history and heritage groups, county archives and First World War centenary projects have contributed images to the project.

If you have photographs of family members or from other sources, that are not already shown in the database and would like to donate the images, then please send them, with as much information as possible, to image@rwfmuseum.wales