Britain, The Great War, I Was There
Explore the magazine The Great War, I was There! Read stories of people involved with WW1. The magazine contains excerpts from other sources as well as original material. Most of the material published is first-hand accounts of the war as well as previously unpublished images.
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Explore the magazine The Great War, I was There! Read stories of people involved with WW1. The magazine contains excerpts from other sources as well as original material. Most of the material published is first-hand accounts of the war as well as previously unpublished images.
Learn about these records
Each record is available in a PDF format. Use the previous and next buttons at the top of the page to browse through the publication. The PDF search experience can be different from searching transcribed records. Use our search tips below to get the most out of this collection.
To the left of the PDF, you will find the Transcription Box, which includes:
- Title – the title of the publication
- Publisher
- Year
- Country
- Image number
- Image Count
Image number and image count – this will tell you where you are in the publication and help you to explore the publication further.
The Great War: I Was There is a magazine that was published in 1938, the series was edited by Sir John Hammerton and its 51 editions ran from 29 September 1938 to 19 September 1939.
The Great War: I Was There! magazine documented the stories of people involved with WW1. It was a weekly periodical, available on Thursdays, which aimed to capture the undying memories of 1914-1918. It contained excerpts from other sources as well as original material. Most of the material published in the magazine was first-hand accounts of the war as well as previously unpublished images.
The magazine was printed in London by the Amalgamated Press Ltd. The publication ended due to the start of WWII. The cover of part 51 states: "In view of the outbreak of the 'European War' subscribers to "I Was There" will not be surprised to learn that the publishers have decided not to proceed with the issue of the proposed New Series.
Search tips
Searching through a PDF (Portable document format) is different from searching through fully transcribed record sets. Here are some tips to keep in mind while you search for your ancestors:
Direct Search
- The search feature uses direct search. It will search for the exact word or phrase you type in the search field. There are no name variants available through this format.
- All search results will bring you to the page on which your search word has been found and not to an individual transcript. You can then read through the page to find your result.
Name searches
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A name search will return results which have the search terms on the same page within the document. This means that searching for John Smith will return pages where the names 'John' and 'Smith' occur. For this reason your search may return the name William Smith or John Brown. By inserting quotations around the full name the search function will locate the terms together; for example, “John Smith.”
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To search for your ancestor by their name, write it as it would appear on the document. For example, if your relative was known as ‘Will’ it is likely that the name used for official records was ‘William.’
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If you are unable to find your relative on your first search you can try different name variations. A number of register books only use abbreviations for first names. For example, if your search is unsuccessful for William Smith, try W Smith or Wm Smith.
Perusing the PDF
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If you wish to read through the whole document you are searching, then order the results by page number. You can start from the beginning of the document and read through to the end using the next button above the image.
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Page numbers often correlate with the individual images of the documents rather than the page numbers used within the publication. Therefore page 1 starts with the cover page.