Ancestry adds UK, WWI Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923

Hallelujah.

The Ancestry catalog is showing new and updated titles added this month. One of interest is an update to UK, WWI Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 which first appeared in October.

Sourced from the Western Front Association they provide "details of military and military-related personnel, who filed for a pension after World War One if injured or, if killed, details of their widow and/or other dependents or their next of kin, if they were unmarried and had no children."

Don't be mislead by the Ancestry catalog which claims 50,485 records. A search from Smith yielded 27,511 hits. Searching my name found 499 results, many for the same person but with perhaps additional information.

The detailed description mentions Naval Ledgers, Merchant Marine Cards and, PRC Ledgers "for over 1.5 million men who served in the British Army, Royal Navy, and RFC/RAF during the Great War and claimed a pension (or, if they were killed in the conflict, the relatives that claimed)."

According to the documentation:

You may be able to find the following information (where available):
Name
Gender
Date of Birth
Date of Death
Date of Injury
Details of dependents or next of kin
Date of Marriage
Place of residence
Rank
Ship
Regimental Number
Regiment or unit

Usually it's not so complete. The index links to images of the original available by subscription from the Western Front Association.