Pensioner's Great War battle for military records
A PENSIONER felt she was the loser after battling with a military records company over a First World War scroll she had bought in honour of her uncle who fell in France in 1917.
Nancy Browne paid Forces War Records, an online military genealogy business, £22.95 for the custom-designed sheet of paper recognising John Browne, a private in the South Irish Horse cavalry regiment.
He was one of thousands of Irish men and women who served with the British and Commonwealth Armed Forces but whose sacrifice, until recently, was either overlooked or condemned.
Nancy, who was originally from Ireland but now lives in south-west London, explained: “Given the fact that there is now this recognition of their contribution, I thought it would be nice to have something to remember him by.
“I ordered the scroll in May but it never arrived. I have asked the records office what is going on but they are difficult to contact and I never seem to get a straight answer.”
She was also annoyed about two further debits of around £9 each that had been taken from her bank account by Forces War Records.
“I was not aware of having agreed to pay for anything else but they say I subscribed,” she said.
The natural trust I had in a company that was involved in such an honourable cause has been misplaced
“I feel the natural trust I had in a company that was involved in such an honourable cause has been misplaced.”
By late September Nancy had had enough of trying to get her scroll and asked Crusader for help. Although Forces War Records, a trading name of Wiltshire-based Clever Digit Media, appears to have its supporters, internet reviews of its services are mixed.
Nancy seemed far from alone in having difficulty contacting the organisation and experiencing a mix-up over the membership charges. Forces War Records, however, stoutly defended its service to Nancy, insisting it had sent the scroll, that it was not its fault it had been lost in the post and pointing out she had put in the wrong postcode.
But after much confusion the company have now sent out a replacement scroll.
The company’s web manager Tom Bennington said that following Nancy’s initial contact: “We have received no further communication from her, nothing to indicate she was unhappy.”
Forces War Records told Crusader it did not provide a phone contact because it did not have the resources to maintain it properly. Despite receiving her new scroll, Nancy has been left unimpressed by the company’s overall service.
“Once they knew I had not received the scroll, that was it, I felt I was left in limbo until Crusader got things moving again and I am most grateful for that."
