Prisoner of War records go online

Records of prisoners held by German forces in Colditz Castle are among documents about 100,000 British Prisoners of War (PoWs) that can now be accessed online.

Ancestry.co.uk has made the records available alongside the UK Army Roll of Honour for 1939-1945, featuring the records of all British Army personnel killed in action during World War Two.

Among the records available in the PoW collection are those of Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn – the actor who played ‘Q’ in the James Bond films.

He served as a lieutenant with the Royal Welch Fusiliers during the Second World War but was captured in 1940 and held in a camp known as Oflag IX-A/Z in Germany for five years.

The records were compiled by the German military authorities under the 1929 Geneva Convention, which requires opposing forces to notify each other of captured combatants.

Daniel Jones of Ancestry.co.uk said: "The unwavering spirit of British Prisoners of War was astounding, with many trying to escape their captors at every opportunity in order to rejoin the war effort.

"This collection of records will be a way for people to find out more about the heroes in their family," Jones continued.

Ancestry.co.uk costs 10.95 per month to access or 83.40 for a year's membership.