About this collection
“In order to keep our records of men serving or who have served with His Majesty’s Forces constantly up to date, we are sending you some Cards upon which to record the particulars of such men who were members of your Staff at their time of them joining the Forces. Please make out two cards for each man, retaining one card for yourself and sending the other to Head Office.”
This head office instruction, issued by Midland Bank (now HSBC UK) in January 1917, resulted in approximately 4,000 ‘war cards’. Carefully preserved in our archives, each card documents a member of staff that left to fight in the First World War. They tell stories of courage and bravery, and sadly record the loss of more than 700 men.
Search or browse below to find out more about the employees who enlisted in the service of their country.
