28 October 2026 · Pacific/Auckland
Whanganui man’s Anzac project wins UK National Archives access for about 6.5 million British soldier records. British sister site The Tommies to launch on its own domain; catalogue data under Open Government Licence.
WHANGANUI, NEW ZEALAND:
The UK National Archives at Kew has granted Guy Hollister of Whanganui, who runs The Anzacs (theanzacs.co.nz), access to the Discovery catalogue for First World War British soldier record sets – about 6.5 million catalogue entries in total – and offered a bulk catalogue download so the data can power a British sister site.
On 23 October 2026 Jason Stemarthe of Digital Downloads Support at The National Archives confirmed Discovery API access for theanzacs, offered a bulk catalogue download (format to be chosen), noted that the data is under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and asked for feedback and a link to any published site.
Guy replied the same day asking for bulk CSV of the core series, starting with WO 372 (medal index cards, about 5.48 million cards) and also ADM 188, AIR 79, WO 339 and WO 374. He accepted the Open Government Licence, will credit The National Archives and link Discovery, and will share a diagnostic system showing what their data achieves.
The British sister site is The Tommies. It will live on an independent domain yet to be released. It is a separate product from The Anzacs and will not be connected or linked into The Anzacs product navigation as the same site. This Media release announces that The Tommies is coming on its own domain.
“New Zealand and Britain fought the same war. The Anzacs is for New Zealand families. The Tommies will do the same job for British families, on Kew data, on its own domain.” Guy Hollister
“Jason and The National Archives opened the door. We accept the Open Government Licence, we will credit them and link Discovery, and we will show them what their catalogue can do when every soldier’s page carries the fields they hold.” Guy Hollister
Key facts
- Grand total: about 6.5 million UK National Archives Kew soldier record sets across the First World War series in scope.
- Core series: WO 372 medal index cards – about 5.48 million.
- Also requested as bulk CSV: ADM 188 (Royal Navy seamen’s services), AIR 79 (airmen’s records), WO 339 and WO 374 (officers’ service papers), alongside WO 372.
- Access confirmed: 23 October 2026, by Jason Stemarthe, Digital Downloads Support, The National Archives.
- Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 – free to reuse with attribution. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Sister site: The Tommies – independent British site on its own domain (yet to be released); not linked into The Anzacs product nav as the same site.
- NZ site: The Anzacs – theanzacs.co.nz.
- Discovery: discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Media contact
Guy Hollister
The Anzacs, Whanganui, New Zealand
Email: guy.hollister@gmail.com
Web: theanzacs.co.nz
About The Anzacs
The Anzacs (theanzacs.co.nz) is run by Guy Hollister from Whanganui, New Zealand. Guy is the great-grandson of Trooper Eric Meadowcroft. The Anzacs is dedicated to accurate remembrance of the New Zealanders who served, so that their families can find and honour them.
About The Tommies
The Tommies is the independent British sister site to The Anzacs. It will be built on UK National Archives Kew catalogue data for First World War soldier records, under the Open Government Licence, with credit to The National Archives and a link to Discovery. Its domain is yet to be released.
Ends
Also on this site: Audit trail · Gallipoli numbers release · All Media