that I found posted on another forum (not THC) that I check out every now and then. Going to be awhile until they get the whole thing available online, but it is "in the works":
Truly a treasure trove for Great War schollars is rediscovered in Geneva.
Piecing together the past
By Robert Hall
BBC News
Detective work by a British historian has unearthed information that could enable thousands to piece together their family histories.
Peter Barton was commissioned to carry out research into the identities of World War I casualties discovered in a mass grave at Fromelles in France.
He was given access to the basement of the Red Cross headquarters in Geneva.
There, he was allowed to examine records that have lain virtually untouched since 1918.
He estimates that there could be 20 million sets of details, carefully entered on card indexes, or written into ledgers.
'Tutankhamen's tomb'
They deal with the capture, death, or burial of servicemen from over 30 nations drawn into the conflict; personal effects, home addresses and grave sites cover page after page.
All were passed to the Red Cross by the combatants; volunteers logging the information by hand before sending it on to the soldiers' home countries.
According to Peter Barton, the UK's copies no longer exist, but the originals are still here and are immensely important.
"To a military historian, this was like finding Tutankhamen's tomb and the terracotta warriors on the same day," he told me.
"I still can't understand why no-one has ever realised the significance of this archive - but the Red Cross tell me I'm the first researcher who has asked to see it."
The records could potentially reveal the whereabouts of individuals whose remains were never found, or never identified. Grave after grave in the World War I cemeteries mark the last resting place of an unknown soldier.
Story Continues Here - Also a Video Link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7940540.stm
Here is an interesting article...
