RESEARCH SERVICE
The original purpose of my website has been: 1) to provide information of interest to family, friends and fellow soldiers who served with the men listed on the pages of this website, and; 2) for me to be able to obtain additional information concerning the lives and service of these men from anyone who knew them or served with them. I have tried to answer all questions put to me and I have also provided leads for people to follow to track down for themselves the information that they seek. If the answers to any of your questions were immediately available to me from my personal library or from my computer files, I have been pleased to provide these answers. I will continue to provide this type of information to those requesting it, at no charge, within the parameters indicated above.
Many visitors to my website have asked about the possibilty of having me perform in-depth research into the lives and military service of Sappers from the Victorian period through World War 2. Although this was not the original intent of my website, I would be willing to undertake such detailed work for a fee. My fees for such work would be US$30.00 per hour plus expenses. Expenses would include the cost for photocopies of documents, reproductions of photographs, postage, fees to government agencies or other researchers, travel expenses, if required, and any other out of pocket costs required to perform the research work. Fees would have to be paid in cash or by cheque negotiable here in the United States without any conversion charges.
Requests for such work should be made by email. I will ask you to you already have on the individual to be researched. This is necessary to avoid duplication of effort on my part and needless expense to you. I will also ask you to specify the detail to which you want the research performed. In most cases I can provide either a simple outline of the person's military service or a detailed narrative of his service. For either type of report I can also supply any or all of the following, if available:
1. Copies of service records.
2. Verification of awards and decorations.
3. Copies of medal roll pages.
4. Photographs of the individual, if available.
5. Copies of maps showing areas where the individual served.
6. Narratives regarding the battle and campaigns in which the individual participated. I can also cite references to these so that you may find them yourself.
Based on the initial information you provide, I will be able to tell you if a detailed report on the individual's service is possible. If it appears that your search will result in a dead end, I will tell you that up front. If I think that I can help you I will provide you with an estimate of the total cost to perform the research that you require. Please understand that this will only be an estimate and that no guarantee is made that the research can be performed to the depth required by you within the estimated cost limits. You may put an upper limit on the costs which I will not exceed without your prior approval. Please also understand that if you stop the research at any time before the initially requested work is completed, I may not be able to provide you with a narrative report if that is what you originally wanted. In this latter case, once the work is ended, you will only be supplied with all the "raw" data that I have obtained, in the form that I obtained it.
Once I have reviewed your request and the initial data you have supplied, I will let you know if I think I can do the research you are requesting. If you authorize me to proceed I will require that you send me a minimum of US$60.00 to begin the work. You may send more if you wish; however, a minimum of two hours is normally required to undertake even the most rudimentary of research efforts. If I do not use your entire initial deposit, I will return the unused portion. On the other hand, when time charges and expenses have reached approximately 90% of the original deposit, you will be informed so that you can decided on the future course of the research work. I will not continue with the research unless I have approval from you and receive additional funds to continue.
Here are some general rules to consider when deciding whether to undertake a research project:
1. Officers are much easier to research than non-commissioned officers or other ranks.
2. Men who served during the Victorian period and through the Great War of 1914 to 1918 are easier to research than men who served after the Great War.
3. To obtain the service records of men who served after the Great War will require next-of-kin approval. This is often difficult, if not impossible, unless you are the persons next of kin or the next of kin can somehow be located.
4. Information on officers and men who served in the Royal Engineers is easiest to obtain.
5. Next in order of availability is information on officers and men who served in the Canadian Engineers, Australian Engineers and South African Engineers, but not necessarily in that order.
6. Information on individuals in all other engineer corps of the British Empire/Commonwealth is difficult, if not impossible to obtain at this time.
Finally, please remember that my area of expertise is Please do not ask me to research any other corps or regiments as I do not possess the resources to do so. I am, however, probably the most successful researcher of engineers (at least on the Internet today).
If you have any questions about the research service I am offering, please contact me. I look forward to hearing from anyone interested in in-depth research.
Best wishes to all,
Ed De Santis