A Melksham company is appealing for a squadron of military researchers to join its ranks as growing interest in the First World War means it needs to expand.

The online archive at Forces War Records already contains records of over six million men and women who have served in the British Forces from medieval times through to the present day, but now the company is looking to recruit more transcribers to input additional information.

Twenty-eight full-time positions are now available, as the coming centenary commemorations see more people researching their family history.

Genealogist and handwriting expert Rachel Cope is part of the team that makes sure the data is interpreted correctly.

She said: “For the last 20 years I have been tracing my own family’s history back to 1580 and uncovered military serving ancestors in the process.

“The additional data will enable more people to find ancestors who served in the First World War, having already seen an increase in interest on the site since the start of the Centenary year.”

The ideal recruits will have a passion for military history, the patience to help transcribe over 1.5 million military records, and nimble fingers. Email recruitment@forces-war-records.co.uk