where to begin?

[nearlyreadytopop]

Hi
A friend would like me to help find her father. She never met him and the only details she has is a name, an area that he's from and the regiment he served in. I have tried a few online search but have got nowhere. What can I do next?

a name and an area and a regiment

what online searches have you tried already? As I may suggest the same online searches you have already tried.

Do you have any idea of age/year of birth for father within 20 years?

is it a popular name like Williams or Brown or more uncommon?

Name area and regiment I would try putting an advert in take a break or a magazine similar to this

Writing a letter to a local newspaper for the editor asking for anyone to contact the editor with any information - put the editor inbetween for safety

Do you know anybody on ancestry.com
Even though it is likely to be far more recent than the 1911 census there are family trees that could include him.
You could also visit the area and look at Parish records as you have an area.
I found the MOD very helpful when looking for someone having served during the 1960's. I didn't find the person but you might.

Facebook is a good place to look for living people. Also there is a forces reunited site connected to friends reunited that might be worth trying.

I am happy to carry out a few searches if you want to pm me. I've had luck a couple of times with finding out information for other people in similar situations.

You can go and find forums related with the area or website that belongs to the area, and post posts about the search notices, it might help. Hope you will find him soon. :)