England Military Records

Military records are potentially of great genealogical value and may provide information not found in any other source. These records identify individuals who served or were eligible to serve in the military. Military service (other than the militia) was usually a lifetime career. Officers came from the upper classes; soldiers usually came from the poor. On occassion, compulsory conscription was enforced and even "press-gangs".

You may find evidence that an ancestor served in the military from family records, biographies, census, probates, civil registration, or church records.

Britain's armed forces comprise, in order of seniority, the Royal Navy (including the Royal Marines), Army and Royal Air Force. Other units can include local militia, fencibles, yeomanry and territorial units of the army. These are briefly discussed at the end of this section.

History and Background
England was almost always involved in some military action. Some of these were:

1455–1485: Wars of the Roses. These ongoing wars involved mostly knights pledged to lords or vassals. Few commoners were involved, and few records were kept.

1642–1651: Civil War and Cromwellian period. Disputes over the form of government and religion led to civil war. Only very brief military records of officers still exist.

1756–1763: Seven Years War. Called the French and Indian War in North America, this war involved 120,000 British soldiers and began a continuous series of army records.

1775–1783: American Revolutionary War. The British army had 135,000 men in North America when fighting broke out. Some men remained in Canada after the war, but most returned to Britain. Records of Loyalists and others who remained in Canada are separate from other military records.

1803–1815: Napoleonic Wars. Numerous battles across Europe involved 365,000 British soldiers and 300,000 seamen. These battles include the Peninsular Wars in Portugal and Spain and the famous Battle of Trafalgar.

1854–1856: Crimean War. 225,000 troops were involved in the Crimea (Russian Black Sea).

1857–1860: Indian Mutiny. Many of the troops discharged after the Crimean war were recalled to quell the revolt in India.

1880–1902: Boer Wars. The first Anglo-Boer War (1880–1881) led to South African independence in 1881. The second Anglo-Boer War (1898–1902) led to the unification of South Africa in 1910.

1914–1918: World War I. About 6,000,000 British service personnel served in this war. Almost 1,000,000 died.

1939–1945: World War II. Just over 400,000 service personnel and civilians died in the war.

Military histories or regimental histories are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

 GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY HISTORY 

Royal Navy Records
The first permanent naval fleet was formed during the reign of King Henry VIII (1509–1547). For many years Britain had the strongest navy in the world. The earliest surviving navy records are from 1617, but the majority of the extensive collection date from the mid-1600s. Many records are available only at The National Archives.

Several sources list navy ships with descriptions and the dates on which they were placed in service.

One such work is:

Colledge, James J. Ships of the Royal Navy. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. (Family History Library book 942 M3c.)

The Navy Official List books, available from 1673, give ports of call for ships during each year. Some of these lists are available in the Family History Library.

Seamen often moved between the navy and the merchant marines. Until 1853 enlistment was informal and lasted for the ship’s commission, usually three years. Individual "ratings" (seamen) were not mentioned in navy records other than musters or pay lists unless they deserted, misbehaved, or earned a medal. After 1853 seamen often made the navy their career. They were assigned continuous service numbers and records were maintained for the duration of their careers.

Royal Marines
This branch originally maintained military discipline on navy vessels. It has been a separate branch of the military since 1755. Alphabetically arranged records of marines exist from 1790, some by enlistment date and others by discharge date.

British Army
The army began as a permanent organization in 1660. Earlier armies were raised as needed, usually as county militia units. The oldest regiment is the Honourable Artillery Company, formed in 1537. For information on pre-1660 military records, see the handbooks listed at the end of this section. The Soldier in Later Medieval England database has names of about 250,000 soldiers.

Prior to 1847, English army service was usually for life. Some soldiers were discharged early for disability (liberally defined) or age (often by age 40).

Pre-1872 army records are organized by regiment. Most regiments have published histories that tell the places where they served and the battles they fought. For a bibliography of these histories, see:

White, Arthur S. comp. A Bibliography of Regimental Histories of the British Army. Dallington, East Sussex, England: Naval and Military Press Ltd., 1992. (Family History Library book 942 M23was.)

Pre-1751 infantry and cavalry units were known by the names of their colonels, i.e. Sir Thomas Adams Regiment of Foot.

Post-1751 a numerical system was adopted to name the regiments, with rank in order of precedence, i.e. Queens 9th Regiment of Foot.

For information on how to locate your army soldiers by their regiment consult: Fowler, Simon, Tracing Your Army Ancestors (Pen &amp; Sword, 2006) (Family History book 942 M27)

Originally the responsibility for directing the British Army fell under the command of the staff of the National War Office. Thus, the category for records in The National Archives of England is labeled WO for locating all Army collections. Now the army is run by comissioned officers.

The basic unit of the Army is the regiment under a colonel or lieutenant colonel. Regiments are usually divided into two or more Battalions. The main types of regiments which should be searched are:

Cavalry Infantry Corps (e,g, Army Service Corps; Royal Signals; Royal Engineers etc.)

Lists of British soldiers who died in World War I and World War II have been compiled from official casualty lists and published in:

Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914–1919. Reprint. 80 parts. Colchester, England: J.B. Hayward, 1988–9. (Family History Library book 942 M23s; compact disc number 128.) This gives birthplace, place of enlistment, rank, date of death and cause of death.

The War Dead of the British Commonwealth and Empire. London, England: Imperial War Graves Commission, 1957. (Family History Library 942 M2wdf; film 1441037.) This work gives the name, rank, regiment, and grave location of casualites buried in France during World War II.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has an Internet website:

www.cwgc.org/

Information about the commission is also accessible through the GENUKI Web site at:

www.genuki.org.uk

For information on 20th century army records, see:

Holding, Norman H. World War I Army Ancestry. Second Edition. Solihull, England: Federation of Family History Societies Publications, Limited, 1991. (Family History Library book 942 M24.)

Holding, Norman H. More Sources of World War I Army Ancestry. Second Edition. Solihull, England: Federation of Family History Societies Publications, Limited, 1991. (Family History Library book 942 M24.)

WW1 Army records along with WW1 Army pension records are available through www.ancestry.co.uk

WW1 Army medal index cards are also available through www.ancestry.co.uk - if you have a subscription they are free. Otherwise you will have to pay £2 fee to download it if you get it through The National Archives website: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/browse-refine.asp?CatID=10&amp;searchType=browserefine&amp;pagenumber=1&amp;query=*&amp;queryType=1

United Kingdom World War I Army Service Records
These records are often referred to as the "Burnt Series" due to the fact that the storage facility housing these records was hit during a German bombing raid during WW2 and consequently over 60% of the records were destroyed. The records that survived have been preserved and indexed.

You can search the Family History Library Catalog at www.FamilySearch.org to obtain the microfilm number of the TNA Catalogue Number WO 364 records. Alternatively, www.ancestry.co.uk also has the records available to search free of charge although viewing is via subscription.


 * 1) Search the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) by title for: Military records of the British Army, 1914-1920 you will see two items with that exact title and several that have letters of the alphabet added to the end of the title. Look at the catalog entries for the two without any additional letters.
 * 2) In the notes section of the catalog entry you should see the National Archives catalogue number, either WO 361 or WO 364. Be sure to use the correct one.
 * 3) On the page of the FHLC that has the Notes you will need to click on the View Film Notes button near the top right portion of the screen to get the film numbers that apply to surnames in the different parts of the alphabet. There are 804 rolls of microfilm for the WO 364 records.

Understanding Military Records
Before you can use British military records, you must determine the specific name or number of the army regiment or navy ship name[s] on which your ancestor served. For suggestions on finding this information, see "Search Strategies" at the end of this section.

Once you know the ship name[s] or the regiment name or number, the following records may help you trace your ancestor’s career, age, and birthplace:

Muster Rolls. "Muster Rolls and Pay Rates" were monthly accounts that were kept of military enlistment and pay schedules. They were kept for privates up through officers and may contain valuable information such as "good conduct" awards, punishments, special assignments, and the like. A commanding officer made every effort to list everyone on his muster rolls since the number of men determined his funding. The records usually list each person assigned to a ship or regiment at the muster date, his age on joining, the date he joined, the place where he joined, and sometimes information such as a dependent list (in later army musters) and birthplace (on sea musters from 1770). Muster records for the Royal Artillery are the earliest, beginning in 1708. Other army musters exist for 1760 to 1878. After 1790, they were kept in bound volumes. Navy musters cover 1667 to 1878. Naval musters contain "alphabets" (indexes organized by the first letter of the surname) from 1765.

Description Books. The army description book for each regiment includes each recruit’s full name on "attestation" (enlistment), age when he joined, place where he joined, birthplace, previous trade, and physical description. Most books start about 1805 and continue to 1850. Many no longer exist. Similar records were kept for each navy ship from 1790, but many were never turned in or no longer exist.

Returns of Service. In 1806 the War Office compiled the first return of service, listing all men in the army. The scope, content, and frequency of returns of service vary greatly. Returns of officers’ service tend to be more complete, including the names of the officer and his wife and children; birth and marriage dates and places; and a complete summary of stations, regiments, and promotions.

The returns of officers services for 1828 and 1829 have been transcribed and are found at the Family History Library. The following books serve as an index to the original returns of service for 1828 and 1829:

Children of Officers on Full or Half-pay, 1828. Bound manuscript. N.p., n.d. (Family History Library book 942 M23ber.)

Children of Officers on Full-pay, 1829. Bound manuscript. N.p., n.d. (Family History Library book 942 M23be.)

Similar returns of naval officers begin in 1817. The naval returns are indexed at The National Archives (ADM 10). See the "Archives and Libraries" section of this outline for the address.

Pension Records. These records often contain details of an individual’s reason for pension, his fitness on discharge, and sometimes the address where pension payments were sent.

Army pension records start in 1690. Pensions were awarded for length of service, disability, or wounds to most individuals who legally left army service. Sometimes the widows or children of military men received the payments. Payments to retired officers, called "half-pay," were not considered pensions. Many different types of pension records covering different time periods still exist.

Naval pension records begin as early as 1617 and give the name of pensioner, reason for discharge, and sometimes next of kin, birthplace, age, and physical description.

Widow’s or children’s pension records often include marriage or baptismal certificates in support of the claim for assistance.

There are many other pension-related records among those of the Paymaster General (Class PMG) at The National Archives. The Family History Library also has some pension records.

Pay Records. Pay records include the following:


 * Pay lists give the name and rate of pay and sometimes ‘to whom paid’ (which may be a spouse or other relative). Navy pay lists were kept by ship and are not indexed. Active duty army personnel were paid from the muster rolls, and separate pay lists do not always exist.
 * Pay warrants are records of actual payment filed with the Exchequer records at The National Archives. Final pay warrants often mention a will or administration and the death date.
 * Pay ledgers contain the assignments of pay, addresses to which pay was sent (from 1837), and sometimes birth dates.
 * Half-pay registers contain officers’ names, ranks, regiments, dates of first half-pay, rates of pay, and sometimes death dates.

Ship Logs. Ship logs exist from 1673. While they usually give information only on position, weather, and sightings of other ships, records of shipboard events may include names of individual seamen.

Continuous Service Engagement Books. From 1853 navy ratings (seamen) were assigned continuous service numbers. The records gave name, birth date and place, description, and ship. Brief career details were later added. From 1872 until 1892 merchant seamen were included.

Registers of Service. These records tell which ship a man served on. For officers these start in 1846. Those for warrant officers and seamen cover 1802 to 1871.

Soldiers’ Documents. These records of army service are available only for those soldiers who were discharged to pension. The records contain the reason for discharge and details on age, birthplace, and trade or occupation on enlistment. They are arranged by regiment, then alphabetically by surname for the years 1760 through 1872. The records for 1873 to 1882 are alphabetically arranged by corps (cavalry, foot soldiers, guards, and so forth). From 1883 to 1914, these records are arranged in one alphabetical series.

Chaplains’ Returns. Army chaplains throughout the British Empire kept records that list the baptisms, marriages, and burials of officers, soldiers, and their families. These returns (from 1760 to 1971) are indexed and are available by correspondence from the Office of National Statistics (formerly Registrar General). Indexes for births 1796–1880, for marriages 1796–1955, and for deaths 1786–1880, are available at the Family History Library. They are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

GREAT BRITAIN - CIVIL REGISTRATION

GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY RECORDS

Regimental Registers. Regiments kept birth, marriage, and death records for officers and men. Births and baptisms are indexed. These records (1790–1924) are available by correspondence from the Office of National Statistics (formerly Registrar General). The indexes are available at the Family History Library. Look in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

GREAT BRITAIN - CIVIL REGISTRATION

GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY RECORDS

Records of Service. These records, similar to soldiers’ documents, were kept for army officers from 1771 until 1911. However, they are incomplete before 1828. They contain the officer’s birth date and place; promotions; transfers; marriage date and place; his spouse’s name; and his children’s names, birth dates, and birthplaces.

Lists of Officers. Published annually, these records give an officer’s name, rank, regiment or ship, and date of commission. See:

Army List. London, England: publishers and title vary, 1754–. (Family History Library book 942 M25; films 856427–452 and others.) First published in 1740, these lists have been published continuously since 1754 and are indexed beginning in 1766. They list army officers and are arranged by regiment. Half-pay (semi-retired) officers were not included in the early indexes.

Index to Commission and Warrant Books. N.p., n.d. (Family History Library films 824516–7.) This index lists naval officers from 1695–1742 and gives dates of commission and a reference to further details available at The National Archives.

Navy List. London, England: several publishers, 1782–. (Family History Library book 942 M25gba; films 918928–940, 990323–326.) The Navy List names all commissioned officers, including masters, pursers, surgeons, chaplains, yard officers, coast guardsmen, and reservists.

World War I Service Files. These records are the service files of soldiers who were discharged from the British army between 1914 and 1920. They are a collection known as the "unburned documents," and they represent about eight percent of the soldiers who served during those years.

The files usually contain the soldier’s unit name and number, birthplace, age at time of enlistment, name and address of next of kin, and date and reason for discharge. They may also include the names of his parents, spouse, and children. Some mention his occupation before he enlisted in the service and show the assignments he had in the service. Some files contain death certificates.

The files are arranged alphabetically, but many documents are missing. Therefore, you will not find every soldier listed in these files.

The original files are at The National Archives in England. The Family History Library has microfilmed copies, which are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY RECORDS - ARMY - WORLD WAR, 1914–1918

Militia Lists and Musters. Militia lists (beginning as early as 1297) contain the names of men eligible for military service. Militia musters are lists of men in the militia. Early militia lists and most militia musters contain only the men’s names. A brief explanation of musters and the location of available pre-1757 lists are given in:

Gibson, Jeremy, and Alan Dell. Tudor and Stuart Muster Rolls. Solihull, England: Federation of Family History Societies Publications, Ltd., 1989. (Family History Library book 942 M2gj)

Militia units were generally raised on a county basis and kept their own records. From 1757 to 1876, lists of men ages 18 to 55 were compiled by individual parishes and turned in to the shire (county) lieutenant. These lists usually contain each man’s name, parish of residence, age, fitness for service, and sometimes cause for exemption (such as a man with more than two young children, a disability, or an exempt occupation).

For further information on militia lists and musters, see:

Medlycott, Mervyn, and Jeremy Gibson. Militia Lists and Musters, 1757–1876. 3rd Editor. Solihull, England: Federation of Family History Societies Publications, Ltd., 1994. (Family History Library book 942 M2gmm.)

Other Records. Many other records are available, such as records on medals, casualties, promotions, desertion, and court martials. The following military branches have separate records:


 * Fencibles were army units raised for home service only. Fencibles were usually classed with the militia, and records are kept with militia records.
 * Yeomanry were volunteer regiments, records of which often do not survive or are less complete than other military records.
 * Colonial armies were forces raised in other countries. Records of these forces are usually in the country where the forces were raised. A notable exception is the Indian Army, for which many records are held at the British Library Oriental and India Office Collections, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB England.
 * The Coast Guard (1816–1923) and Royal Marines (1790–1914) kept their own records, including pension, description, and other records.

These records are at The National archives. For further information on military records for branches of the service other than navy or regular army, see the military record handbooks at the end of this section.

Locating Military and Naval Records
Pre-1914 records for both the army and the navy are at The National Archives.

The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU England

Post-1914 army records are at:

Army Records Centre Bourne Avenue Hayes, Middlesex UB3 1RF England

Post-1914 navy records are at:

Ministry of Defense Main Building, Whitehall SW1A 2HB England Internet: http://www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/home

Records at the Family History Library
The Family History Library’s collection of army records includes:


 * Army soldiers’ documents (before 1882)
 * Description books
 * World War I service files
 * Officers’ records of service
 * Army Lists 1740 to the present
 * Indexes to the Regimental Registers and the Chaplains’ Returns
 * Regimental histories
 * Other miscellaneous army records

For the navy, the library has:


 * Continuous service engagement books
 * Indexes to commission and warrant books
 * Bounty papers
 * Various published sources

Some Royal Marine attestation (enlistment) records are also available at the library.

A number of name indexes to some military records containing birth, marriages, or deaths are in the Family History Library. These indexes can be found in the Place search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

MILITARY RECORDS - CIVIL REGISTRATION

The library staff has compiled a typescript listing of army records in its collection (Family History Library book 942 M2; film 990313 item 5).

Library records are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under either ENGLAND or GREAT BRITAIN and the following subject headings:

MILITARY RECORDS

MILITARY HISTORY

MILITARY RECORDS - ARMY

MILITARY RECORDS - NAVY

Search Strategies
It is difficult to locate an individual’s record without knowing his ship or regiment. If you do not know this, you may find it in other types of records. Once you know the regiment or ship, consult the muster rolls, records of service, or other records available for that ship or regiment. Strategies for finding the ship or regiment follow.

What is a Service Record?
Many records have been produced to give information about a military man's career. Company clerks were ordered to document certain activities of each regiment and these collections detail specific periods and events. The most useful collections for family historians fall in the following collections:


 * Enrollment (attestation)
 * Muster Rolls (roll call)
 * Discharge
 * Stations or assignments
 * Diaries
 * Medal rolls
 * Pensions for disability or death

Soldiers. If your ancestor married, died, or had children while in the army after 1760, he may be listed in the Chaplains’ Returns or Regimental Registers. If you cannot find your ancestor’s regiment from these records, the other sources you should search will depend on what you know:

If you know a campaign or battle in which the ancestor fought, a place he was stationed, or a place where a child was born while the father was in the service, use:

Kitzmiller, John. In Search of the "Forlorn Hope." Two Volumes plus supplement. Ogden, Utah: Manuscript Publishing Foundation, 1988. (Family History Library book 942 M2.) This work will help you find where regiments were stationed during a range of years.

If you know the area where the individual was living during his late teens, use regimental histories or the handbooks listed in this section of the outline to find which regiments were recruited in that area.

If you know where he died after receiving an army pension, search district pension returns. For more information about district pension returns, see:

"District Pension Records of the British Army" in Irish at Home and Abroad, by Dwight A. Radford, Volume 4 number 1 (1997) p. 11–17. (Family History Library book 941.5 D25ih.)

If you know that he was in the army in 1806, you may wish to search the return of all men in army service on 24 June 1806 (not including commissioned officers). While the 1806 return is indexed only by regiment, it is more complete and easier to search than other sources, such as soldiers’ documents.

If you know approximately when he died, search probate records. Before 1858, search the Prerogative Court of Canterbury first.

For information on probates, see the "Probate Records" section of this outline.

If you know nothing of his career or where he served, you must find more information before searching army records.

Army Officers. You can usually find army officers in the Army List (1740 to the present - see "Lists of Officers" in this section of the outline). If your ancestor does not appear in the Army List for the right time period, consult the card index to officers, available only at the Public Record Office.

If an officer was living during 1828 or 1829, you can use the indexed returns of service. "Birth certificates" submitted with widow’s pension applications may reveal an officer’s name. If you still cannot find a record, use the search strategies for soldiers.

Usually there are separate records for Commissariat officers, staff officers, medical officers (surgeons), chaplains, and others. Board of Ordnance officers (artillery, engineers, sappers, miners, artificers, and others) are not always included in the Army List and have their own records until 1855.

Seamen. If your ancestor was in the navy after 1852, search the index to Continuous Service Engagement Books, or the Surname Index to the 1861 Census Returns of Ships. (See the "Merchant Marine" article.) Before 1853 the source to use depends on what you know about your ancestor. If you know:


 * The name of a ship on which he served, search the ship musters, pay lists, and ship logs for the time period he should have been aboard.
 * A port where your ancestor landed on a specific date, search the List Books, a geographically arranged list of ship locations at the Public Record Office (class ADM 8).
 * A battle or campaign in which his ship was involved, search the medal rolls.
 * The name of an officer serving with your ancestor, search the Navy List for that officer’s ship.

Since many seamen also served in the Merchant Marines during their careers, search the records described in the "Merchant Marine" section of this outline.

Navy Officers. You can usually find navy officers in the Navy Lists (1782 to the present) or in the Index to Commission and Warrant Books (1695 to 1742). See the sub-heading of "Lists of Officers" in this section for details.

Many officers are included in published biographies, such as:

Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy, 1660–1815. Three Volumes. N.p., n.d. (Family History Library book 942 M23cs, films 909026–027.)

Handbooks for Military Records
If your ancestor is not listed in the above sources, consult these handbooks:

Bevan, Amanda, and Andrea Duncan. Tracing Your Ancestors in the Public Record Office. Fourth Edition. London, England: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1995. (Family History Library book 942 A5 no. 19 1995.)

Hamilton-Edwards, Gerald. In Search of Army Ancestry. London, England: Phillimore &amp; Company, Limited, 1977. (Family History Library book 942 M2.)

Higham, Robin. A Guide to the Sources of British Military History. London, England: Routledge &amp; Kegan Paul, 1972. (Family History Library book 942 M2h.)

Kew Lists. (See the "Archives and Libraries" section of this outline for details.)

Records of Officers and Soldiers Who Have Served in the British Army. London, England: Public Record Office, 1984. (Family History Library book 942 M23 number 1.)

Rodgers, N.A.M. Naval Records for Genealogists. Second Edition. London, England: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1988. (Family History Library book 942 A5 number 22.)

Swinson, Arthur S., Editor. A Register of the Regiments and Corps of the British Army. London, England: Archive Press, 1972. (Family History Library book 942 M2.)