British Military Records: Difference between revisions

'''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.  

=== Napoleonic Wars  ===

Lists of British army personnel who died during '''World War I''' have been compiled from official casualty lists and published in:  

Ancestry.co.uk also offers a searchable database of those listed in ''Soldiers Died in the Great War'' as part of its subscription service.  

Post-WW2 casualties can be found listed at the [https://www.gov.uk/search-armed-forces-memorial-roll-of-honour Armed Forces Memorial] website.  

The returns of officers services for 1828 and 1829 have been transcribed and are found at the Family History Library. The 1828 return was for active duty officers only, while the 1829 return was for both active and half-pay (retired) officers. These records have the National Archives designation of WO 25. Two sets of books serve as a rough "index" to the original returns of service for 1828 and 1829. They only list officers who had children and they are in the same order as the names appear in the original returns (grouped by first three letters of the surname). The two sets of several volumes are:  

Similar returns of naval officers begin in 1817. The naval returns are indexed at The National Archives (ADM 10). See [[England Archives and Libraries]] for the address.  

=== Chaplains’ Returns  ===

=== Regimental Registers  ===

=== Records of Service.  ===

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

[[Image:British Military3.jpg|thumb|right|357x417px|British Military3.jpg]]  

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:  

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:  

=== Other Records  ===

'''MILITARY RECORDS - CIVIL REGISTRATION'''  

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

Many officers are included in published biographies, such as:  

== Bibliography for Military Records  ==

The resorces listed below may assist you in your research:  

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

Kew Lists. (See [[England Archives and Libraries]] for details.)  

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.)