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Military Records

Online Resources

• 1615-1930 UK, Roll of the Indian Medical Service, 1615 -1930 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1642-1710 England Civil War Petitions at Civil War Petitions
• 1661-1826 British Army Lists & Commission Registers 1661-1826 at Findmypast — index & images ($)
• 1702-1933 England, Military Pension and Service Records, 1702-1933 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1704-1719 British Royal Navy & Royal Marines Service and Pension Records, 1704-1919 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1714 British Army, List Of Half-Pay Officers 1714 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1715-1947 Prisoners of War, 1715-1947 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1716-1899 British Army, Royal Artillery Officers 1716-1899 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1739-1861 United Kingdom, British Royal Navy Ships’ Musters, 1739-1861 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at Findmypast, index ($)
• 1743-1882 UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Registers of Soldiers Who Served in Canada, 1743-1882 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1756-1931 Web: United Kingdom, Royal Naval Officers' Service Records Index, 1756-1931 at National Archives, index
• 1760-1913 United Kingdom, Chelsea Pensioners' Service Records, 1760-1913 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1760-1915 British Army Service Records 1760-1915 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1772-1935 Great Britain, War Office Registers, 1772-1935 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1775-1914 Records of Officers Services 1775-1914 at forces-war-records.co.uk
• 1786-1882 Wills Of Royal Navy & Royal Marines Personnel, 1786-1882 at Findmypast — index ($)
• 1793-1949 UK, Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1949 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1793-1955 Royal Navy Medal Rolls 1793-1955 at forces-war-records.co.uk
• 1793-1972 UK, Naval Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1972 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1799-1920 UK, Household Cavalry Records of Service, 1799-1920, index ($), images available through Fold3 ($)
• 1800-1815 British Army Officer Promotions 1800-1815 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1800-1915 Scotland, Ireland and Wales, Militia Attestation Papers, 1800-1915 at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1800-1947 British Army, Coldstream Guards 1800-1947 at Findmypast - index & images ($)
• 1800-1947 British Army, Coldstream Guards 1800-1947 Image Browse at Findmypast - images ($)
• 1802-1919 UK, Naval Officer and Rating Service Records, 1802-1919 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1806-1915 UK, Militia Attestation Papers 1806-1915, index & images ($)
• 1806-1915 United Kingdom, Militia Service Records, 1806-1915 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1812 British Army, War Of 1812 Casualties at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1812-1817 UK, British Army Muster Books and Pay Lists, 1812-1817 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1815 UK, Waterloo Medal Roll, 1815 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1815 United Kingdom, Waterloo Roll Call 1815 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1815 Waterloo Roll Call, 1815 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1817-1857 UK Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1857 at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1831 British Royal Navy Personnel 1831 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1831-1979 Army Long Service & Good Conduct awards 1831-1979, index, incomplete
• 1835-1941 United Kingdom, Merchant Navy Seamen Records, 1835-1941 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1842-1925 Web: UK, Royal Marines Registers of Service Index, 1842-1925 at National Archives, index
• 1850-1986 British Armed Forces Soldiers' Wills 1850-1986 at Findmypast, index ($)
• 1850-2011 British Army, Royal Artillery Officer Deaths 1850-2011 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1853-1928 United Kingdom, Royal Navy Ratings’ Service Records, 1853-1928 at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1860-1955 Web: UK, Royal Naval Reserve Service Records Index, 1860-1955 at National Archives, index
• 1861-1913 England & Wales Merchant Navy Crew Lists 1861-1913 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1871-1889 British Army Embarkation Lists, 1871-1889 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1880-1950s Web: UK, Naval Officers' Service Record Cards and Files Index, 1880-1950s at Ancestry, index
• 1888-1970 UK, Navy Lists, 1888-1970 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1899-1902 UK, Casualties of the Boer War, 1899-1902 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1899-1902 UK, Imperial Yeomanry Records, 1899-1902 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1900-1928 UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services, 1900-1928 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1900-1949 British Army, Royal Engineers 1900-1949 at Findmypast - index & images ($)
• 1900-1947 Indian Army Records Of Service 1900-1947 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1901-1929 UK, Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1903-1922 Web: UK, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Service Records Index, 1903-1922 at National Archives - index & images ($)
• 1912-1945 United Kingdom, Royal Air Force Service Records, 1912-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1914-1918 Greater Burnley Roll Of Honour 1914-1918 at Findmypast - index & images ($)
• 1914-1918 United Kingdom, Service Medal and Award Rolls Index, 1914-1918 at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1914-1921, 1939-1947 Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921, 1939-1947 at MyHeritage ($), index and images
• 1915-1919 British West Indies Regiment Servicemen, 1915-1919 at Findmypast — index ($)
• 1918-1919 United Kingdom, Royal Air Force Officers’ Index, 1918-1919 at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1918-1975 Royal Air Force Nominal Index of Airmen and Airwomen 1918 to 1975 at forces-war-records.co.uk, index, incomplete
• 1923-2021 British Army, Honourable Artillery Company Journal 1923-2021 at Findmypast — index & images ($)
• 1935-1990 British Army, Recommendations For Military Honours and Awards 1935-1990 at Findmypast — index ($)
• 1936-1966 Web: UK and Allied Countries, Index of International Bomber Command Losses, 1936-1966 at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1939-1945 British Royal Air Force, Combat Reports 1939-1945 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1939-1945 Bomber Command Losses, 1939-1945 at Findmypast — index ($)
• 1939-1945 Royal Air Force, Operations Record Books 1939-1945 at Findmypast- index ($)
• 1939-1945 Royal Engineers Journals 1939-1945 at Findmypast, index & images ($)
• 1939-1945 UK, London Gazette WWII Military Notices 1939-1945 at Fold3 — index & images ($)
• 1939-1946 World War 2 Allies Collection at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1939-1946 UK, World War II War Diaries, 1939-1946 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1939-1946 Airmen Died in the Second World War, 1939-1946 at Findmypast — index ($)
• 1939-1948 UK, World War II Women's Land Army Index Cards, 1939-1948 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1940-1945 Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, Mentioned In Dispatches 1940-1945 at Findmypast - index ($)
• Britain, Campaign, Gallantry & Long Service Medals & Awards at Findmypast - index ($)
• British War Graves: War Grave Photographs
• England Military Links
• Royal Artillery Museum
• Royal Navy Biographical Database
• War Memorials Online
• London Irish Rifles Association
• British Armed Forces, First World War Disability & Retirement Payments For Officers & Nurses at MyHeritage ($)
• Armed Forces help pages on RootsChat Armed Forces Resources and help pages. (Free)
• Second World War Dead
• British Army, Honourable Artillery Company ($), index
• THE WEBSITE OF THE MARINERS MAILING LIST
• Military Hospitals
• The Genealogist access to various Military Records including the roll of names for those who were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) in the First World War up to 1920. ($)
• Regiments of Foot A historical record of all the foot regiments of the British Army
• Military Uniform Badges and Portrait Photographs

World War I

• 1914-1916 UK, WWI War Diaries (Gallipoli and Dardanelles), 1914-1916 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1914-1918 England, The National Roll of the Great War, 1914-1918 at Ancestry - index & images ($) Also at MyHeritage ($), index
• 1914-1918 UK, British Officer Prisoners of War, 1914-1918 at Ancestry - index ($); Also at Findmypast ($), index
• 1914-1919 UK, De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, 1914-1919 ($), index/images. Also at Findmypast ($), index
• 1914-1919 British Red Cross & Order Of St John Enquiry List, Wounded & Missing, 1914-1919 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1914-1919 UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1914-1919 British Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914 - 1919 at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1914-1920 United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1914-1920 UK, Silver War Badge Records, 1914-1920 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1914-1920 UK, Citations of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, 1914-1920 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1914-1920 UK, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1914-1920 UK, WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1914-1921, 1939-1947 UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 and 1939-1947 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1914-1923 UK, World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 at Ancestry - index ($); images on Fold3 ($)
• 1914-1945 UK, Memorial Books WWI and WWII, 1914-1945 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1914-1945 Web: UK, Post Office World War I and World War II Memorial Books, 1914-1945 at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1914-1949 UK, War Memorials 1914-1949 at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1915-1918 London Fire Brigade Reports 1915-1918 at Findmypast - index ($)
• World War One British Army Medal Index Cards ($), index
• Britain, The Great War, I Was There at Findmypast ($), index and images
• World War I Soldier Medical Records ($), index/image
• First World War Register - Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast
• The Genealogist access to various Military Records including the roll of names for those who were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) in the First World War up to 1920.($)

World War I--Army

• 1914-1916 British Army, Bond Of Sacr1914-1916 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1914-1919 British Army, Deserters and Absentees In Police Gazette 1914-1919 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1914-1920 British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1914-1920 British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920 at Ancestry - index & images ($); Also at Findmypast ($), index
• 1914-1920 British Army WWI Pension Records 1914-1920 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1914-1920 British Army medal index cards 1914-1920 at National Archives, index

World War I--Air Force

• 1912-1920 British Royal Air Force, Officers' Service Records 1912-1920 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1912-1939 British Royal Air Force, Airmen's Service Records 1912-1939 at Findmypast - index ($)

World War I--Navy, Marines, Merchant Seaman

• 1914-1919 UK, Royal Navy and Royal Marine War Graves Roll, 1914-1919 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1914-1919 Web: UK, Royal Naval Division Index, 1914-1919 at National Archives - index & images
• 1914-1922 British Royal Navy, Foreign Awards To Officers Index 1914-1922 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1914-1925 Web: UK, Campaign Medals Awarded to WWI Merchant Seamen, 1914-1925 at National Archives, index. Also at Findmypast ($), index

World War I--Women's Forces

• 1914-1918 British Army nurses’ service records 1914-1918 at National Archives, index
• 1917-1919 Web: UK, Women's Royal Naval Service Index, 1917-1919 at National Archives, index
• 1917-1919 British Women's Royal Naval Service Officer Files 1917-1919 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1917-1919 UK, Women’s Royal Naval Officers' Service Records, 1917-1919 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1917-1920 United Kingdom, World War I Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Records, 1917-1920 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images/no index. Also at Findmypast ($), index
• 1917-1920 Web: UK, Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Index, 1917-1920 at National Archives - index ($)
• 1917-1920 UK, Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Service Records, 1917-1920 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1918-1919 British Women's Royal Naval Service Ratings' Service Registers 1918-1919 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1918-1920 Web: United Kingdom, Women's Royal Air Force Index, 1918-1920 at National Archives, index
• 1918-1920 British Women's Royal Air Force Service Records 1918-1920 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1918-1920 UK, Women’s Royal Air Force Service Records, 1918-1920 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

World War II

• 1914-1949 UK, War Memorials 1914-1949 at MyHeritage - index ($)
• 1935-1990 Web: UK, Recommendations for Honours and Awards Index, 1935-1990 at National Archives - index & images ($)
• 1939-1945 Prisoners Of War 1939-1945 - British Army Held In German Territories at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1939-1945 Prisoners Of War 1939-1945 - British Navy & Air Force Officers at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1939-1945 Prisoners Of War 1939-1945 - Officers Of Empire Serving In British Army at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1939-1945 UK, British Prisoners of War, 1939-1945 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1939-1945 UK, Army Roll of Honour, 1939-1945 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1939-1945 Web: UK, WWII Medals Issued to Merchant Seamen, 1939-1945 at National Archives, index
• 1939-1945 UK, London Gazettes World War II Military Notices, 1939-1945 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1939-1946 UK, World War II War Diaries, 1939-1946 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1939-1948 UK, World War II Royal Artillery Tracer Cards, 1939-1948 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1939-1948 UK, World War II Women's Land Army Index Cards, 1939-1948 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1940-1941 Warwickshire, Coventry Blitz, German Air Raids 1940-1941 at Findmypast — index & images ($)
• 1940-1945 Second World War Civilian Casualties In Britain 1940-1945 at Findmypast — index & images ($)
• British Army, Royal Engineers Other Ranks: Casualty Cards at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Post-World War II

• 1936-1939 British Casualties, Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1950-1953 British Casualties, Korean War 1950-1953 at Findmypast - index ($)
• History Matters The Army Children Archive

History and Background

English Civil War Uniform

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 occasion, compulsory conscription was enforced and even "press-gangs" were used.

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.

See also British Military Records Online.

England has been regularly involved in military action. Examples of these are:

1284: The Norman invasion of Wales from 1067–1283 (formalized with the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284) put Wales under England's control. Wales came under English law with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542.

1455-1481: 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.

1707: The unification of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain bring about the new British Army incorporating Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland

Further information: British Military Records

Records

The National Archives (TNA), located at Kew, West London, houses information on military personnel, much of it now available to download.

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-1707 lists are given in:

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

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.

British Military3

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. Another source of British_colonial_army_officerscan be useful.

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.

• Boer War has information on the ships used by each regiment. It names the regiments, dates of sailing, dates of arrival and ports of departure and arrival in some cases.

Records at the FamilySearch Library

The FamilySearch Library’s collection of army records includes:

• Army soldiers’ documents
• Description books
• Officers’ records of service
• 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 FamilySearch Library. These indexes can be found:

• Index to certified copies of registers of births (officers, soldiers, & their families) from chaplains ... at stations abroad, 1796-1880.
• Index to certified copies of deaths (officers, soldiers & their families)... at stations abroad, 1786-1880. Also titled: GRO army chaplains death indices, 1796-1880.
• Index to certified copies of registers of marriages (officers, soldiers & their families...at stations abroad, 1796-1955.
• Index to entries in the army regimental registers of births and baptisms, 1761-1924.

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

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

MILITARY RECORDS

MILITARY HISTORY

MILITARY RECORDS - ARMY

MILITARY RECORDS - NAVY

Military histories or regimental histories are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

ENGLAND - MILITARY HISTORY

Branches of Service

Royal Navy

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. (FS Library 400175 FS 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 FamilySearch 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.

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.

Royal Marines

(Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines)

The Royal marines originally maintained military discipline on navy vessels. It has been a separate corps of the military since 1755, although under the control of the Admiralty and forming part of the Naval Service. Alphabetically arranged records of marines exist from 1790, some by enlistment date and others by discharge date. Service records up to 1926 can be accessed online via TNA.

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.

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.)

The army began as a permanent organization in 1660. Earlier armies were raised as needed, usually as county militia units. For information on pre-1660 military records, see the handbooks listed at the end of this section.
Pre-1847 - English army service was usually for life. Some soldiers were discharged early for disability, which was liberally defined. A soldier was often discharged by the age of forty.
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. FS book 942 M23was.
Military histories or regimental histories are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:
WALES - MILITARY HISTORY
GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY HISTORY

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.