How to find some British Army records

[Geoffers]

There are an enormous number of records available for the RN, RM and British Army and a large number of these are held at The National Archives (TNA) at Kew.

It is well worth using their web-site - you can start at their home page. Click on the 'records' link near the top of the screen and then on the link 'Looking for a person'. You are taken to this page which directs you to various research pages by answering the questions posed.

TNA has numerous research guides on many subjects, you can go straight to the all the guides here (for British Army, click on 'B' and look at the links available).

You need patience. Don't expect to just click on links and be taken straight to what you want, you will need to read and understand the information given. Explore TNA's site - you can't break it and might learn something.

As you will probably know, many Soldiers' Documents from WW1 are being made available online - see this TNA link for details.

This link is useful for advice in researching WW1 soldiers

The Army List is a useful source for officers - copies can be purchased from The Parish Chest

The London Gazette for officers, and campaign reports, awards of gallantry medals is availableonline

Some useful records are available on documentsonline

NB - Guards regiments retain their own records. Use a search engine for 'Guards museum' - their web-site has contacts for the various guards regiments.

Also, Soldiers' Documents (WO97) have been electonically scanned 1760-1913 and are available on 'findmypast'; surviving WW1 records are on 'ancestry'

The main aim of this thread is to tell you how to search TNA's catalogue to identify one type of document relating to soldiers and their service, prior to then.

[Geoffers]

TNA's catalogue is a powerful tool. Documents relating to soldiers, mostly up to the mid-1850's (there are a few later documents) are easily searched.

In the word or phrase field - enter a surname
In the year range - if you can narrow down when someone served, do so but add a little leeway
In the department or series code enter - WO

Then search. You will need to look for results which are prefixed

WO121 - (Certificates of service)
WO97 - (Discharge papers)

When you carry out a search, you'll see that the information in the centre of the screen is underlined. This is a link Click on it and across to the right of the screen you'll see a button 'Request this' - by selecting that and filling in required detail, you can order a copy of the document.

[Geoffers]

The army was reorganized a few times and the way records are stored changes with those reorganizations.

For soldiers who left the army between 1855 to 1872, soldiers records are catalogued online according to whether someone was in the infantry, cavalry, artillery, or corps (There are a few exceptions, see below) - regiments are also indexed. You have to know a regiment. You might find this out from census returns, birth certificates of children or marriage certificates (search the registers of regmental returns, or army chaplains' returns). There are a few ways to search the catalogue.

Using TNA's catalogue
In the word or phrase field, enter - infantry
In the year range enter 1855-1872
In the departement or series code, enter - WO97
Now search, you don't get many hits but note that the Somerset Light Infantry doesn't contain the word 'foot'

Using the catalogue try a different search
In the word or phrase field, enter - foot
In the year range, enter - 1855-1872
In the department or series code, enter - WO97
Now search, you'll get 12 pages of hits. The first 6 pages are individual records (the exceptions mentioned above). The entries from page 7 onwards are sorted by regiments of foot.

Other regiments may have to be searched in a different way, try entering 'fusiliers' in the word or phrase field.

You can also search by entering the regimental number or name in the word or phrase field.
Also, some regiments are just catalogued by their county name, e.g. Norfolk, Wiltshire, Essex. You may have to try several searches to find a specific regiment.

Note that each entry has some letters after it. These are abbrevations of the first and last surname which appear alphabetically in each file. Note that there aren't many files for each regiment and so searching for surnames if very much hit and miss, which is why you do need to know the regiment.

Click on the underlined bit of a link and you can request a copy of an entry in that file (include all known details of your soldier which may help to identify his individual record). TNA will send you a quote for the copying cost. You can request a copy by digital express.

[Geoffers]

In looking for cavalry or artillery for this period, I think the best way is to keep a search simple and to either put the word cavalry or royal artillery in the word or phrase field.

You get these hits for cavalry and these hits for artillery
Note that for artillery, the first 4 pages are mostly individual records; the records for artillery units appear from the bottom of page 4 onwards.

Records are again recorded alphabetically and relate to the first an last name within each file. Again, records can be ordered via the TNA.

Note that if you just put the word 'artillery' (leaving out royal) in the word or phrase field, you get a slightly different set of results)

[Geoffers]

Record searching for this period is slightly changed.

For cavalry and artillery search as in the previous message.

For army service corps, just enter corps in the word or phrase field.
For Infantry - just enter that in the word or phrase field
For Royal Engineers - just enter Engineer in the word or phrase field.

The year range needs to be 1873-1882 and the department or series code is again WO97.

Note that for each search you will get the abbreviated first and last name in each file. I find it easier to just enter Infantry, Artillery, Cavalry or Service Corps and thumb through the search results, rather than trying to guess what the abbreviated surnames might be.

[Geoffers]

From 1883 onwards, army records were kept in one alphabetical list.

In the catalogue, entries are again shown by first and last name in each file, but this time, complete surnames are shown.

In searching for surnames, I generally use the asterisk wild card as this means that I tend to pick up names for which there are very few documents and which only appear in the middle of a file.

For example:
In the word or phrase field, enter - Lowther
In the year range, enter - 1883-1913
In the department or series code, enter - WO97

Now search and you get no hits.

Change this to search as follows:
In the word or phrase field, enter - low*
In the year range, enter - 1883-1913
In the department or series code, enter - WO97

You get these hits in which you can pick up which files would alphabetically contain the name LOWTHER.

As before, you can request TNA to supply documents relating to an individual within a file.

There are some misfiled documents
The reference range (class/piece) of misfiled documents is shown here
They are arranged by surname and searches are best carried out using partial surnames and the asterisk wildcard. Some of the misfiled records are now available through TNA's documentsonline.

If all else fails (unless you are searching for Smith, Jones or other such common surnames) just enter a surname in the word or phrase field, roughly narrow down the year range and in the department or series code, enter WO. Then hit search.

This thread just covers one small aspect of searching, experiment with the catalogue and you will get used to it. TNA has written loads of guides and they are there to help.

Most of the army documents cannot be viewed directly online - but as I have indicated, you can search for them and order copies.

Remember TNA's catalogue, is just that; a catalogue - an index - something to help you locate where records are held. You cannot carry out a search of the catalogue and click on a button to view the original record. You have to order it.


Note - to locate Officers' services in WW1 using TNA's catalogue, you may have to carry out two searches. In the word or phrase field, enter a surname, in the department or series code enter WO339. If that comes up with no hits, try WO374. Officers' services may also be traced in part using the London Gazette.
Good luck