Availability
The vast majority of British military records, both personal and administrative are held in London though there are a number of exceptions, such as some Militia, British Army in India, Guards personnel records, non-Metropolitan Police, the majority of crew lists etc.
Organisation and Research Duration
It is not a simple exercise to search through the documents. Despite the current digitalisation program, most records are still original documents that are unindexed and need to be meticulously searched. They are usually arranged by the government department that created them, e.g. War Office, Admiralty, Board of Trade etc.; some records were initiated by one department and then taken over by another. As usual with any bureaucratic administration, several formats were also used to record individuals over a number of decades; different methods of information gathering therefore has only helped to confuse an already laborious and exacting research experience. As a consequence of this, research can take up to three hours or more, depending on what information is required. If you require the personal service records of individuals e.g Attestations, Discharges, Pensions or Service Records, Pay Books, Musters, Description Books and Courts Martial etc. please choose from the Categories below. Note: We have not added all research products yet, if you cannot find what you want please contact us. |
British Army->
