British Army: Officers' Records 1660-1913

Military Records Information 4

1. Introduction

For most of its history, the Army has not kept systematic records of its officers. However, there are several different places to look. The broad outline of an officer's career is traceable from the printed British Army Lists (Military Records Information 17) but there are plenty of other manuscript sources to explore.

2. Officers commissioned 1660-1913

For officers commissioned before 1754, try the commission books in WO 25/1 . Warrants for commissions during the late 1600s should be in the Calendars of State Papers, Domestic for each reign. Manuscript lists of army officers were kept from 1702 to 1752 (WO 64 ).

To trace an officer's career from 1754, try using the British Army Lists, (see Military Records Information 17) arranged by regiment. From 1867 they are indexed. See Army: Officers Commissions (Military Records Information 73) for further sources.

3. Officers, and Officers' Families

Records of service of officers fall into two main groups - those compiled by the War Office (WO 25 ) and those compiled by the regiment (WO 76 ). There is a single card index to the service records mentioned in the table below (as well as the separate indexes mentioned in the table), but it does not go beyond c. 1915.

4. Other sources for personal details

As well as the family information found in WO 25 and WO 76 , records giving personal information about an army officer were created routinely at various stages in his career: upon the granting of his commission, his promotion, his resignation or his being placed on the half pay list. Provision of an authentic baptismal certificate was mandatory for those in government service: membership of the established church implied loyalty to the crown. As a result there are many baptismal certificates for army officers in the War Office records. There are two main caches, for 1777-1868 in WO 32/8903 to WO 32/8920 (code 21A) and for 1755-1908 in WO 42 . The latter also contains certificates of marriage, birth of children, death and burial. There are index books to both, with separate indexes for French, Swiss, Italian and Greek corps; Loyal American and Canadian corps; and the King's German Legion.

5. Pension records: widows' pensions, half pay, and disability pensions

Indexed registers of the annual bounty paid to officers' widows, 1755-1856, are in WO 25/3995 and 3069-3072: there is also much more material about widows in WO 25 , such as applications for pensions, and information on remarriages.

Officers were not entitled to a pension as of right until 1871. Before then, officers wishing to retire sold their commissions or went on half pay. Half pay became a retaining fee paid to the officer, so long as he held a commission and was still (in theory) available for future service. There is little genealogical information in these documents. Officers on half pay can be traced in the British Army Lists, which gives date of commencement of half pay: half-pay officers are not always indexed.

Information about retired officers and their widows can also be found in PMG 3 to PMG 14 . The most useful records of half pay are the ledgers of payment, 1737-1921, in PMG 4 . These give details of death or sale of commission; and, from 1837, addresses: after 1841 they are arranged alphabetically, not by regiment (this may be helpful if you do not know the regiment). Date of birth is also given in later registers. Records of Ordnance officers' half pay, 1839-1857, are in PMG 12 .

The Compassionate Fund was created c.1720 to give relief to children of deceased officers who were incapable of maintaining themselves. The mother or guardian had to swear that the child was the legitimate offspring of the officer, that they were under 18 (if a boy) or 21 (if a girl), and that they had no other income from the Government. Details of the surviving records are included in the table below.

6. Other useful record sources

7. Further Reading

(ri2004) Last updated: 10 January 2006 | © Crown Copyright 2003