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British Army Officers' Records: First World War 1914-1918

Military Records Information 10

WO 339/23299

WO 339/23299, Officer's Record, First World War, Long Number Papers

Contents

1. Do many officers' service records survive?
2. What do they contain?
3. Where to start?
4. Which series to look in?
5. WO 338: index to service records in The National Archives and elsewhere
6. Can't find any service record?
7. The National Archives' Library Bibliography

1. Do many officers' service records survive?

We have 217767 officers' service records from the First World War.

The main series was destroyed by bombing in 1940.

What remains is a supplementary series. In some cases, the supplementary file had been destroyed by clerks before 1940, and so no service record exists any longer.

2. What do they contain?

The content of the supplementary files can vary.

  • Some have simply a note of the date of death.
  • Others contain attestation papers for those commissioned from the ranks, record of service, personal correspondence and other information.

3. Where to start?

If you are searching for someone who served after 31 March 1922. The records are still with the Ministry of Defence.

If you are looking for an officer with an uncommon surname who did not serve after 1922, you can search online for the surname in WO 339 and WO 374 .

If you are searching for a common name, you will first need to know his regiment or corps and rank, to use the index in WO 338 at The National Archives, before moving on to WO 339 and WO 374 .

  • If you do not know this, look at the Army List at The National Archives.
  • If you do not know when your officer was commissioned, you may have to look at the Army Lists for more than one year.

4. Which series to look in?

WO 374/8

WO 374/8, Officer's Record, First World War, Personal Files

There are two main series of service records. If you don't know which your officer was, try both series.

WO 339 - contains 139908 service records, for officers who ceased serving before 1922 and who were

  • a pre-war regular army officer.
  • given an Temporary Commission in the regular army.
  • commissioned into the Special Reserve of officers.

WO 374 - contains 77799 service records, for officers

  • a Territorial Army commission.
  • a temporary commission.

You can search both of these online by surname.

You can also use the index in WO 338 at The National Archives.

5. WO 338: index to service records in The National Archives and elsewhere

WO 338 consists of 23 volumes, seen on microfilm at The National Archives.

Each entry in the index gives surname, initials, regiment, unique long number, rank and remarks.

  • The long numbers usually refer to WO 339 .
  • Index references with a consonant and a vowel (e.g. So, Be) refer to WO 374 .
  • Index references with P and a number refer to records continuing after 31 March 1922, and still with the Ministry of Defence.

6. Can't find any service record?

Did he stay in the Army after 1921/1922?

  • Check the Army List to find out.
  • If he did, contact the Ministry of Defence, Army Personnel Centre, Historic Disclosures, Mailpoint 400, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow, G2 8EX, tel: 0141-224-2023 and 0141-224-3303, e-mail: disc4.civsec@apc.army.mod.ukEmail link, for service records continuing after 1922. They will charge a fee for conducting a search.

Did he serve in the Royal Flying Corps and then join the RAF?

Did he serve in the Indian Army?

  • If he did, contact The British Library, Oriental and India Office Collections, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB.

Service records of a very few notable individuals (e.g. Wilfred Owen and Field Marshal Douglas Haig) are in WO 138 .

7. The National Archives' Library Bibliography

The following recommended publications are available in the The National Archives' Library (www.library.nationalarchives.gov.uk/library). Where indicated a publication is also available to buy at The National Archives' Bookshop (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/bookshop).

  • The Army list (London)
  • I F W Beckett, The First World War: the essential guide to sources in the UK national archives (Richmond, 2002) - Available to buy
  • Simon Fowler and William Spencer, Army Records for Family Historians (2nd edn, PRO Readers' Guide, II, 1998) 
  • Imperial War Museum, Tracing your family history: Army (London, 1999)  
  • Public Record Office, Using army records (Public Record Office Guides to Family History, 2000)
  • William Spencer, Army service records of the First World War (Public Record Office Readers' Guide, IXX, 2001) - Available to buy
  • M J and C T Watts, My ancestor was in the British army: How can I find out more about him? (London, 1995)
 
     
 

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