Officers

Before 1914

The earliest records are of appointments and commissions of officers and warrant officers between 1661 and 1782, which may be found in the State Paper series SP 44. There are published works on the armies of George I and George II which give details of officers´ service. Commission books survive in two series in WO 25. Published annual Army Lists commence in 1754. We have a comprehensive run from 1754 to 1879 in series WO 65, and quarterly lists from 1879 to 1900 in series WO 66.

Hart´s Army List, an unofficial publication, includes many biographical details; a full set from 1839 to 1915 is in series WO 211, and an incomplete set is available on open access. WO 211 also includes Hart´s working papers and correspondence with officers giving details of their service history.

Commander-in-chiefs Memoranda and Papers

The Commander-in-chiefs memoranda in series WO 31 from 1793 to 1870 include applications and papers on appointments, promotions, transfers, exchanges and resignations. They are arranged chronologically by date of appointment in monthly bundles.

Some certificates of baptism, marriage, death and burial have been removed to series WO 42, covering the period between 1755 and 1908. Reports of marriages made by officers between 1830 and 1882 are in WO 25/3239-3245; records of some marriages go back to the beginning of the nineteenth century.

War Office returns

Records of officers´ service, giving personal details about them and their wives and children, began to be collected by the War Office in a number of returns requested in the 19th century.

1809 officers´ military service details in series WO 25/744-748.

1828 officers retired on full or half-pay in series WO 25/749-779.

1829 officers on full pay and the active list in series WO 25/780-805.

1847 officers retired and on half-pay in series WO 25/808-823.

1870-72 officers serving on active list WO 25/824-870.

Returns of 1829 and 1872 include some records of officers in colonial regiments. There are also some description books in WO 25 for officers in the Cape Mounted Rifles, Ceylon Rifles, Royal Canadian Rifles, West India Rangers and West India Regiment.

War Office Personal Files

A small selection of personal files of mainly senior army officers are in WO 138. They cover various dates from 1830 to 1963.

Army Purchase Commission

The papers of this Commission in WO 74 contain details of all officers holding a commission on 1 November 1871. The papers are arranged by regiment and include officers in the Indian Army.