This is a brief guide to help you with your research into a birth, marriage or death in the British Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Marines or Royal Navy. There is no single place or collection where you can easily search for a birth, marriage or death in the armed forces, although many resources are available.
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What do I need to know before I start?
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Try to find out:
- the person's name (and name of thier parents, spouse or next of kin, where applicable)
- the approximate date of the birth, marriage or death, and the area where the event is likely to have taken place
- the armed force and, if applicable, regiment
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What records can I see online?
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Digitised copies of wills of Royal Naval Seamen (1786-1882)
Search and download (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) wills of Royal Naval Seamen on DocumentsOnlinea collection of documents from The National Archives which are available entirely online.
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Indexes to births, marriages and deaths in the armed forces (1761-1995)
Search indexes to the regimental registers, army chaplains' registers, army returns and service departments registers in the military section on findmypast (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.). The related certificates can be obtained from the General Register Office.
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials in UK and overseas garrisons (1808-2007)
Browse the Catalogue in WO 156 to see which garrison records are held by The National Archives. The registers are relatively few in number and mainly date from the 20th century.
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, commission research (£there will be a charge) or, where you can identify a specific record referencea unique set of letters and numbers identifying a document in The National Archives, order a copy (£there will be a charge).
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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British Library birth, marriage and death records for the Indian subcontinent
Consult the Asia, Pacific and Africa Collection at the British Library for births or baptisms, marriages, and deaths or burials across the Indian subcontinent, including Burma and Aden.
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Websites
Search the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for information about deaths in the First or Second World War.
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Books
Read Tracing your Ancestors in The National Archives by Amanda Bevan (The National Archives, 2006).
Read Airmen Died in the Great War by C M Hobson (J B Hayward & Son, 1995).
Read Tracing your Naval Ancestors by Bruno Pappalardo (The National Archives, 2003).
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In-depth research guides
Births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales
Births, marriages and deaths in Scotland and Ireland
Births, marriages and deaths of British nationals at sea or abroad