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Photo of two soldiers with flak gun (Catalogue reference: DEFE 2/502)

This is a brief guide to researching British army records for a soldier who was discharged after the beginning of the First World War. These records are informative and varied, though not all for this period survive.

While many records are available at The National Archives, some service recordsservice record - a document recording the career of an individual in the armed forces are currently held by the Ministry of Defence. The majority of the personnel records for the First World War have been destroyed or damaged.

Soldier ranks include Private, Lance Corporal, Corporal, Sergeant, and Warrant Officer. The Ministry of Defence website gives more detail.

  • What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?

    • Campaign medal rolls (for 1914-1918 service)

       

      Locate the campaign medala medal awarded to a person who took part in a particular military campaign roll in WO 329 for a soldier who served in the First World War.


      If you find a soldier's medal index card in WO 372 (see above), make a note of the reference in the 'Roll' column for a particular campaign medal. Search the Catalogue using this reference. If you get no results, try removing the last part of the reference and searching again.


      Reference examples: H/2/102B39, List CC 401, RFA/338B

    • Pension case files (1914-1920)

      Search the Catalogue for pension case files in PIN 26. Only a 2% sample of these records survive.

    • Household Cavalry records (1799-1920)

      Browse the Catalogue in WO 400 for service records of non-commissioned officersNon-commissioned officer - a senior member of the 'other ranks'. These are junior to commissioned officers. and other ranksOther rank - a person ranking below an officer who served in one of the Household Cavalry regiments during the First World War.

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Related guides

Did you know?

The National Archives does not hold army service recordsservice record - a document recording the career of an individual in the armed forces for the Second World War.  They are still with the Ministry of Defence.

Many army service records between 1914 and 1920 do not exist as they were destroyed by enemy bombing in 1940 - only about 40% survive.

The condition of the surviving service records can vary greatly - some are badly damaged.

When searching for a person you may find information on:

The records of soldiers who served in the guards regiments (Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh) are accessible by writing to the appropriate Regimental Headquarters. Some of these records were destroyed by enemy bombing whilst stored in the Guards chapel during the Second World war.

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