1. Why use this guide?
This research guide provides information on how to find records at The National Archives of British Army officers who served in the First World War. The guide acts as a supplement to the research signpost on the same subject, offering more in-depth advice on where and how to perform a search as well as troubleshooting tips and suggestions of where to look for officers' service records beyond the main two record series.
2. Essential information
2.1 Do many officers' service records survive?
The National Archives holds 217767 officers' service records from the First World War. An officer's file originally had three parts but two of these were destroyed by enemy action in September 1940. What remains was heavily weeded prior to 1940 and in many cases this process means that nothing remains for many officers.
2.2 What do they contain?
The content of what remains of officers' service records can vary greatly. Some have simply a note of the date of death whilst others contain attestation papers for those commissioned from the ranks, record of service, personal correspondence and sometimes information additional to all this.
2.3 Officers' service records from April 1922
If you are searching for someone who served after 31 March 1922, the records are still with the Ministry of Defence. See Section 5.1.
3. Which series to look in, WO 339 or WO 374?
There are two main series of officers' service records, WO 339 and WO 374. You can search both of these online by surname or access them via the index in WO 338, particularly useful for uncommon names. If you don't know which series to look in, try both.
3.1 WO 339
WO 339 contains 139908 service records, for officers who ceased serving before 1922 and who were:
- a pre-war regular army officer
- given a Temporary Commission in the regular army
- commissioned into the Special Reserve of officers
3.2 WO 374
WO 374 contains 77799 service records, for officers:
- given a Territorial Army commission
- given a temporary commission
4. How to use WO 338, the index to officers' service records
WO 338 consists of 23 volumes. Each entry in the index gives surname, initials, regiment, unique long number (used by Army administrators to identify a specific officer), rank and remarks.
4.1 Interpreting long numbers and other index references
- The long numbers usually refer to WO 339
- Index references with a consonant and a vowel (such as So, Be) refer to WO 374
- Index references with P and a number refer to records continuing after 31 March 1922, still with the Ministry of Defence
4.2 Unknown rank, regiment or corp
If you do not know an officer's regiment or corps and rank, consult the Army Lists at The National Archives at Kew. If you do not know when your officer was commissioned, you may have to look at the Army Lists for more than one year.
5. Can't find a service record?
If you can't find a record of an officer in WO 339 or WO 374, nor a reference to him in WO 338, ask yourself the following questions:
5.1 Did he stay in the Army after 1922?
Check the Army Lists at The National Archives to find out. If he served after 1922, 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. Further information and a Subject Access Request (SAR) Form can be found on the Veterans-UK website. They will charge a fee for conducting a search.
5.2 Did he serve in the Royal Flying Corps and then join the RAF?
If so, try searching the online Catalogue within series AIR 76.
5.3 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
5.4 Are you looking for a renowned or notable officer?
Service records of a very few notable individuals (such as Wilfred Owen and Field Marshal Douglas Haig) are in WO 138.
6. Further reading
The following recommended publications are available in the The National Archives' Library. Where indicated a publication is also available to buy at The National Archives' Bookshop.
The Army List (London)
IFW Beckett, The First World War: the essential guide to sources in the UK national archives (2002) - Available to buy
William Spencer, Army Records for Family Historians (The National Archives, 2008)
Imperial War Museum, Tracing your family history: Army (1999)
William Spencer, First World War Army Service Records: A guide for family historians (The National Archives, 2008) - Available to buy
MJ and CT Watts, My ancestor was in the British army: How can I find out more about him? (1995)
