British Army soldiers up to 1913: further research

1. Why use this guide?

This guide expands on the advice found in our British Army soldiers up to 1913 guide. It provides further and more in-depth information on the kinds of records you can consult at The National Archives to find out about soldiers who served with the British Army before the First World War. It includes:

• information about how to trace British Army soldiers' discharge papers, 1760 to 1913
• information about how to trace British Army soldiers' pension records, 1702 to 1913
• information about how to find out which regiment or corps a British Army soldier served with

2. Essential information

2.1 What information do you need to trace a soldier in this period?

For those records that have been digitised, it is possible to search for a soldier by name only, though you will usually need some way of distinguishing him from other soldiers with the same name, such as his date of birth. Where records have not been digitised you will need to know which regiment he served in. This is especially so if he was, like most soldiers, not discharged to pension.

2.2 Army pension records: in-pensioners and out-pensioners

Some of the most detailed documents of soldiers for this period are pension records and discharge papers. Many of these were created by the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin and the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. Some ex-soldiers became residents of these veterans hospitals and were known as in-pensioners. Most, however, were out-pensioners, receiving a pension administered by the hospitals but not actually residing in them. Both in-pensioners and out-pensioners are often referred to simply as pensioners, or sometimes Chelsea pensioners.

3. Searching for a soldier by name only

The records described in this section can be searched online by name. In most cases a successful search will allow you to view the record itself online (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.), while in other cases a search online will provide only a catalogue reference which you can then use to view the original document at The National Archives in Kew.

3.1 Soldiers discharged from the Army 1760-1913: pension records

Search and download pension records (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) from findmypast.co.uk for men receiving pensions from the Royal Hospital Chelsea and the Royal Hospital Kilmainham (WO 97). These pension records also include those for men who served in foreign regiments 1816-1817 (WO 122).

Before 1883 these service records are usually only for men who were discharged and received a pension. From 1883 to 1913 the series includes soldiers who were discharged to pension and those who were discharged for other reasons, such as termination of limited engagements or discharge by purchase.

The following records are not usually found in WO 97:

• records of soldiers who died in service
• documents of soldiers who were discharged by purchase 

3.2 Soldiers discharged from the Army 1787-1813: certificates of service

Search and download certificates of service (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) from findmypast.co.uk for men discharged from the Army between 1787 and 1813, and awarded a Chelsea out-pension (WO 121).

3.3 Soldiers discharged from the Army in Ireland 1783-1822: certificates of service

Search and dowload certificates of service (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) from findmypast.co.uk for men awarded out-pensions by the Board of Kilmainham Hospital (WO 119)

3.4 Soldiers admitted to pension 1838-1896: certificates of service

Search and download certificates of service (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) from findmypast.co.uk for soldiers awarded deferred pensions from 1838-1896 (WO 131). 

3.5 Soldiers in the Household Cavalry 1799-1920

Records of the Household Cavalry (including the Life Guards, Royal Horse Guards and Household Battalion), 1799-1920, previously held by the Household Cavalry Museum, have been transferred to The National Archives and are searchable by name range in our catalogue in record series WO 400

3.6 Soldiers in the Imperial Yeomanry, South African War 1899-1902: attestation and discharge papers 

Search and download attestation and discharge papers (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) from findmypast.co.uk for men serving in the Imperial Yeomanry during the South African War (WO128).

4. How to find out which regiment a soldier served with

4.1 Using name searchable records

All of the records described in section 3, searchable by soldier's name, provide the name of the soldier's regiment.

4.2 Using discharge papers

If a rough date of discharge is known, it may be possible to trace the regiment in which a soldier served by using various registers of discharges. It should be noted that trying to trace an individual soldier in this way may be time-consuming, with no guarantee of success. The registers are not complete but they are a useful potential source of information. A number of these pieces contain information on soldiers whose discharge document would not be in WO 97.

4.3 Using registers of next of kin

If you think the soldier may have died in service, try the records relating to payments to next of kin of dead soldiers. There are gaps in these records but they are arranged alphabetically and are name indexed, so are easy to use. They are original records that need to be viewed at The National Archives at Kew. The registers of authorities to deal with the effects (possessions) of dead soldiers, 1810-1822 (WO 25/2966-2971) are searchable by name in our catalogue, and give the regiment, period of death, amount of effects and credits, date of order to agent, agent's name, person applying (usually next of kin) and his or her address.

Less informative but still helpful, as they give the regiment, are: an index of effects, 1830 (WO 25/2974); a register of effects and credits, 1830-1844 (WO 25/2975); and record books of effects, 1862-1881 (WO 25/3476-3490, indexed by WO 25/3491-3501).

5. Searching for a soldier by pension dates

The records series in this section are searchable either by date of admission to pension or by the dates during which an ex-soldier was in receipt of an Army pension. If you know when an ex-soldier was drawing his pension, or, even more usefully, if you have a rough idea of when a soldier was first granted his pension, these records may be of use.

5.1 Soldiers admitted to pension 1702-1933: various records

To be eligible for admission as an in-pensioner at the Royal Hospitals at Chelsea or Kilmainham, a man had to be a life pensioner of the army (that is, in receipt of a service or disability pension), aged 55 or more (unless in receipt of a disability pension) and free from the responsibility of supporting a wife or children.

The records are arranged as follows:

5.2 Soldiers discharged from the Army 1715-1913: pension admission books

Pension admission books come in two series, each arranged by year of examination or claim, and provide name, rank, age, total service, rate of pension, foreign service/stations, character report, place of birth, and trade. Later volumes give medal allocation. The books are in the following series:

• for disability, 1715-1882, in WO 116
• for length of service, 1823-1913, in WO 117

For 1830-1844 pension admission books are duplicated by registers in WO 23/1-16, where in addition the intended place of residence is given: they have indexes from 1838-1844.

5.3 Soldiers who served with the Artillery 1770-1913: Ordnance pensions

Artillery pensions were paid by the Ordnance Office until 1834, when the Royal Hospital Chelsea took over. The records are in the following series:

5.4 Soldiers who served with foreign regiments 1801-1817: out-pension awards

Registers of pensioners from the King's German Legion, 1801-1815, are in WO 23/135.

Reports of medical boards on invalids, recommendations for pensions and discharge documents for soldiers of foreign regiments, 1816-1817, are in WO 122. Search and download (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) these records from findmypast.co.uk

5.5 Soldiers who served in British colonies 1817-1903: out-pension awards

The records for colonial pensions consist of:

• admission books for pensions payable in the colonies, 1817-1875, in WO 23/147
• lists, registers and admission books of black and Cape Corps pensioners, 1837-1879, in WO 23/153
• an admission book of 'native' and colonial pensioners, 1880-1903, in WO 23/160
• registers of Indian army pensions, 1849-1868, in WO 23/17
• a list of out-pensioners discharged between 1821 and 1829 who had served in tropical climates, in WO 23/25

5.6 Soldiers who served c.1715-1857

These registers of admissions to pensions (in WO 120) are in several series, covering c.1715-1857, with deaths noted up to 1877. There is a name index for 1806-1836 only, and the volumes for 1839-1843 each have an index included. The registers are duplicated and extended to 1876 in WO 23/26. A similar series of registers and pensions being paid in 1806 is in WO 23/136.

6. Searching for a soldier by pension registration district 1842-1883

If you know the place where an ex-soldier died (for example, from a death certificate) or was living (for example, from a census return), it may be worthwhile using the registers in WO 22. They are also useful for soldiers who retired in the colonies, and for colonial troops. The registers are arranged by payment district or country, and provide:

• the pensioner's name
• regiment
• rate of pension
• date of admission to pension
• rank
• district to which or from which he had moved

The returns for UK payments cease in 1862, but returns relating to pensions overseas and in the colonies extend into the 1880s.

7. Searching for a soldier in the Artillery by regiment, brigade or battalion

Until 1855 ordnance troops were the responsibility of the Board of Ordnance, not the War Office. Supplementary records of services are preserved for soldiers in the Royal Artillery, 1791 to 1855, and the Royal Horse Artillery, 1803 to 1863, in WO 69. This series also contains other useful material, up to 1913.

8. Records of soldiers' effects

The National Archives holds the soldiers' effects ledgers for 1862-1880/1881 in WO 25/3475-3501. The National Army Museum holds a set for April 1901-March 1960 (see section 10).

The ledgers were created as a list of the monies owed to soldiers who died in service. They do not list any personal items that may have been returned to the next of kin. The information they typically contain is: full name, regimental number, date of death and sometimes the place, next of kin and monies paid to the next of kin. The records from 1901-1914 also detail the date of enlistment and trade of enlistment.

9. Background information

The Royal Hospital Kilmainham and the Royal Hospital Chelsea were established by Charles II in 1679 and 1681 respectively. The hospitals in Ireland and England reflected the separate army establishments for the two countries, which did not become joined until the Act of Union in 1800. From the late 17th century, soldiers who left the army with a disabling injury or as invalids or after completing an agreed term of service, were entitled to a pension from one of these two army veterans hospitals. In December 1822 the payment of Kilmainham out-pensions was taken over by Chelsea Hospital, whilst in-pensioners remained in Kilmainham until 1929, when the last transferred to Chelsea.

10. Records in other archives

Except for the Guards regiments and the Household Cavalry, regimental museums do not hold records of service of their men and officers, although they often hold other records which can be useful to people researching their military ancestors.

10.1 Guards regiments

Records of the Guards regiments (Coldstream, Grenadier, Irish, Scots and Welsh Guards) are accessible by writing to the Guards Regimental Headquarters, Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk, London SW1E 6HQ. Some of these records were destroyed by enemy bombing whilst stored in the Guards chapel during the Second World War.

10.2 Household Cavalry

Microfilm copies of WO 400 (see section 3.5) are held at the Household Cavalry Museum, Combermere Barracks, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 3DN. Written enquiries are welcomed but enquirers are recommended to contact the museum for access conditions before visiting in person.

10.3 Records of soldiers' effects

The National Army Museum holds records of soldiers' effects for April 1901-March 1960. As the ledgers are not held in the main collections but in off-site storage, there is a fee, currently of £10, for the provision of a transcript of an individual's entry. Please contact The National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HT.

11. Further reading

The following publications are available in The National Archives' library. Those with a link can be bought from The National Archives' online bookshop:

Amanda Bevan, Tracing Your Ancestors in the The National Archives (The National Archives, 2006)

Christopher Chant, The Handbook of British Regiments (Routledge, Kegan & Paul, 1988)

Norman K Crowder, British Army Pensioners Abroad 1772-1899 (Genealogical Publishing Co Inc, 1995)

Dan Cruickshank, The Royal Hospital Chelsea: the Place and the People (Third Millennium Publishing, 2008)

Jeremy Gibson and Mervyn Medlycott, Militia Lists and Musters 1757-1876: A Directory of Holdings in the British Isles (Federation of Family History Societies, 2004)

Ian S Hallows, Regiments and Corps of the British Army (Arms and Armour, 1991)

E A James, British Regiments 1914-1918 (Naval & Military Press, 2001)

J M Kitzmiller, In Search of the 'Forlorn Hope': A Comprehensive Guide to Locating British Regiments and their Records (Manuscript Pub Foundation, 1988)

M E S Laws, Battery Records of the Royal Artillery 1716-1859 (Royal Artillery Institute, 1952)

Gerry Murphy, Where Did That Regiment Go?: The Lineage of British Infantry & Cavalry Regiments at a Glance (The History Press, 2009)

Mustor (muster) Books and Pay Lists (List and Index Society, 1984)

Roger Perkins, Regiments: Regiments and Corps of the British Empire and Commonwealth 1758-1993: A Critical Bibliography of Their Published Histories (Roger Perkins, 1994)

Robert Pols, Dating Old Army Photographs (Family History Partnership, 2011)

Return of the Names of the Officers in the Army Who Receive Pensions for the Loss of Limbs, or for Wounds (Naval & Military Press, 2002)

William Spencer, Army Records: A Guide for Family Historians (The National Archives, 2008)

William Spencer, Records of the Militia and Volunteer Forces 1757-1945 (Public Record Office, 1997)

Waterloo Medal Roll: Compiled From the Muster Rolls (Naval & Military Press, 1992)