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The vast majority of Military Genealogy enquiries that I receive are for British Servicemen or Servicewomen. The best starting point in researching an individual is their Service (Personnel) Record. This record may have different names such as Attestation Papers, Discharge Papers etc. but it is the most detailed record on a person’s service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Service Records for Commissioned Officers who joined since 1917 are with the Ministry of Defence. Records for officers before 1649 are generally in the State Papers Domestic Series (1547-1649). Service Records for Warrant Officers who joined since 1931 are also with the Ministry of Defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The starting point for researching RN officers depends upon the era in which they served as the records available vary for different time periods. The most detailed record for an individual is their Service Record. These run from about 1830 but before this date the surviving ones are incomplete. After these the next best Series are the Pension Records which can contain Certificates of Service and Admission Papers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are indexes \/ databases for the Battle of Trafalgar, WW1, Navy Lists and Black Books (1741-1815). The latter being used to list officers guilty of misconduct and not to be employed again. Passing Certificates (1660-1902) were used to record the results of exams sat by officers when they were assessed for a particular rank and Returns of Service (1817-1861) were surveys sent by the Admiralty to officers to complete with their career history. The Naval Colleges at Dartmouth and Greenwich trained the officers and they kept records for cadets \/ exams. Leave Books (1783-1846) show when officers applied for Leave and the Medal Rolls (1793-1972) can also be useful as can Court Martial records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The records available for Ratings vary significantly depending upon the era when they served.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pre-1913<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main records for Ratings joining 1667-1852 are Ships’ Musters and Pay Books, Certificates of Service, Pension Records and Allotment Registers. The main records for men joining after 1853 are Continuous Service Engagement Books and Registers of Seamen’s Services. For both eras there are Pension records from 1704 and onwards as well as Allotment Registers (1795-1812 and 1830-1852). Medal Rolls (1793-1972) can help with finding a man’s ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1914-1918<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a specific WW1 database and there are Service Records for men enlisted between 1853 and 1929. The Medal Rolls (1793-1972) are also useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After 1918<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently the Service Records for Ratings enlisting after 1928 and \/ or who served during WW2 are still held by the Ministry of Defence. However, if the Rating enlisted in or before 1928 and served in WW2 then their Service Record may be held at The National Archives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The applicable record series (given the above) are Registers of Seamen’s Services (1853-1928), and Medal Rolls (1793-1972).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During WW1 some RN personnel were fighting on land and these “units” have some specialized records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RN Division<\/strong> – The Service Records for Officers and Ratings are in a specific Document Series. Also, the Campaign Medal records will assist and there are War Diaries. There is a casualty database. Some records for the Divisional Engineers, Divisional Train, RM Medical Unit and the Ordnance Company are held at the Fleet Air Arm Museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RN Armoured Car Division in Russia (1915-1918)<\/strong> – there is a specific Document Series for Ratings in this unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Fleet Air Arm was formed from the Royal Air Force squadrons operating at sea on 1 April 1924. The Royal Naval Air Service was the original air force of the RN and in April 1918 it merged with the Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Service Records for Fleet Air Arm personnel are not held at The National Archives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Women who were involved with the RN tended to be either Naval Nurses or in the Women’s Royal Naval Service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Naval Nursing Service was established in 1884 and in 1902 it was renamed to the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS). Most naval nurses in WW1 and WW2 were in the QARNNS. Records available for service since 1884 include medal records (such as campaign medals and the Royal Red Cross recipients), and Service Registers for individual nurses. Earlier records include Nurses’ Service at the Royal Greenwich Hospital (1704-1865) and the Service Records for post-1939 personnel are still with the Ministry of Defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Women’s Royal Naval Service was formed in 1917 as a branch of the RN. It was disbanded in 1919 and then re-established in 1939. It was finally disbanded in 1993 when women could join the RN directly. For the WW1 period available records include WRNS Officers’ Registers of Appointments, Service Records for officers and ratings, and medal records. Service Records for WW2 service are currently with the Ministry of Defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The records for Army Officers can be split into three main time periods: pre-1913, 1914-1920 and post-1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pre-1913<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Army did not always keep systematic records for Army officers since about 1660 when the “Regular” army was introduced. There are Service Records for the period 1764-1913 but there are few personnel records from before the early 18th century. Other types of records include Army Lists which are arranged by Regiment. These give details of their Commissions such as dates and ranks. Medal Rolls are useful if you know that they were awarded a particular medal but the Rolls do not contain biographical information. Some campaign medals may have clasps awarded for specific battles so these records can be useful. Details of the birth of officers’ children may be available and their marriages \/ death \/ burial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officers also benefit from other record series such as Baptismal certificates (1777-1868), Commission Records (1679-1914), records for the Purchase of their Commissions (1758-1908), Half-Pay \/ Disability \/ Widows Pensions, Sandhurst Registers (1783-1964) etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1914-1920<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some WW1 officers served after the end of the war so their records could be with those for after 1920. The three main record series are Service Records, Medal Records and War Diaries. Ancillary records are Army Lists, Medical Records (a sample is in Document Series MH106), Silver War Badge Rolls, London Gazette announcements, Prisoner of War records, Sandhurst Registers (1783-1964) and Pension records for injured \/ killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Post-1920<\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently these Service Records are still held by the Ministry of Defence but it is likely that they will be transferred to The National Archives in the next few years. Records that are available to the public are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The records for British Army Soldiers can also be split into three time periods pre-1913, 1914-1920 and post-1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pre-1913<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are few personnel records for soldiers before the early 18th century and pre-1913 soldiers are more difficult to research because there were no self-contained Service Records like those from 1914 onwards. The main sources for pre-1913 soldiers are: Regimental Muster Books and Pay Lists (1730-1898), Discharge Papers and Pension Records (1703-1913).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other sources include: Campaign Medals (1793-1949), Pension Records can be for disability (1715-1913) or length of service (1823-1913). <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are some specific Document Series for the Second Boer War of 1899-1902 (also known as the South African War), the Guards Regiments, the Household Cavalry (1799-1920), and men who served in Canada (1713-1882). The Royal Artillery was originally administered by the Board of Ordnance not the War Office and their (personnel) papers could be in a separate Series to those for the Infantry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1914-1920<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like the officers above some WW1 soldiers served after the war so please see the notes below on Post-1920. The Service Records for soldiers serving in the armies of Commonwealth Countries (Canada, New Zealand, South Africa etc.) are held by their respective Governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main avenues are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Post-1920<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most WW2 Army Service Records have now been transferred from the Ministry of Defence to The National Archives. Due to the scale of the transfer not all have been catalogued and they are not yet searchable. Those potentially available have been catalogued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other record series include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Home Guard was originally called the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV). Currently there are operational records and records regarding the awarding of medals to LDV \/ HG personnel available for public inspection. However, LDV \/ HG Service Records have recently been transferred to The National Archives but access to them is currently restricted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most Service Records for the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (1914-1920) do not survive. Only about 7,000 do survive which is a small portion of the original set. The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was formed in 1917 and was renamed the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps in 1918 before being disbanded in 1921. Around 57,000 women served in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps and most were UK based usually undertaking non-combatant roles such as clerical or mechanical work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main record series for those serving in the First World War period are: Service Records (if they survive) and Medal Records. There is a sample of Medical Records (in MH106) and some records of honours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1938 the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) was formed until it was succeeded by the Women’s Royal Army Corps in 1949. This was then integrated into the British Army in 1992.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For those serving in WW2 the Campaign Medal Cards have survived ad there are records for those who served as Nurses in East Africa. The WW2 ATS Service Records (1938-1949) have been transferred to The National Archives from the Ministry of Defence and they are currently being processed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the WLA was not strictly a military formation there are some limited records for them. The WLA was formed on two occasions: (1) 1917-1919 and (2) 1939-1950.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It seems that no Service Records exist for 1917-1919. There are some Record Cards for the 1939-1948 period which give details about personnel such as name, address, date of birth, where transferred to and when demobilized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The forerunners to the RAF were the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Service Records for RFC officers can be either with those for the Army (as the RFC was part of the Army) or they could be with those for the RAF depending if the subject transferred to the RAF after it was formed (April 1918). There are also medal records which could be applicable to RFC \/ RAF service. If the officer served after 1920 then his record will still be with the Ministry of Defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the subject served after the formation of the RAF in April 1918 then his Service Record will be with those for the RAF. These are available for men who served 1918-1939 but those for WW2 personnel are with the Ministry of Defence. If the subject was discharged before April 1918 then his record will be with those for the Army. Medal records are also available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The records for RNAS officers who transferred to the RAF will be with those for the RAF. The records for officers discharged after 1920 are still with the Ministry of Defence. Other records are: Registers of Service (1906-1918), RAF Service Records (1918-1920) and medal rolls (1793-1972).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Records for Ratings who served before the RAF was formed are with RN Seamen’s records. Records for Ratings who transferred to the RAF (1918-1939) are publicly available. It is advisable to check the Register’s of Seamen’s Services (1853-1923) and naval medal rolls (1793-1975).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Service Records for service prior to 1939 are discussed above on this page whilst the Service Records created since 1939 are being transferred from the Ministry of Defence. Airmen’s records (1912-1939) are available for men with Service Numbers below 562875. Those above this Service Number are in the process of being transferred from the MoD. RAF Officers’ (1918-1922) Service Records are available as by the end of 1919 26,000 of the 27,000 serving RAF officers had been discharged. Post 1922 officers’ Service Records are with the MoD. There are some medal records for campaigns and gallantry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This page covers: The vast majority of Military Genealogy enquiries that I receive are for British Servicemen or Servicewomen. The best starting point in researching an individual is their Service (Personnel) Record. This record may have different names such as Attestation Papers, Discharge Papers etc. but it is the most detailed record on a person’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-83","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/militaryarchiveresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/83","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/militaryarchiveresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/militaryarchiveresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/militaryarchiveresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/militaryarchiveresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/militaryarchiveresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/83\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":266,"href":"https:\/\/militaryarchiveresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/83\/revisions\/266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/militaryarchiveresearch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fleet Air Arm<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
RN Women and Nurses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Records for Army Officers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Records for Army Soldiers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Local Defence Volunteers \/ Home Guard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Women in the British Army<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Women’s Land Army<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Royal Air Force<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
RFC \/ RAF Officers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
RFC \/ RAF Airmen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
RNAS Officers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
RNAS Ratings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
RAF Records<\/h3>\n\n\n\n