This page provides links to resources concerned with specific periods in British military history between 1656 and 1913. Further suggestions are always appreciated.
1851 Worldwide Army Index
This index of over 156,000 men has been compiled from muster and pay list returns and provides a snapshot of the British Army at home and abroad as the British Empire eased into the latter half of the nineteenth century.
1861 Worldwide Army Index
Can't find your male ancestor on the 1861 census? Perhaps he was in the British Army. This excellent resource is a database of Her Majesty's Army at home and abroad in 1861.
1871 Worldwide Army Index
This third and final index brings together nearly 208,000 British Army soldiers at their various stations at home and abroad.
Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902
A register of over 300,000 British and Empire names, including a completely revised casualty list of 59,000 casualty records.
Armed Forces Births 1761-2005
The armed forces records include the registrations of British armed forces (including serving members who were not British nationals) posted overseas. This index also includes some regimental registers and chaplains' returns for army births which took place in the British Isles, for example, at barracks and garrisons.
Armed Forces Marriages 1796-2005 and Armed Forces Deaths 1796-2005
See above.
Army Deserters 1828-1840
An index of over 34,000 army deserters including over 17,000 born in England, Wales or overseas, over 5,000 born in Scotland, and over 12,000 born in Ireland.
Army List 1787 and Army List 1798
Officer indexes which include name, rank, regiment, page and, in many cases, additional notes for each man.
Indian Army & Civil Service List 1873
A list of Indian Army Officers and civil servants (legal, professional and ecclesiastical) including retired, pensioned and deceased civil and military personnel (officers).
Grenadier Guards 1656-1874
Militia 1806-1915
Attestation records from the WO 96 series at The National Archives in England.
Paddington Rifles 1860-1912
A database of over 8,600 men who served with the battalion from its inception in 1860 as a Volunteer Force battalion until its demise as the 10th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Paddington Rifles) in 1912.
Peninsula Medal Roll 1793-1814
Over 26,000 men are listed in the Peninsula Medal Roll. Records usually include first name, last name, rank and regiment, number of clasps, particulars of clasps and remarks.
Pension records 1760-1913
The so-called Chelsea Pensioner records in WO 97 at The National Archives in England
Royal Fusiliers 1863-1905
The names of close to 5000 officers and men who took part in campaigns in Afghanistan, India, Tibet, Canada and South Africa between 1863 and 1904. If your British Army Ancestor served with the Royal Fusiliers you might find him here.
Surrey Recruitment Registers 1908-1933
The details of approximately 85,000 Surrey-based men who attested for service with His Majesty's Army between 1908 and 1933.
Waterloo Medal Roll 1815
The names of nearly 37,000 Waterloo veterans who were awarded the British Army’s first campaign medal.
