British Army Service Records

Scots Guards Enlistment Registers

1799-1939

This set has been made available by the Scots Guards. It comprises regimental enlistment records from 1799 to 1939. The attestation books record the place, date, and age of the soldier at the time of attestation. You will also find the soldier’s birth place, spouse’s name, marriage date, and trade prior to joining the army. The books also recorded if the individual received medals or was wounded during service, as well as the individual’s rank at the time of discharge.

The Scots Guards can trace its origin back to 1642 when they were known as the Marquis of Argyll’s Royal Regiment. Throughout its history, the regiment has also be known as the Scots Regiment of Foot Guards, 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards, and the Scots Fusilier Guards. Finally, in 1877, the regiment received its title as Scots Guards. The enlistment records include the names of men who served in the Seven Years War, the Napoleonic War, the Crimean War, and the two world wars.

Scots Guards Officer Enlistment Registers

1642-1939

The officer enlistment books provide dates of promotion to officer ranks such as lieutenant, captain, major, or lieutenant colonel. The remarks column details the officer’s mobilisation dates and resignation dates, as well as whether the officer was wounded or received medals or awards. Some records will include a date of death, especially in cases where the officer was killed in action or died of wounds. These books have been made available online by the Scots Guards.

WO 22 - Royal Hospital Chelsea: returns of payment of Army and other pensions

1842-1883

In this series, you will find documents related to pensions paid by the Royal Hospital Chelsea. They will detail a soldiers’ change of residence and date of death. Furthermore, they detail the rate of pension paid and whether and when a pension was expired, reduced, renewed, or increased. The date of admission to out-pensioners will give you an indication as to when the soldier retired from the armed forces.

WO 23 - Royal Hospital Chelsea: admission books, registers, and papers

1702-1876

This series was created to administer pensions payable by the commissioners of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, to both in-pensioners and out-pensioners. These superannuation books recorded soldiers’ rank, department or regiment, date of commencement, rate of pension paid, and payment dates. Some of the books will have additional notes such as birth dates and whether the individual was an in- or out-pensioner.

WO 25 – Royal Engineers Officers’ Service Records

In this series, you will find records of service for officers in the Royal Engineers. In the documents, you can find details of their rank and dates of service. The forms also include the campaigns they served in along with information on any marriages, births of children during service and the names and address of next of kin.

WO 76 - Regimental records of officers' services

1775-1914

The records found in this series were created by individual regiments and pertain solely to officers. They do not include every regiment and the level of information for each regiment varies. In the documents, you can find soldiers’ rank, regiment, service dates, commissioned ranks, and promotions. You may also be able to learn additional background about them prior to joining the forces, for instance his date and place of birth and his education background, including if he could speak any foreign languages.

WO 96 - Militia service records

1806-1915

The WO96 series includes soldiers’ attestation forms, which were completed when they were recruited. The form includes marital status, occupation, details related to any previous service, residence, and next of kin. Each form recorded their medical examination; here you can find a physical description including height, hair colour, and eye colour. The forms were updated during service and document full service histories.

WO 97 – Chelsea: pensioners British Army service records

1760-1913

These records were collected and recorded to determine a person’s eligibility for a pension from the Royal Chelsea Hospital. They recorded an individual’s rank and regiment, service number, birth place, occupation, attestation date and service history. Some will include a statement about the person’s character and proceedings of the regimental board.

WO 121 - Chelsea: pensioners' discharge documents

1760-1887

The records found in this series are similar to WO97. This series contains some of the collection’s oldest records. They recorded a person’s birthplace, the length of service, and why the soldier was discharged. For example, in the records we find Lieutenant Colonel Robert Able of Norwich, who was 43 years old when he was discharged, ‘Having the rheumatism and being worn out’ after serving for 20 years and 6 months.

WO 122 - Chelsea: pensioners' discharge documents, foreign regiments

1816-1817

These records are certificates of service for pensions from foreign regiments: King’s German Legion, Foreign Veteran Battalions, and the Royal Foreign Wagon Train. In this series, you will find soldiers’ ranks and regiments, home parishes and lengths of service, as well as physical descriptions.

WO 128 - Imperial Yeomanry, soldiers' documents, South African War

1899-1902

The soldiers featured in these records enlisted with the Imperial Yeomanry for a short period during the South African War. They are similar to other attestation records and contain the same information. The Imperial Yeomanry, a volunteer cavalry regiment, was created on 24 December 1899 by Royal Warrant because of a need for more troops in South Africa.

WO 131 - Chelsea: documents of soldiers awarded deferred pensions

1838-1896

This collection comprises 42,000 images relating to the records of 6,000 men for the period 1838-1896. You will find nominal rolls of soldiers awarded pensions as well as discharge documents of pensioners. The documents recorded a soldier’s rank and regiment, enlistment date, age at enlistment, promotions, reductions, and years of service. You may also find a statement about the soldier’s conduct and notes of distinguished service.

WO 339 - Officers' services, First World War, regular army and emergency reserve officers

This series is presented as transcript-only. The transcripts were created from records and correspondences related to officers in the regular army and the emergency reserve during the First World War. These records have not yet been digitised but can be viewed in their original state at The National Archives, Kew, London.

WO 363 - First World War service records 'burnt documents'

Around two-thirds of the 6.5 million WO 363 documents were destroyed during the bombing of the War Office Record Office in London in September 1940. Many of the surviving records, which pertain to the service of non-commissioned officers and men, were either burnt or damaged by water from the firemen’s hoses and are known as the ‘burnt documents’. Please note that the WO 363 series may contain poor quality images due to the fire and water-damaged condition of the original documents.

WO 364 - First World War pension claims

WO 364 are service records of non-commissioned officers and men who were discharged from the British Army and who either claimed disability pensions for war service from 1914 to 1920 or who were deemed likely to claim a pension. These records were stored with the Ministry of Pensions and, therefore, escaped the bombing that so decimated the records we now find in WO 363. These records are unlikely to contain any papers for soldiers who were either killed in action and had no dependents or who were discharged as part of the demobilisation at the end of the First World War and did not claim a pension.

WO 374 - Officers' services, First World War, personal files

This is an index of men who served as officers in the British Army during the First World War. Original papers for these men can be viewed at The National Archives, Kew, London. They include details of soldiers’ ranks, regiments and service numbers.

WO 400 - The Household Cavalry

1801-1919

The Household Cavalry is one of the oldest and most senior units in the British Army, dating back to 1600. Its soldiers are the monarch’s official bodyguards. The Household Cavalry comprised the 1st Life Guards, 2nd Life Guards and the Royal Horse Guards. During the First World War, a fourth regiment, The Household Battalion, was also raised, and this collection contains the service records of non-commissioned officers and men who served with all four regiments. Today, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment is stationed at Hyde Park Barracks and provides the army’s mounted state ceremonial duties, making them the public face of the British Army. These regimental records will provide you with their service history.

British Army, Soldiers’ Address

1914-1918

These names and addresses of soldiers were written into an address book of a local Folkestone woman as the men passed through the town on their way to France during the First World War. Some of them would not return. Our thanks to Geoff Tabrah for sending us this family heirloom so that we could copy and preserve these men's details. The book was originally owned by Geoff's wife's great-aunt.