30 August 2017

What's available online for British Military Genealogy?

With so many British military databases available online it's a challenge to know where to go to find the one you want.
The table below includes the databases from Ancestry, FamilySearch (FS), Findmypast (FMP) and The (UK) National Archives (TNA). They're ordered by the year of the first date available. Some are at more than one site although the title may be different.

DatabaseCompanyService
British Royal Navy & Royal Marines Service and Pension Records Browse, 1704-1919FMPNavy
British Royal Navy & Royal Marines Service and Pension Records, 1704-1919FMPNavy
British Army, List Of Half-Pay Officers 1714FMPArmy
UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Admissions and Discharges, 1715-1925AncestryArmy
British Army, Royal Artillery Officers 1716-1899FMPArmy
British Royal Navy, Ships' MustersFMPNavy
British India Office Army & Navy PensionsFMPArmy & Navy
Royal Navy officers' service records 1756-1931TNANavy
Web: UK, Royal Naval Officers' Service Records Index, 1756-1931AncestryNavy
UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Soldier Service Records, 1760-1920AncestryArmy
UK, Chelsea Pensioners' Service Records, 1760-1913FSArmy
UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea: Discharge Documents of Pensioners 1760-1887FSArmy
Great Britain, War Office Registers, 1772-1935FSArmy
Cornwall, England, Militia and Sea Fencibles Index, 1780 - 1831AncestryAll
British Army Pensioners - Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Ireland, 1783-1822FMPArmy
Army List 1787FMPArmy
British Mariners, Trinity House Calendars 1787-1854FMPMarines
British Royal Navy Allotment Declarations 1795-1852FMPNavy
Army List 1798FMPArmy
Household Cavalry soldiers' service records 1799-1920TNAArmy
British Army Officer Promotions 1800-1815FMPArmy
UK, British Army Lists, 1882-1962AncestryArmy
British Army Schoolchildren and Schoolmasters 1803-1932FMPArmy
London, Watermen In Royal Navy, 1803-1809FMPNavy
UK, Militia Service Records, 1806-1915FSArmy
UK, Naval and Military Courts Martial Registers, 1806-1930AncestryNavy
British Army Muster Rolls, 84th Foot 1808-1818FMPArmy
Peninsular War, British Army Officers, 1808-1814FMPArmy
UK, Military Deserters, 1812-1927AncestryArmy
UK, British Army Muster Books and Pay Lists, 1812-1817AncestryArmy
British Army, War Of 1812 CasualtiesFMPArmy
British Royal Marines, Marriage Registers 1813-1920FMPMarines
Army Deserters 1828-1840FMPArmy
British Royal Navy Personnel 1831FMPNavy
UK, Merchant Navy Seamen Records, 1835-1941FSNavy
Harts Army List 1840FMPArmy
Royal Navy officers' service record cards and files c.1840-c.1920TNANavy
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841FMPArmy
Royal Marines' service records 1842-1925TNAMarines
UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services, 1848-1939AncestryNavy
British Army, Royal Artillery Officer Deaths 1850-2011FMPArmy
British Army, Worldwide Index 1851FMPArmy
England & Wales Merchant Navy Crew Lists 1861-1913FMPNavy
Royal Navy ratings' service records 1853-1923TNANavy
Web: UK, Royal Naval Seamen Index, 1853 -1872AncestryNavy
British Army Discharges, 60th Foot 1854-1880FMPArmy
East India Register & Army List 1855FMPArmy
Victoria Cross registers 1856-1944TNAArmy
Royal Naval Reserve service records 1860-1955TNANavy
British Army, Worldwide Index 1861FMPArmy
British Army, Worldwide Index 1871FMPArmy
Indian Army & Civil Service List 1873FMPArmy
Army List August 1878FMPArmy
British Army Muster Rolls, 60th Foot 1879-1882FMPArmy
British Army, Northumberland Fusiliers 1881-1920FMPArmy
Harts Army List 1888FMPArmy
Royal Marines 1899-1919FMPMarines
British Royal Navy Seamen 1899-1924FMPNavy
Royal Navy Officers 1899-1919FMPNavy
UK, Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929AncestryArmy
Volunteer Reserve service records 1903-1922TNANavy
British Army Service Records Image BrowseFMPArmy
Royal Naval Air Service officers' service records 1906-1918TNANavy
British Army, Honourable Artillery CompanyFMPArmy
British Royal Air Force, Airmen's Service Records 1912-1939FMPAir Force
British Royal Air Force, Officers' Service Records 1912-1920FMPAir Force
UK, Royal Air Force Muster Roll, 1918AncestryAir Force
UK, British Jewry Roll of Honour, 1914-1918AncestryAll
Bexley, Kent, England, WWI Registration Cards, 1914-1919AncestryAll
Prisoner of war interview reports 1914-1918TNAArmy
British Army medal index cards 1914-1920TNAArmy
British Army nurses' service records 1914-1918TNAArmy
British Army war diaries 1914-1922TNAArmy
Soldiers' service recordsTNAArmy
Soldiers' pension recordsTNAArmy
UK, British Army Recipients of the Military Medal, 1914-1920AncestryArmy
Surrey, England, Regimental Rolls, 1914-1947AncestryArmy
UK, WWI War Diaries (Gallipoli and Dardanelles), 1914-1916AncestryArmy
UK, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920AncestryArmy
UK, WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920AncestryArmy
British Army Service RecordsFMPArmy
British Army, Bond Of Sacrifice: Officers Died In The Great War 1914-1916FMPArmy
British Army, De Ruvigny's Roll Of Honour 1914-1918FMPArmy
British Army, Deserters and Absentees In Police Gazette 1914-1919FMPArmy
British Army, Lloyds Of London Memorial Roll 1914-1919FMPArmy
British Army, Royal Artillery War Commemoration Book, 1914-1918FMPArmy
UK, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920FSArmy
Merchant seamen's campaign medal records 1914-1918TNAMerchant Navy
UK, Shipping and Seamen WWI and WWII Rolls of Honour, 1914-1945AncestryMerchant Navy
Royal Naval Division service records 1914-1919TNANavy
British Royal Navy & Royal Marines, Battle Of Jutland 1916 ServicemenFMPNavy
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps service records 1917-1920TNAArmy
British Army, Women's Army Auxiliary Corps 1917-1920FMPArmy
UK, World War I Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Records, 1917-1920FSArmy
Women's Royal Naval service records 1917-1919TNANavy
Royal Air Force officers' service records 1918-1919TNAAir Force
Women's Royal Air Force service records 1918-1920TNAAir Force
UK, Royal Air Force Airmen Records, 1918-1940AncestryAir Force
Web: UK, Women's Royal Air Force Index, 1918-1920AncestryAir Force
British Women's Royal Air Force Service Records 1918-1920FMPAir Force
Royal Air Force Muster Roll 1918FMPtAir Force
British Army, Plovdiv Military Cemetery BurialsFMPArmy
UK, Military Discharge Indexes, 1920-1971AncestryArmy
UK, Electrical Engineer WWI and WWII Rolls of Honour, 1924, 1949AncestryAll
Army Roll Of Honour 1939-1945FMPArmy
British Army Casualty Lists 1939-1945FMPArmy
British Army Casualty Lists 1939-1945 Image BrowseFMPArmy
British Army, Royal Artillery, 80th Field Regiment, WW2FMPArmy
UK, WWII Civil Defence Gallantry Awards, 1940-1949AncestryCivilian

There are no British military records at MyHeritage. While The Genealogist has several, including many years of Army Lists, the catalogue information is sparse. Check it out at
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/coverage/military-records/?type=diamond#includes

3 comments:

Chris Paton said...

Three more for you John, all on Ancestry and listed as 'Canadian' collections, though concerning British Army regiments (including regimental description books):

Canada, British Army and Canadian Militia Muster Rolls and Pay Lists, 1795-1850
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=3230

Canada, British Army Regimental Rolls of Non-commissioned Officers and Soldiers, 1806-1892
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=3383

Canada, British Regimental Registers of Service, 1756-1900
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=3253

Chris

Unknown said...

Chris and John - yes the records are on Ancestry and are useful but Do Not make any assumptions about your soldier based on Ancestry's title for these records.

Ann Williams said...

Another couple of additions:
Silver War Badge Medals 1914-1920 on Ancestry, and
Soldiers Wills 1850-1986 at https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#soldiers

Ann Williams, Calgary