To find an Irish ancestor who served in the military, you may need to learn a little about military service for the Irish and the unique meaning of some British military terms. Ireland was subject to the British Army from the army's creation as a standing (permanent) organization in 1661 until 1922. The number of Irish serving in the British Army varied widely, but a significant part of the Irish population served in the army, and a disproportionately high percentage of the British Army was Irish. It is estimated that as many as 15% of the Irish either served or had family that served in the army.

Catholics were not prevented from joining the army (only from being officers at one time), and as early as 1795 some army chaplains were Catholic or of other christian faiths. Many Irish who joined the British Army were stationed outside of Ireland. The widespread British Empire resulted in Irish soldiers serving in such far-flung places as Australia, Malta, India, South Africa, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Gibraltar, Egypt, and Canada.

The great majority of men joining the army served as soldiers, while the more educated and/or wealthier men served as officers. A soldier attested (enlisted) and officers were commissioned. Until 1871, an officer could sell his commission to another individual.

Soldiers were offered a bounty for attestation (an enlistment bonus) to make joining attractive. A life where the army fed and cared for you may have seemed appealing to young men starving at home. The bounty also attracted both husbands and sons whose families were destitute--the bounty would provide for the family's immediate needs and the parish was left with the responsibility of caring for the soldier's wife and children while he was in the army.

When a soldier joined the army, it was usually for life. He could leave the service before death due to disability, old age (sometimes as early as 36), purchase his way out (soldiers usually didn't have the funds and were paid too little to save enough), or be part of a regiment that was "stood down." In times of peace, a regiment could be reduced or disbanded, and the soldiers might be offered an inducement in lieu of any pension. Thus, soldiers in New Zealand and Canada were often offered land in lieu of a pension (this also saved the army the cost of transporting the man back to Ireland).

"Military" is a term reserved for the army, although sometimes extended to include the militia. Soldiers and "men" are both terms that apply to enlisted men and not to officers. Men serving on ships were either Navy or Royal Marines, and are not part of the British military. The Constabulary is not a military corps, but a law enforcement organization. The militia was similar to our modern "reserves," and generally resided at home and met periodically to train. The militia could be called into "active service," but usually remained a militia unit, rather than part of the army. Fencibles were home service troops similar to the militia. All of these organizations kept their own separate records.

Militia records are important, as several hundred thousand of the Irish served in the militia. An extensive collection of militia records was gathered to the PRO as record class WO 68. Many other militia records survive in various record repositories around Ireland.

The vast majority of army records are kept at the Public Record Office (PRO), Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU, England. Those after 1913 are not yet available to the public. Records mentioned in this article are followed by their PRO class number (e.g., WO 97). This number specifies the record as well as helping you use more advanced sources such as Kew Lists (see books cited at end).

Many factors may discourage novice searchers of military records, but much useful information may be obtained by the patient and informed researcher. There are many records, but few are indexed and there is no general index covering more than one record series. The record needed to find a soldier depends on when he served, where he served, which corps he was in, the reason, place and manner of his leaving the army, and several other factors. The best record for you to use also depends on which repository you can visit, how much time you have at the repository, and whether you will search yourself or have someone else do it for you.

Thousands of different types of records were kept on army personnel. Records kept by the army range from medals awarded to court martials to pay records. They include such obscure things as separate records on persons used to shoe horses that pulled cannons (in WO 69). What you know about your soldier will determine which record is best for you to search.

The most important thing to know is the corps (Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Medics, Quartermasters, Chaplains, Engineers, Sappers and Miners, etc.) Some of these organizations kept separate records. For example, Engineers, Artillery, Sappers and Miners were part of the Board of Ordnance and kept separate records until 1855. Quartermasters were in charge of supplies, are while one was with each regiment, all records on quartermasters were kept separately by the Commissary General (PRO class CG).

Those who may have been officers are usually easy to find, but the information available on them may not be very extensive until 1828. Soldiers are difficult to find unless they were in the Board of Ordnance or unless you know the regiment. Once you know the regiment, there may be more information on soldiers than on the officers.

Your first step is to decide whether your ancestor was an officer or a soldier. Family tradition may give some clues, and family social status should be an indicator (wealth, education or status suggest an officer). Names of officers have been indexed. Officers commissioned between 1660 and 1714 are listed in Charles Dalton's Early Army Lists and Commission Registers (FHL book 942 M23d, 6 vols) and those commissioned 1714-1727 are listed in Charles Dalton's George I's Army (not at FHL). An annually published list of serving officers beginning in 1754 is Army Lists (see Ireland Research Outline). A combined card index to officers is available only at the PRO.

A very valuable record for officers is the 1829 return of officers' service (WO 25/780-805). Every officer (active or retired) still living in 1829 was required to complete forms showing a history of his military career, current residence and employment (if any), dates and places of birth of his children, and date, place of marriage and name of spouse(s). For details on finding these returns, see the England Research Outline. This same information is usually recorded in the Officers service record (WO 76, also at FHL), but the service records do not always survive and may be difficult to locate.

If your ancestor was not an officer, your next step is to search any available indexes that cover the proper time period. Few records of soldiers are indexed, and most of those are indexed only within each regiment or corps. Board of Ordnance service records are indexed, but the index is only at the PRO. The 1806 return of service ("census" of soldiers) is indexed by regiment, and is probably the easiest of the regimental sources to search, but is available only at the PRO (WO 25/871-1120). One widely available general index is described below (see Pensions).

The most valuable and comprehensive generally indexed records are the Army chaplains' records. The chaplains served the men regardless of denomination. Most soldiers accepted baptism and marriage by a chaplain unless a minister of their own denomination was available locally. These records of baptisms and marriages are important. The largest collection of these are the Chaplain's Returns and Regimental Registers. Chaplain's returns (1760-1971) list the baptisms, marriages, and burials of soldiers and their family members performed abroad by military chaplains. Regimental registers (1790-1924) contain birth, marriage, and death records by regiment for families of officers and enlisted men. Birth and baptism records are indexed. The indexes to these records are on open shelves St. Catherine's House, but the actual chaplain's returns and regimental registers are available only by correspondence. The address is: General Register Office, St. Catherine's House, 10 Kingsway, London WC2B 6JP, England.

Vital records kept by ministers or civil officials in the area where the event took place should not be overlooked. Sometimes records which are not considered army records contain valuable information about those serving in the army. For example, the baptism, marriage, and burial records for the British in India include thousands of soldiers stationed there. These records have been filmed and are available at the Family History Library (FHL).

The main series of records on a soldier is the "soldiers' documents" (WO 97, at FHL), which are similar to a "personnel jacket" and contain miscellaneous papers from a soldier's career in the army. A particularly valuable record that is sometimes found among the soldier's documents is the attestation document, which gives date of birth. These records are arranged alphabetically by regiment for those discharged to pension before 1873. Unfortunately, the corresponding records for soldiers who died while in the service or who left the service for reasons other than honorable discharge were destroyed by fire.

Soldiers' service records between 1873 and 1882 are arranged alphabetically by corps. Service records 1883-1913 are in one alphabetical series. Records after 1872 are available only at the PRO. Prior to 1873, you will usually need to know the Infantry regiment (or the corps if not Infantry). This is because most records were created by the regiments and are still organized by regiment today.

To determine the regiment, see the list of strategies outlined in the Ireland Research Outline. The most helpful aid to identifying the regiment is John Kitzmiller's book (cited at end).

Another genealogically valuable army record is the description book (WO 25). Originally created to enable the regiment to have an accurate description of the soldier and ready information to find him in case of desertion, it usually called for name, age, birthplace, where joined, religion, next of kin, and physical description. A similar record was kept by some depots (regimental training and mustering-in centers) in yet another record series (WO 67). Board of Ordnance description books are also separate (WO 54 and 69). Most of the description books are on film at the FHL.

Officers were not entitled to pensions, but an inactive officer received half his normal rate of pay until he died or sold his commission.

When leaving the service due to disability, old age, or long service, a soldier was usually allowed a pension. He could waive the pension in return for land or other inducement, or he could insist on transportation to an out-processing site--Kilmainham Hospital in Dublin, Chelsea Hospital in London, or Victoria Hospital in London (Victoria was used after 1864, mostly for those returning from Crimea or India). Which hospital was used was determined at the army's convenience.

The discharging soldier would be given a medical examination and a recommended pension amount. Age, extent of disability, conduct, and length of service influenced the amount of any pension awarded. Records of these examinations, discharges, and pensions awarded are contained in several series of records (WO 116-122, at FHL), some of which are indexed in Index Chelsea Pensioners, 1806-1836 (FHL book 942 M22ch). Another useful index covering Chelsea pensioners 1858-1933 is at the PRO only (WO 23/173).

District pension returns (WO 22) are valuable records that start about 1842. These records give addresses of pension recipients around the world and often record the pensioner's date and place of death. Pension payment records begin in 1801 (WO 23, PMG 6-8). These records are available only at the PRO.

The Family History Library has filmed some army records, but have only a small percentage of the total records available. Records filmed include soldier's documents for those discharged to pension before 1873, description books, discharge processing records, officers' service records and a few other miscellaneous records. The most notable records not filmed include the musters, pay lists, service returns (except 1828-29 Officers only), and vital records.

A useful register of army records at the FHL is Army Records (FHL book Reg 942 M2A; film 990,313, item 5), which describes and lists most army records available at the FHL by PRO class number.

Available guidebooks are usually not sufficiently specific or are based on the author's experience (slanted toward sources which helped the author's research and usually based on using a specific repository). Two excellent treatments of military records are the England Research Outline and the Watts' My Ancestor was in the British Army. Both include several recommended steps for beginners, but the steps they suggest are completely different. The Watts' book is biased toward using the PRO, while the England Research Outline is biased toward using sources which have been filmed by the FHL. Samples of many army documents have been published in Simon Fowler's book cited below.

The following valuable guidebooks are available at the FHL:

Bevan, Amanda, and Andrea Duncan. Tracing Your Ancestors in the Public Record Office. 4th ed. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1990. (FHL book Ref 942 A5p no. 19.)

England Research Outline. Salt Lake City, UT: Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1991. (Available online at www.familyhistory.org/sg.)

Fowler, Simon. Army Records for Family Historians. London: Public Record Office Publications, 1992. (FHL book Ref 942 M27f.)

Great Britain, Public Record Office. Kew Lists. Microfiche ed., 17 vols. [Norwich, England]: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1986-88. (FHL book 942 A3gp.)

Kitzmiller, John M. In Search of the Forlorn Hope, 2 vols. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Manuscript Publishing Foundation, 1988; FHL book Ref 942 M2kj).

Swinson, Arthur S., ed. A Register of the Regiments and Corps of the British Army. London: Archive Press, 1972. (FHL book Ref 942 M2am.)

Watts, Christopher T. and Michael J. Watts. My Ancestor was in the British Army, How can I find out more about him? London: Society of Genealogists, 1992. (FHL book Ref 942 M2wm.)

White, Arthur S., comp. A Bibliography of Regimental Histories of the British Army. London: The Society for Army Historical Research, 1965. (FHL book 942 A3w.)