Military records identify individuals who served or were eligible to serve in the armed forces. From 1660 to 1922, the Irish military was part of the British armed services. The regular army and the navy constituted the major branches of the military. Military service (except in the militia) was usually a lifetime career. Typically, officers were from the upper classes and soldiers from among the poor. Compulsory draft was seldom used, except by the militia. The officials in each parish decided who from their parish would serve in the militia.

Militia, fencibles, yeomanry, territorial armies, coast guard, and royal marines were also armed forces which kept their own records. These are briefly discussed at the end of this article.

You may find evidence that an ancestor served in the military in family records, biographies, censuses, probates, civil registrations, or church records.

Military records are potentially of great genealogical value. But they are difficult to use because few are indexed and many are only available at the Public Record Office in London.

The Family History Library does not have many British military records. You may want to hire a researcher to search military records that are not available at the Family History Library. Civil registration, census, or church records are easier records to use and often give information that will help you search military records. However, military records sometimes provide information that is not found in any other source.

Individual military units (regiments for the army, ships for the navy) kept records on their own servicemen. Pre-1914 records are by the Public Record Office, Kew (See www.pro.gov.uk for the address).

The British Army was almost always involved in some military action. Some of these included.

1688-1745 Jacobite Rebellions. William of Orange and James contended for the British Crown. James' followers, called Jacobites, were mostly Catholic, while William's were mostly Protestant. William won the Crown on the battlefield in Ireland. Predominantly Catholic Ireland supported several later rebellions intended to bring James to the throne.

1755-1762 Seven Years War. (French and Indian Wars in North America). The Seven Years War involved 120,000 British soldiers and marked the beginning of continuous army records.

1775-1783 U.S. Revolution. The British army consisted of 135,000 men when fighting broke out in America. Irish individuals who desired independence were sympathetic with the American cause. Some Irish remained in Canada after the war, but most returned. Records of Irish loyal to England and others who remained in Canada are separate from other military records.

1805-1815 Napoleonic Wars. Various battles across Europe, including the Peninsular Wars in Portugal and Spain, involved 365,000 British soldiers and 300,000 British seamen.

1854-1856 Crimean War. Britain sent 225,000 troops to fight in the Crimea (Turkey).

1857-1860 Indian Mutiny. Many of the troops discharged after the Crimean war were recalled to quell a revolt in India.

1877-1901 Boer Wars. The first Anglo-Boer War (1877-1881) led to South African independence. The second Anglo-Boer War (1898-1901) led to the unification of South Africa. British records of men who fought in this war were destroyed by fire.

1914-1918 First World War. About 3 million British troops served in this war; 750,000 died.

Army records. The army began as a permanent organization in 1660. Earlier armies were raised as needed, usually as county militia units directed by the shire's lord lieutenant. For information on pre-1660 military records, see the handbooks described below.

Pre-1847 British army service was generally for life. Some soldiers were discharged early for disability (liberally defined) or age (often by age 40).

Before 1872, army records were organized by regiment. Most regiments have published histories which record the places they served and the battles they fought. A bibliography of regiment histories is Arthur S. White, comp., A Bibliography of Regimental Histories of the British Army (London: The Society for Army Historical Research, 1965; FHL book 942 A3w).

Many military histories are listed in the Locality section of the Family History Library Catalog under GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY HISTORY.

Navy records. The earliest surviving navy records are from 1617. Navy records are quite extensive but are usually difficult to use partly because they lack indexes. Many are available only at the Public Record Office. Ship's logs survive from 1673, but these usually give only information on position, weather, sightings of other ships, and shipboard events. While shipboard events often include individual names, there are no indexes.

Many sources, such as James J. Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy (Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987; FHL book Ref 942 M3c) list navy ships with ship descriptions and dates and places ships were in service. Official navy list books, available from 1673, give ports of call for ships during each year.

Seamen often alternated between the navy and the merchant marines. Until 1853, enlistment was informal and lasted for the ship's commission, usually three years. After 1853, seamen served for the duration of their employed career.

Before 1853, individual seamen (called ratings) were not mentioned in navy records other than musters or pay lists unless they deserted, misbehaved, or earned a medal.

Royal Marines. The Royal Marines originally maintained discipline on board navy vessels. The Royal Marines have been a separate branch of the military since 1755. Alphabetically arranged records of marines grouped by enlistment date or by discharge date survive from 1790.

Post-1914 army records are at: Army Records Centre

Bourne Avenue

Hayes, Middlesex UB3 1RF

England

Post-1914 navy records are at:

Ministry of Defense

Main Building, Whitehall SW1A 2HB

England

Lists of British soldiers who died in World War I have been compiled from official casualty lists and published in Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-19, Reprint: 80 parts (Colchester: J. B. Hayward, 1988-89; FHL book 942 M23s). These are now available on CD-ROM, as well.

The War Dead of the British Commonwealth and Empire (London: Imperial War Graves Commission, 1957; FHL 942 M2wdf; film 1,441,037) gives name, rank, regiment, and grave location for the British buried in France during World War II. Despite Ireland's neutrality in the war, thousands of Irish men joined the British Army.

For information on twentieth-century army records, see Norman H. Holding's two books World War I Army Ancestry (Solihull, England: Federation of Family History Societies, 1982; FHL book Ref M2hol), and More Sources of World War I Ancestry (Solihull, Ireland: Federation of Family History Societies, 1986; FHL book Ref M24hn).

Before you can use British military records before 1872, you must determine the specific navy ship or army regiment in which your ancestor served. For suggestions on finding this information, see the separate article, Secret Strategies of Professional Researchers in English Army and Navy Records..

Once you know the regiment or ship, the following records may help you trace your ancestor's career, age, and birthplace. However, be cautious in accepting the accuracy of the information you find because underage boys lied about their name, age, and sometimes birthplace to enlist.

Muster rolls. Muster rolls usually individually list the people assigned to a ship or regiment on a given day, their age (on joining), the date and place they joined, and sometimes other information such as their dependents (in later army musters) and birthplaces (on sea musters since 1770). Army musters exist for 1760 to 1878. Navy musters cover 1667 to 1878.

Description books. The army description book for each regiment gives each recruit's full name on attestation (enlistment), age and place joined, birthplace, previous trade, and physical description. Most books started about 1805 and were kept until 1850. Many have not survived. Similar records were kept for each navy ship from 1790, but many were never turned in or no longer exist.

Returns of Service. Beginning in 1806, returns of service were kept listing all men in the army. The scope, content, and frequency of returns of service vary greatly. Returns of officers' service tend to be more complete, providing the names of the officer and the officer's wife and children; birth and marriage dates and places; and a complete summary of stations, regiments, and promotions.

The returns of officers' services for 1828 and 1829 have been abstracted in Children of Officers on Full or Half-pay, 1828, Bound Manuscript (FHL book 942 M23ber) and Children of Officers on Full-pay, 1829, Bound Manuscript (FHL book 942 M23be).

Similar returns of naval officers began in 1817. The naval returns are indexed at the Public Record Office, Kew (See www.pro.gov.uk for the address).

Pension records. Pension records often contain details of an individual's reason for pension, fitness on discharge, and sometimes give birthplace, age, physical description, next of kin, or address where pension payments were sent.

Pensions were awarded to most individuals who legally left military service due to length of service, disability, or wounds. Sometimes widows or children of military men received the payments. Widow's or children's pension records often include marriage or baptismal certificates in support of the claim for assistance.

Army pension records started in 1690. Naval pension records began as early as 1617. Payments to retired officers, called half-pay, were not considered pensions. Many different types of pension records covering various time periods survive. There are many other pension-related records among the records of the Paymaster General at the Public Record Office, Kew (See www.pro.gov.uk for address). The Family History Library also has many pension records (See the Records at the Family History Library, below).

Pay records. Pay records of military service include:

Pay lists which give the name, rate of pay and sometimes to whom the money was paid, which may be a spouse or other relative.

Pay warrants which record actual payment.

Pay ledgers which list the amount of pay, the person who earned the pay, the addresses to which the money was sent (from 1837), and sometimes birth dates.

Half-pay registers which contain officers' names, ranks, regiments, dates of first half-pay, rates of pay, and sometimes death dates.

Continuous Service Engagement Books. Continuous service engagement books record the continuous service numbers assigned to navy ratings (seamen) since 1853. The records give name, birth date, birthplace, physical description, and ship of service. Brief career details were later added. From 1872 until 1892, merchant seamen were included in these records.

Registers of Service. Registers of service tell which ship a sailor served on. For officers, these records started in 1846. For warrant officers and seamen, records cover the years 1802 to 1871. Once you identify the ship on which your ancestor served, you can consult muster rolls for further details on your ancestor.

Soldier's Documents. Soldier's documents contain the reason a soldier was discharged from the army to pension and details on the soldier's age, birthplace, and trade or occupation on enlistment. Available only for those soldiers who were discharged to pension, these records are arranged by regiment, then alphabetically by surname for the years 1760 through 1872. The records for 1873 to 1882 are alphabetically arranged by corps (cavalry, foot soldiers, guards, etc.). And from 1883 to 1914, these records are arranged in one alphabetical series by name. Service records of those not discharged to pension were destroyed by fire.

Chaplain's Returns. Chaplain's returns list the baptisms, marriages, and burials of soldiers and their families performed by military chaplains abroad. These returns (from 1760 to 1971) are indexed and are available by correspondence from the General Register Office (see the Archives and Libraries section of the England Research Outline for the address.)

Regimental Registers. Regimental registers contain birth, marriage, and death records kept by regiment for officers and enlisted men. Births and baptisms are indexed. These records, (1790-1924) are available only by correspondence from the General Register Office (See the Archives and Libraries; section of the England Research Outline for the address).

Records of Service. Records of service were kept for army officers from 1771 until 1911. They contain the officer's birth date and place, promotions, transfers, marriage date and place, spouse's name, and children's names, birth dates, and birthplaces.

Lists of Officers. Published annually, the lists of officers record an officer's name, rank, regiment or ship, and date of commission. For the army, the published source of these records is Army List (London: various publishers, 1754-; FHL book 942 M25g; film 856,427-452 and others). An index is included in each volume, beginning in the 1765 volume.

The list of naval officers is Navy List (London: various publishers, 1814-; FHL book 942 M25gba; films 918,928-940; 990,323

326). The fully indexed Navy List names all commissioned officers, including masters, pursers, surgeons, chaplains, yard officers, coast guardsmen, and reservists.

Other Records. Other military records include records on promotions, medals, casualties, court martials, and desertion. Hundreds of other types of records are listed in the handbooks at the end of this section. In addition, the following military branches kept separate records:

Militia units were raised on a county basis, were not part of the regular army, and kept their own records. In 1782, the Irish militia numbered 100,000 men. Generally, only militia lists and militia musters survive. Militia lists contain the names of men eligible for military service. Militia musters list the men who served in the militia. Early militia lists and most militia musters contain only the men's names.

A brief explanation of militia musters and the location of surviving pre-1757 musters are given in Jeremy Gibson and Alan Dell, Tudor and Stuart Muster Rolls (Solihull, England: Federation of Family History Societies, 1989; FHL book Ref 942 M2gj).

From 1757 to 1876, militia lists of men ages 18 to 55 were compiled by each parish and turned into the shire (county). These lists generally contain each man's name, parish of residence, age, fitness for service, and sometimes cause for exemption (such as having more than two young children, a disability, or an exempt occupation).

Many surviving militia lists and musters and the repository where these are held are recorded in Mervyn Medlycott and Jeremy Gibson, Militia Lists and Musters, 1757-1876 (Solihull, England: Federation of Family History Societies, 1989; FHL book Ref 942 M2gmm).

Fencibles were army units raised for home service only. Fencibles were usually classed with the militia and their records were kept together.

Yeomanry were volunteer regiments. Records on yeomen often have not survived or are less complete than other military records.

Territorial armies are forces raised in other countries. Records of territorial armies are usually in the country where the forces were raised. A notable exception is the Indian Army, for which many records are held at the India Office Library.

India Office Library

197 Blackfriars Road

London SE1 8 NG

Coast Guard (1816-1923) and Royal Marines (1790-1914) kept their own records, including pension, physical description, and other records.

The above-mentioned other military records (from militia to Royal Marine records) are at the Public Record Office, Kew (See www.pro.gov.uk for the address). Additional Irish military records at various repositories throughout Ireland and England are referenced in Richard J. Hayes, Manuscript Sources for the History of Irish Civilisation, 11 vols. (Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1965; FHL book Ref Q 941.5 A5h; films 1,440,939-43). This book describes each record, tells where it is located, and gives the reference number under which it is located in its repository.

Other military documents may be found in private collections, many of which have been donated to record repositories.

For more information on military records other than those of the army or navy, see the Bevan and Duncan or Kew Lists handbooks listed in the separate article, Secret Strategies of Professional Researchers in English Army and Navy Records.

In general, the Family History Library has the army soldiers' documents, description books, officers' records of service, 1828 and 1829 returns of officers' service, some discharge records (including ones from Kilmainham Hospital, Dublin), many regimental histories, and some other miscellaneous army records. For the navy, the library has continuous service engagement books, indexes to commission and warrant books, bounty papers, and various other published sources.

Army Records is a register which describes and lists most army (FHL book Reg 942 M2A; film 990,313, item 5) and some militia (FHL book Reg 942 M2m) records available at the Family History Library.

Library records are listed in the Locality section of the catalog under the following: