This article gives strategies for finding records about your ancestor in the military (army) or navy records of the British Empire where you do not know the ship or regiment in which he served. Strategies depend on whether the ancestor was in the army or the navy and whether he was an officer or not. A more complete article describing army records and how to use them is British Military Records for Genealogists.
It is difficult to locate your ancestor's military records without knowing the unit (ship or regiment) in which he or she served. If you do not know the ship or regiment already, you may find that information in other records, such as census, church, or family records. Once you know the ship or regiment, consult the muster rolls, records of service, or other records available for your ancestor's unit. Other strategies for finding the ship or regiment of an individual follow:
Soldiers. If your ancestor married, died, or had children after 1760 while in the army, he and the regiment to which he belonged may be listed in the chaplain's returns or regimental registers. If you cannot find your ancestor's regiment from these records, other sources you should search will depend on what you know about your ancestor. If you know:
The place of a campaign or battle in which your ancestor fought, a place where he was stationed, or the place where his wife gave birth to a child they had while he was in the service, use John Kitzmiller, In Search of the Forlorn Hope (Ogden, Utah: Manuscript Publishing Foundation, 1988; FHL book Ref 942 M2j) to determine the regiment(s) that were stationed at that place during that time.
The area where your ancestor lived during his late teens, use the handbooks below or regimental histories to find which regiments were recruited in that area.
Where he died after receiving an army pension, search the district pension returns for that area.
That your ancestor was in the army in 1806, you may wish to search the return of all men (except commissioned officers) in army service as of 24 June 1806. While the 1806 return is indexed only by regiment, it is more complete and easier to search than other sources, such as soldier's documents.
Army officers. You can usually find records for army officers in the Army List (*See below). If your ancestor does not appear in the Army List for the right time period, consult the card index to officers which is available only at the Public Record Office, Kew (See www.pro.gov.uk for the address). You may write the Public Record Office, Kew to obtain information from this card index.
If an officer was living during 1828 or 1829, use the indexed returns of service (See below under Returns of Service). You may also check widow's pension applications as officers' birth certificates were often submitted with these applications. If you still cannot find an officer's record, follow the search strategies for soldiers.
Generally, there are separate records for staff officers, medical officers (surgeons), Commissariat officers, chaplains, and others. Board of Ordnance officers (artillerymen, engineers, sappers, miners, artificers, and others) are not always included in the Army List, but they kept their own records until 1855. All these separate sets of records are at the Public Record Office, Kew (See www.pro.gov.uk for the address).
Seamen. Navy records seldom mention individual seamen before 1853. If your ancestor was in the navy after 1853, search the index to continuous service engagement books. Before 1853, the source to search will depend on what you know about your ancestor. If you know:
The name of a ship on which your ancestor served, search the ship musters and pay lists for the time period he should have been aboard.
A port where your ancestor landed on a specific date, search the list books, which provide a geographically arranged list of the ports where ships were located on certain dates. This source is available at the Public Records Office, Kew (See www.pro.gov.uk for the address).
A battle or campaign in which your ancestor's ship was involved, search the medal rolls.
Your ancestor was on board a ship in 1861, search the Surname Index to 1861 Census Returns of Ships (FHL fiche 6025598).
The name of an officer serving with your ancestor, search the Navy List for the ship on which that officer served.
Naval officers. The Index to Commission and Warrant Books (FHL film 824,516-17) lists naval officers who served from 1695 to 1742. It gives the officer's date of commission and a reference to additional information held at the Public Record Office, Kew (See www.pro.gov.uk for the address).
Many officers are included in published biographies, such as Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy, 1660-1815, 3 vols. (FHL book 942 M23cs; film 908,026-27).
For people serving as midshipmen (potential officers) between 1799 and 1854, the Midshipmen's Papers list birth dates and places and parents' names.
If your ancestor is not listed in any of the above sources, consult the handbooks listed below.
Handbooks for Military Records
Bevan, Andrea and Andrea Duncan. Tracing Your Ancestors in the Public Record Office. (FHL book Ref 942 A5p no. 19 1990).
Hamilton-Edwards, Gerald. In Search of Army Ancestry. London: Phillimore & Co., Ltd., 1977. (FHL book 942 M2ha.)
Higham, Robin. A Guide to the Sources of British Military History. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972. (FHL book 942 M2h.)
Kew Lists: Public Record Office. Norwich, England: Her Majesty's Stationer's Office, 1986-88. (FHL book 942 A3gp)
Records of Officers and Soldiers Who Have Served in the British Army. London: Public Record Office, 1984. (FHL book Ref 942 M2am no. 1.)
Rodgers, N. A. M. Naval Records for Genealogists. 2d ed. London: Her Majesty's Stationers Office, 1988. (FHL book Ref 942 A5p no. 22.)
Swinson, Arthur S., ed. A Register of the Regiments and Corps of the British Army. London: Archive Press, 1972. (FHL book Ref 942 M2s.)