Basics on researching a military or naval ancestor

• British forces in the colonies
• British military records
• Militia
• Royal Navy records
• Australian military records

British forces in the colonies

From the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, with its detachments of Royal Marines, until the departure of the last of the British Regiments in 1870, British soldiers were quartered in Australia. Some of these men had already seen service in Britain's wars, a number went on to India and were replaced by new detachments of freshly arrived regiments, and many went to New Zealand to take part in the Maori Wars. Others took their discharge in Australia and went on to carve out different careers for themselves.

SAG has many books and records in its collection to assist research of such people. Search our online library catalogue for terms like "military history" or "Britain - history, military". The following is a small selection of books held by SAG.

Other sources

British War Office Musters relating to British Regiments in Australia pre-1870 have been microfilmed by the AJCP and are available in many major libraries and by library interloan.

The Australian War Museum, Canberra, has extensive card indexes compiled by Brigadier M Austin, particularly for his special interest, the NSW Corps (also known as the 102nd Regiment).

An index to the NSW Colonial Secretary's Correspondence is also available online and in major libraries and is an invaluable source of information for all people who spent time in the Colony, soldiers included.

And don't forget SAG's various indexes - particularly

• SAG's on-line index to Soldiers and Marines 1788-1830.
• the card and computer indexes to SAG's Primary Records. Both these can help you capitalise on the research of others, and avoid many blind alleys and other frustrations!

British military records

The National Archives (TNA) (UK) has a huge collection of records relating to the British Army, its people and campaigns. So far as officers are concerned, records date from the 17th century; for other ranks, the 18th century. Much detail on the records available can be found in the TNA's excellent series of research guides.

Soldiers' Documents

The easiest starting point for records of a soldier's career is the incomplete collection of attestation and discharge papers gathered in series WO97. This series is now available for searching using tthe TNA's online catalogue. The records are often an excellent source, providing place of birth, age on enlistment, details of appearance and, from 1883, next of kin. However, it is also only from 1883 that the series includes soldiers who:

• were not discharged to pension
• died in service
• purchased their discharge

Before 1883 the series largely relates to the minority of soldiers that were pensioned off.

Muster rolls and pay lists

For the majority of soldiers in the earlier period it will therefore be necessary to inspect the muster rolls. These list monthly or quarterly for each regiment those who served for the period, showing the date of enlistment, discharge or movement to another regiment, and can be used to trace an individual's complete service. From 1868 to 1883 musters may also contain lists of men becoming 'non-effective', giving birthplace, trade and date of death or discharge. Marriage Rolls may also be included from that year, giving details of children and wives occupying married quarters.

Description books

This series is also useful, giving a description of each soldier, his age, place of birth, trade and service. While the series covers the period 1756 to 1900, for most regiments there are volumes for the first half of the nineteenth century only.

Pension records

Soldiers who were invalided out of the army received a pension, but, before the later part of the 19th century, relatively few were pensioned for merely serving their term of service. Most of those that did, received an "out-pension", and did not become an "in-pensioner" at Chelsea or Kilmainham. Pensions paid abroad have been indexed in N K Crowder's book, British Army Pensioners Abroad, 1772-1899.

Medal rolls

The TNA also holds a wide range of "medal rolls" recording the award of campaign or war medals to members of the armed services. Medals or stars were awarded for a campaign or war (e.g. the Crimean War). Clasps were often added to the medal for taking part in particular battles within that campaign or war (e.g. Balaklava). The rolls are usually arranged within regiment/battalion. A number of medal rolls have been published in book form or on CD-ROM.

Records of gallantry medals and "mentions in despatches", generally well-indexed, are held at TNA. Public announcements of gallantry awards did not always quote the full citations, and some of these have not survived in official records. A number of books have been published giving details of the awards of particular medals.

Casualty lists

These lists gather details of those who died or were wounded in a theatre of war, as recorded in the war diaries of the relevant regiment. A good number have been published in book form, or on CD-ROM or regimental web sites.

Also worth a look is the website of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which has a searchable database of the personal and service details and places of commemoration for the 1.7 million members of the Commonwealth forces who died in the First or Second World Wars, as well as short histories of the major actions involved.

Finding the regiment

A number of the headings above assume that the name of the soldier's regiment is known. This may be available from family records or tradition; by identifying the uniform worn in a photograph; from 'next of kin' registers; or from records (see below) of family births etc. And there are various other sources that potentially involve a lot of work. These and other means for tracking down a soldier's regiment are outlined in the various TNA leaflets.

Birth, death & marriage records

Regimental registers of births, 1761-1924, are indexed, giving the regiment and place of birth of children born to the wives of serving soldiers, whether serving in Britain or abroad. Similarly, deaths and marriages are recorded in these registers, which are now held by the General Register Office, along with its other records of births, deaths and marriages. SAG holds microfiche copies to both sets of records.

Other web sources

There are many military history web sites, some focussed on particular wars or campaigns, others on particular regiments. For example, the Crimean War Research Society and the Black Watch. Such sites can provide useful pointers to relevant sources, and some have "rolls of honour" or other listings of those involved. Cyndi's List provides links to many such sites. As with any British research, the resources of GENUKI will also repay study.

How SAG can help you

SAG has a wide selection of items under the above headings in its collections, including:

• the microfiche indexes to regimental records held by the General Register Office
• Crowder's British Army Pensioners Abroad 1772-1899
• an extensive collection of Army Lists (listing officers only)
• various Medal Rolls including those awarded the General Service Medal 1793-1814, and Waterloo Medal 1815
• various casualty lists, including British soldiers in WW1 and casualties in the Crimean War
• a number of books on "how to research your soldier ancestor"
• other books providing excellent background information on battles - where, when and what were the outcomes. E.g. The Colonial Wars Source Book by Philip Haythornthwaite, dealing with British colonisation during the Victorian period.

Many of the TNA holdings are available at SAG via our Family History Library (FHL) microfilm service. You can identify relevant microfilms by using the Family History Library Catalogue online in the first instance under headings such as "Great Britain - Military history" and "Great Britain - Military records".

The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) has also copied many TNA military records of particular interest to Australian researchers. SAG's library has copies of the AJCP's handbooks describing the coverage but no holdings of the films themselves, which are available for viewing at most State libraries.

Finally, don't overlook the fact that a number of our volunteer library assistants specialise in this topic and are available to help visiting researchers.

Militia

This home defence force was originally voluntary but conscription was introduced in 1757. Each county in England and Ireland was responsible for its own militia, under the Lord Lieutenant. They were run, numbered and uniformed in similar fashion to regular army regiments.

Each parish was responsible for listing all males aged 18 to 45 and ballotting those to serve in the militia. To the extent they survive, militia lists (of all men) and militia enrolment lists (those ballotted) provide a census each year from 1758 to 1831. Surviving lists often give details about individual men and their family circumstances. The National Archives (UK) has large holdings of militia records, as outlined in the TNA's research guide.

How SAG can help you

Many of the above lists have been indexed and are held in our library. Search our on-line catalogue using the search term "militia".

Further reading

Helpful research books in the SAG library are Militia Lists and Musters, 1757-1876, by Jeremy Gibson & M Medlycott [SAG ref: M2/10/Pam.29]; and Records of the Militia & Volunteer Forces 1757-1945, by William Spencer [SAG ref: M2/11/22].

Royal Navy records

The original navy records up to WWII are held at The National Archives. SAG also holds a large collection of Navy Lists 1776-1938 (these list officers only) and Medal Rolls (those awarded medals). In the latter category is a list of those awarded the Naval General Service medal, 1793-1840.

The definitive "how to research your Royal Navy ancestor" book is N A M Rodgers' Naval Records for Genealogists, which does a good job of simplifying the complex arrangement of the TNA material. This book is held in our library.

The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) has also copied many TNA naval records of particular interest to Australian researchers. SAG holds copies of the AJCP's catalogues but none of the AJCP's films; these can be found in most State libraries.

Other sources

On the Internet the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site can provide additional information on fallen sailors.

Australian military records

A web search using (e.g.) the Google search engine, and such terms as "military", "history" and "Australia", will produce more than enough hits to provide answers to most queries of a general nature.

Boer War 1899-1902

Because the Boer War spanned the pre- and post-Federation period, records are held in both State government archives and National Archives of Australia - generally according to the period concerned. The National Archives holdings about the Boer War are described in The Boer War: Australians and the War in South Africa, 1899-1902, by Craig Wilcox. Attestation papers for soldiers who enlisted after Federation can be searched using National Archives of Australia's RecordSearch database, entering the person's surname and the word ‘Boer' as keywords. If a record is found it can then be ordered and an image delivered by email - immediately if it has already been imaged; in a few weeks, if not.

The Australian War Memorial has a copy of the Boer War Nominal Roll online.

World War One

The National Archives of Australia holds the dossiers of World War One servicemen and women. These records are in the process of being digitised by NAA. You should conduct a search for your ancestor's name in RecordSearch.

World War Two

A nominal roll of men and women who served in World War Two is available here.