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Military Service Records

Background

If you are researching an individual who served in the military, the first thing to do is search for a service record. These are held in various places depending on when they served in the military. Service records only really started in the early 20th century. Before this time there are other records such as muster rolls and pension records which you can use. Before conducting any searches it will be helpful if you know the regiment they served in, their date of birth and when they joined the service (if you do not know an exact date, work out a rough period).

No military service records are held at Gloucestershire Archives. Our detailed Military Guide (Handlist) is the best way to find out what we hold.

What records are there and what information will they contain?

Army

**Date: ****Record: ****Available From: **Information

1920 onwards (including Home Guard)**: **Service Records

The Army Personnel Centre

MS Support Unit,

P & D Branch

Historical Disclosures,

MP 555,

Kentigern House

65 Brown Street

GLASGOW G2 8EX

1913-1920: Service Records

Ancestry

  • Most do not survive as the office they were kept in was bombed in WW2 and most records were burnt.

1913-1920: Pension Records

Ancestry

  • Only available for men who survived the war but were discharged due to wounds or ill health.

Before 1913: Pension & Discharge Records

Find My Past

  • Will usually include parish of birth, age, length of service, regiment, and reason for discharge.
  • May not exist for men who died during service.

1730-1898: Muster Rolls

The National Archives (various references)

  • These are pay lists for a particular regiment or battalion. They were often made quarterly.

OFFICERS ONLY

1920 onwards: Service Records

See above

  • See above

1913-1920: Service Records

The National Archives (WO338 & WO339)

  • Contain name, age, regiment, dates of service and other information about service.

Before 1913: Officers service records

The National Archives (WO25 and WO76)

  • Sorted by regiment
  • To find regiment use Army Lists (WO65)

Navy

**Date: ****Record: ****Available From: **Information

1923 onwards: Service Records

RN Disclosure Cell,

Room 48,

West Battery,

Whale Island,

Portsmouth,

Hampshire,

PO2 8DX

  • Free if applying for own/spouse’s records
  • Fee for all other applications
  • Only certain information will be given to non-relatives

Forms can be downloaded from https://www.gov.uk/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records

1853-1923: Service Register

The National Archives (documents online)

  • Can be downloaded for a fee
  • Contains age, place of birth, occupation before enlisting, ranks held and ships served on.

1789-1894: Pension Records

The National Archives (ADM 73 and ADM 29)

  • Only available for men who were retired from the Navy (i.e. survived)

1667-1878: Ship Muster & Pay Books

The National Archives (various)

  • Lists men serving on a particular ship.
  • Lists produced annually/quarterly.

Royal Air Force (For Royal Flying Corps see Army)

**Date: Record: Available From: **Information

1922 onwards**: **Service Records

RAF 3rd Party Disclosure Team, Room 14,

Trenchard Hall,

RAF Cranwell,

Sleaford,

LINCS,

NG34 8HB

1918-1922**: **Service Records

The National Archives (AIR78 and AIR79)

Include

  • date and place of birth
  • physical description
  • next of kin, spouse and children
  • date of joining & discharge

IMPORTANT

You will need to apply for service records of men who rejoined the forces after WW1 (e.g. in the territorial army, for WW2 or in the Home Guard).

For men who rejoined the forces during WW1, their records could be stored with the WW1 records or as part of the pre-WW1 series.

How to Find the Records

Records available on Ancestry and Find My Past can be viewed for free at Gloucestershire Archives or any Gloucestershire Library. If you want to view them from home you will need to subscribe to the website. Records held at the National Archives need to be accessed onsite at the National Archives in Kew. Those records noted as being “documents online” can be downloaded for a fee.

Further Reading

There are numerous research guides on the National Archives’ website about Army, Navy and Air Force records. For more detailed information please see the relevant guide.