Wales Military Records

 

Locating Military and Naval Records
Pre-1914 records for both army and navy are at the Public Record Office. 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 LONDON SW1A 2HB England

Records at the Family History Library
The Family History Library’s collection of British army records includes:


 * Army soldiers’ documents (before 1882)
 * Description books
 * World War I Service Files
 * Officers’ records of service
 * Army List 1740 to the present
 * Indexes to the Regimental Registers and the Chaplains’ Returns
 * Regimental histories
 * Miscellaneous army records
 * For the navy, the library has:
 * Continuous service engagement books
 * Indexes to commission and warrant books
 * Bounty papers
 * Various published sources

Some Royal marine attestation (enlistment) records are also at the library.

A number of name indexes to some military records containing birth, marriage, or deaths are in the Family History Library. These indexes can be found in the Place Search under:


 * GREAT BRITAIN - CIVIL REGISTRATION

The library staff has compiled a typescript listing of army records. (Family History Library book 942 M2a; film 990313 item 5.)

Library records are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:


 * GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY RECORDS


 * GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY HISTORY


 * GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY RECORDS - ARMY


 * GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY RECORDS - NAVY

You may also find military records listed under the same topics for the following localities:


 * WALES


 * ENGLAND

Search Strategies
It is difficult to locate an individual’s record without knowing his ship or regiment. If you do not know this, you may find it in other types of records. Once you know the regiment or ship, consult the muster rolls, records of service, or other records available for that ship or regiment. Other strategies for finding the ship or regiment follow.

Soldiers. The Welsh who joined the army were assigned to regular English army regiments. However, many Welsh were assigned to either the 24th Regiment of Foot (called the South Wales Borders), the 41st Regiment of Foot (known as the Welsh Regiment), or the 23rd Regiment of Foot (the Welsh Fusiliers). A history of these regiments is in:


 * Brereton, J. M.History of the Royal Regiment of Wales (24/41 Foot) and its Predecessors, 1689–1989. Cardiff, Wales: Published by the Regiment, 1989. (Family History Library book 942.9 M2b.)

If your ancestor married, died, or had children while in the army after 1760, he may be listed in the Chaplains’ Returns or Regimental Registers. If you cannot find your ancestor’s regiment from these records, the other sources you should search will depend on what you know:

If you know a campaign or battle in which the ancestor fought, a place he was stationed, or a place where a child was born while he was in the service, use:


 * Kitzmiller, John. In Search of the "Forlorn Hope," 2 vols. plus supp. Ogden, Utah: Manuscript Publishing Foundation, 1988. (Family History Library book 942 M2j.) This work will help you find where regiments were stationed during a range of years.

If you know the area where the individual was living during his late teens, use the handbooks at the end of this section or regimental histories to find which regiments were recruited in that area.

If you know where he died after receiving an army pension, search district pension returns. For more information about district pension returns, see:


 * District Pension Records of the British Army in Irish at Home and Abroad. by Dwight A. Radford, vol. 4 no. 1 (1997), p. 11–17. (Family History Library 941.5 D25ih.)

If you know that he was in the army in 1806, you may wish to search the return of all men in army service on 24 June 1806 (not including commissioned officers). While the 1806 return is indexed only by regiment, it is more complete and easier to search than other sources, such as soldiers’ documents.

If you know approximately when he died, search probate records. Before 1858, search the Prerogative Court of Canterbury first. For information on probates, see Wales Probate Records.

Army Officers. You can usually find names of army officers in the Army List (1740 to the present). If your ancestor does not appear in the Army List for the right time period, consult the card index to officers, available only at the Public Record Office.

If an officer was alive in 1828 or 1829, you can use the indexed returns of service. "Birth certificates" submitted with widow’s pension applications may reveal an officer’s name. If you still cannot find a record, use the search strategies for soldiers.

There are separate records for commissariat officers, staff officers, medical officers (surgeons), chaplains, and others. Board of Ordnance officers (artillery, engineers, sappers, miners, artificers, and others) are not always included in an Army List and have their own records until 1855.

Seamen. If your ancestor was in the navy after 1852, search the index to Continuous Service Engagement Books or the Surname Index to the 1861 Census Returns of Ships (see Wales Merchant Marine for more information on the latter source). Before 1853, the source to use will depend on what you know about your ancestor. If you know:


 * The name of a ship on which he served, search the ship musters, pay lists, and ship logs for the time period he should have been aboard.
 * A port where your ancestor landed on a specific date, search the List Books, a geographically arranged list of ship locations at the Public Record Office (class ADM 8).
 * A battle or campaign in which his ship was involved, search the medal rolls.
 * The name of an officer serving with your ancestor, search the Navy List for that officer’s ship.

Since many seamen also served in the merchant marines during their careers, search the records described in Wales Merchant Marine.

Navy Officers. You can usually find navy officers in the Navy Lists (1782 to the present). A list of naval officers from 1695 to 1742 is in:

Index to Commission and Warrant Books. N.p., n.d. (Family History Library films 824516–7). It gives dates of commission and a reference to further details available at the Public Record Office.

Many officers are included in published biographies, such as:


 * Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy, 1660–1815. 3 vols. N.p., n.d. (Family History Library book 942 M23cs; films 908026–027.)

Handbooks for Military Records
If your ancestor is not listed in the above sources, consult the handbooks listed below for other records or clues to finding your ancestor:


 * Bevan, Amanda and Andrea Duncan. Tracing Your Ancestors in the Public Record Office. See Wales Archives and Libraries.
 * Hamilton-Edwards, Gerald. In Search of Army Ancestry. London, England: Phillimore &amp; Co., Ltd., 1977. (FHL book 942 M2ha.)
 * Higham, Robin. A Guide to the Sources of British Military History. London, England: Routledge &amp; Kegan Paul, 1972. (FHL book 942 M2h.)
 * Kew Lists. See Wales Archives and Libraries.
 * Records of Officers and Soldiers Who Have Served in the British Army. London, England: Public Record Office, 1984. (Family History Library book 942 M2am no. 1.)
 * Rodgers, N. A. M. Naval Records for Genealogists. 2nd ed. London, England: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1988. (Family History Library book 942 A5p no. 22.)
 * Swinson, Arthur S., ed. A Register of the Regiments and Corps of the British Army. London, England: Archive Press, 1972. (Family History Library book 942 M2am.)