After the Summer recess, our new Society Year started with our AGM, followed by a presentation from Jonathan Farmer on Researching Military History prior to 1914: How to find your army ancestors.
Having served in the TA for over 30 years, worked at the National Archives as a Reader Adviser, and holding an MA in British WW1 History from Birmingham University, Jonathan is well placed to offer advice on military history.
He advised that even with evidence of service in WW1, it can be worth looking for military ancestors prior to 1914 as lots of people served, there are lots of different types of records to look at, and lots of information.
Due to the vastness of military records as a whole he focussed on army records due to the time available as well as their variety and usefulness.
He recommended anyone with an interest or query on army records to look at a copy of Army Records: a guide for family historians by William Spencer.
William had been the Principal Military Specialist at the National Archives whilst Jonathan was there and was a fount of knowledge on the records concerning British military history.
Due to the amount and range of records available, there may be useful information in several places and this book is one way of navigating your way through it all.
The National Archives website (with the catalogues and information leaflets) was also recommended for your research.
The fact that your ancestor was a ‘soldier’ means he could have been part of several parts of the army including:
- The Regular Army
- The Militia
- The Yeomanry
- The Volunteer Force
- The Territorial Force (from 1908)
- The Indian Army (pre and post Mutiny)
The Regular Army was full time and could be sent to serve overseas (missing from a census?).
Individual regular army service records can be found in the National Archives collection at reference WO 97*, but there are also unit lists of personnel (muster rolls & pay lists); medal rolls (WO 100); The Army List (officers); other Officer’s records (WO 76 & WO 25); pension records WO 121; and casualty lists.
An example was shown of WO121 (Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Discharge Documents of Pensioners)
WO 121/53/18 – John BURROWS, born in Wisbech and by trade a Stay Maker, served in the 24th Foot Regiment and was discharged aged 39 after 17 years 3 months of service.
Found through searching the National Archives catalogue which links through to FindMyPast for images and transcriptions.
*The full name of WO97 is Royal Hospital Chelsea: Soldiers’ Service Documents 1760-1913 – some of these have been digitised and are available through family history subscription sites.
Militia troops by contrast were a trained, local, part-time force for home defence in time of rebellion or invasion. From the Militia Act of 1757 they were the Lord Lieutenant of the County’s responsibility (including appointing officers) until 1871. All men aged 28-45 were eligible for the Militia, to serve for five years.
WO 96 (War Office: Militia Attestation Papers 1806-1915) at the National Archives have been digitised and can be found online with FMP and FamilySearch.
The Yeomanry was a mounted (cavalry) volunteer force administered by the Lord Lieutenant.
The Imperial Yeomanry was a mounted volunteer force of the British army, made up of just under 35,000 men, and saw action in the Second Boer War between 1899 and 1902. The force was disbanded in 1908.
Records can be found in WO 128 (Imperial Yeomanry, Soldiers’ Documents, South African War).
The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement. Originally, it was highly autonomous, but the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reforms in 1881, before forming part of the Territorial Force in 1908.
Most of the regiments of the present day Army Reserves are directly descended from Volunteer Force units.
The Territorial Force was formed in 1908 as part of the Haldane reforms from the Militia, the Yeomanry, and the Volunteer Force. The Territorial Force was renamed as the Territorial Army in 1922.
Taking some examples of starting points (i.e. what you might have in your family documents that set you off researching – photographs, medals, stories, a name, a reference to military service on a census or other documents), Jonathan advised on some research guides to help you on your way.
One recommended website was Soldiers of the Queen: A Virtual Museum of Victorian-Era British Military Photographs & Associated Research. https://www.soldiersofthequeen.com/
Although a price guide for collectors, if you needed help identifying medals (and ribbons), Jonathan recommended the Medal Yearbook. As its name implies it is an annual publication, but for use for family research this meant you could often get hold of an old copy for a very reasonable cost which still had the useful information.