Army – Casualty Lists

Nature of Source

Casualty lists and discharge records provide detailed information about soldiers who were wounded, killed, or otherwise discharged during service.

Muster Master General’s Index of Casualties (1797-1817)

The Index of Casualties is an important collection of records held at The National Archives in a subseries within series WO 25, covering the years 1797 to 1817. This series includes information on soldiers who were:

• Discharged due to wounds or illness
• Killed in action
• Taken prisoner of war
• Deserted
• Transferred to another regiment or battalion

The records are organised by regiment, so knowing the unit the soldier served in can greatly enhance your search.

War Memorials

War memorials offer another layer of detail into a soldiers death. The Debt of Honour Register, produced by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, is an excellent online resource for finding information about war casualties. The register is available online and provides information about burial sites, names on memorials, and the circumstances of death.

War Office Casualty Lists

These Lists were meticulously compiled during wartime. They were compiled on a daily basis and printed weekly and offer crucial details about officers and other ranks who were:

• Wounded
• Missing in action
• Captured as prisoners of war
• Killed in action

A complete set of the lists is available on microfilm at the British Library or online at Findmypast. The lists were also published by the Times newspaper which can be searched online at The Times Digital Archive, available at many libraries and by The Scotsman which can be searched at The British Newspaper Archive.

Also see
Army – Applications for Pensions for Widows and Children – Officers before 1914 (Military)
Army – Chaplain’s Returns, Regimental Registers and Service Departments Returns, Other Ranks & Officers
Army – Pensions (Medical & Service) Admission Books, Other Ranks before 1914 (Military)
Army – Pensions Returns & Regimental Register of Pensioners, Other Ranks before 1914 (Military)
Army – Registers of Deaths and Casualties, Other Ranks & Officers, WWI
Army – Soldiers’ Documents (Service Records) from Pension Claims (‘Unburnt Collection’), Other Ranks, WWI (Military)
War Memorials, Graves & Rolls of Honour (Military, including WWI) Including Scotland

Where Found

The National Archives

• Series WO 25, Secretary-at-War and the Secretary of State for War. Subjects covered include casualty and deserter information.
• Series WO 108, War Office: Correspondence and Papers, South African War. Subjects covered include casualty records.

Templer Study Centre
National Army Museum. The museum houses a wealth of information on the history and traditions of the Army including officer Army Lists, regimental and campaign histories, soldier’s effects records, military memoirs and diaries, regimental and other military periodicals and books and other archives relating to the pre-1914 Army. The museum also holds the enlistment and discharge books for the Buffs, the Middlesex Regiment, and the five Irish regiments disbanded in 1922.

Period Covered

1797 – 1910

Genealogical Value

• Soldier’s name, rank, birthplace, occupation and next of kin (occasionally with the will).
• Type of casualty for example killed, missing, captured or injured.

Further References

General

• Beckett, James Deuchar (ed). The Beckett Soldiers Index, A-C: Jade Publishing, 2003
• Beckett, James Deuchar (ed). The Beckett Soldiers Index, D-G Jade Publishing, 2009
• Beckett, James Deuchar (ed). The Beckett Soldiers Index, H-K: Jade Publishing, 2009 (Listing of soldiers from 1793 to about 1854 extracted from TNA series WO 120 and WO 116 and other sources such as marriage registers and medal awards. Arranged alphabetically by surname, forename and regiment including whether discharged at either Chelsea or Kilmainham Hospital. These published editions cover more ground than the Beckett Soldiers’ Index available at The National Archives)
• Bevan, Amanda. Tracing Your Ancestors in the National Archives: The National Archives, 2006
• Brereton, J.M. A Guide to the Regiments and Corps of the British Army: Bodley Head, 1985
• Blank, Dr. Stuart. Researching British Military History on the Internet: Alwyn Enterprises, 2007
• Cox. Reginald H. W. Military Badges of the British Empire 1914-18: Ernest Benn, 1982
• Farmer, John, The Regimental Records of the British Army: Grant Richards, 1901 (Free download available at the Internet Archive)
• Fowler, Simon. A Guide to Military History on the Internet: Pen & Sword, 2007
• Fowler, Simon. Tracing your Army Ancestors: Pen & Sword, 2006
• Fowler, Simon. Tracing Your Army Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen & Sword Books, 2013
• Gaylor, John. Military Badge Collecting: Pen & Sword Books, 2002
• Grehan, John & Mace, Martin. British Battles of the Crimean Wars 1854-1856: Pen & Sword Books, 2014
• Kitzmiller, John. In Search of the Forlorn Hope: A Comprehensive Guide to Locating British Regiments and Their Records, 1640-WWI: Manuscript Publishing Foundation, 1988
• Murphy, Gerry. Where Did That Regiment Go? The Lineage of British Infantry and Cavalry Regiments at a Glance: The History Press, 2009
• Paterson, Sarah. Tracing Your Family History, Army: Imperial War Museum, 2006
• Pols, Robert. Dating Old Army Photographs: Family History Partnership, 2011
• Saks, David. Boerejode: Jews in the Boer Armed Forces 1899-1902: 2010
• Spencer, William. Family History in the Wars: The National Archives, 2007
• Spencer, William. Army Records: A Guide For Family Historians: The National Archives, 2008
• Storey, Neil. Military Photographs and How to Date Them: Countryside Books, 2009
• Swinnerton, Iain, An Introduction to the British Army: Its History, Traditions and Records: FFHS, 1996
• Swinson, Arthur. A Register of the Regiments and Corps of the British Army: The Archive Press, 1972
• The Great War: A Photographic Narrative: Imperial War Museum: Jonathan Cape, 2013
• Usher, George. Dictionary of British Military History: A&C Black Publishers, 2006
• Watts, Michael and Watts, Christopher. My Ancestor was in the British Army: Society of Genealogists, 2009
• Westlake, Ray. The Territorials 1908-1914: A Guide for Military and Family Historians: Pen & Sword Books, 2011

WWI

• Banks, Arthur. A Military Atlas of The First World War: Pen & Sword Books, 2013
• Bridger, Geoff. The Great War Handbook: A Guide For Family Historians & Students Of The Conflict: Pen & Sword Books, 2013
• Christopher, John & McCutcheon, Campbell. 1914 the First World War in Old Photographs: Over by Christmas: Amberley Publishing, 2014
• Doyle, Peter & Foster Chris. British Army Cap Badges of the First World War: Shire Publications, 2010
• Doyle, Peter. Great War British Tommy Manual: The British Soldier 1914-18 [All Models]-Haynes Owners’ Workshop Manuals: Haynes, 2013
• Doyle, Peter & Foster Chris. Remembering Tommy: The British Soldier in the First World War: The History Press, 2013
• Doyle, Peter & Foster Chris. What Tommy Took to War, 1914-1918: Shire Publications, 2014
• Doyle, Peter. The First World War in 100 Objects: The History Press, 2014
• Forty, Simon. Mapping the First World War: Battlefields of the Great Conflict from Above: Anova Books, 2013
• Gregson, Keith. A Tommy in the Family: First World War Family History Tales and Research Tips: The History Press, 2014
• Hadaway, Stuart. Tracing Your Great War Ancestors: The Egypt and Palestine Campaigns: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword Books, 2017
• Holding, Norman, More Sources of WWI Army Ancestry: FFHS, 1998
• Holding, Norman & Swinnerton, Iain. WWI Army Ancestry: FFHS, 2004
• Holmes, Richard. Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front 1914-1918: Harper Perennial, 2005
• Holmes, Richard. Shots from the Front: The British Soldier 1914-18: HarperPress, 2010
• Holmes, Richard. The First World War in Photographs: Andre Deutsch, July 2014
• James, Brig. E. A. British Regiments 1914-18: Naval and Military Press, 2009
• Paterson, Sarah. Tracing Your Prisoner of War Ancestors: The First World War: Pen & Sword, 2012
• Rawson, Andrew. The British Army 1914-1918: The History Press, 2014
• Spencer, William. First World War Army Service Records: The National Archives, 2008
• Swinnerton, Iain. Identifying Your World War One Soldier from Badges and Photographs: Federation of Family History Societies, 2001

Websites

General Military Resources

The National Archives Research Guides
Military and Maritime. Learn how to trace the voyages made by a merchant seaman, find a Royal Marine’s medal record or track the wartime history of an Army regiment.
UKMFH
UK Military Family History Online. UKMFH aims to help you find out the history of your military family by linking to web sites that have online information which will help you discover what your families did and how they lived in their military life
Findmypast Media
British Army Regimental Numbers. Do you have a military ancestor? Findmypast expert Paul Nixon helps you decipher regimental numbers and records.
Army Lists
The site provides access to digitised versions of historic Army Lists which were official publications containing information about British Army officers as well as information on regimental histories and links to other genealogy and military history websites>
Imperial War Museum
Research Guide: Tracing Your Family History. Guides to help you start your research into your army family history explaining what records you will need and where to find them. Subject areas include: Service records; Casualty information; Medal records; Unit and operational histories.
Military Archive Research
by Dr Stuart C Blank. The site offers services to help people access and interpret military archives and records with sections on researching military ancestors and medals and orders.
Society of Genealogists Guide
How to search for your military ancestors.
National Army Museum
How to research a former soldier.
Family Wise
The Guide to Tracing Your Ancestors’ Military Service.
Findmypast Article
11 tips for finding out someone’s military history.
Legacy Tree Genealogists
Using British Military Records in Genealogy Research.
Family Tree
How to trace British military ancestors: a family history guide
Tameside Local Studies
Family History Using Military Sources.
The British and Commonwealth Military Badge Forum British Cavalry Badges. Forum devoted to those with an interest in military badges and military badge collecting. Sections include British Cavalry Badges, Bibliography of Military Insignia and a Glossary
British Badge Forum
Military Badges and Buttons of the British Empire and Commonwealth. The Forum is an online community dedicated to the discussion and collection of military badges and insignia. The forum features various sections including British Cavalry Badges, Bibliography of Military Insignia and a Glossary.
GENUKI
Guide. UK and Ireland Military Records.
GENUKI
British Military Records, by Jay Hall.
The Army Museums Ogilby Trust
Directory of the Army Museums. The directory contains a comprehensive list of military museums in the United Kingdom, specifically focusing on army-related collections and exhibitions.
National Records of Scotland
Research Guide. Military Records. This guide deals with the records held at National Records of Scotland relating to the military. The first part deals with army personnel records while the second part covers more general sources for military history.

WWI Related Resources

The Long, Long Trail
Casualty lists
War Memorials Trust
The Trust works to protect and conserve war memorials in the UK. War Memorials Online allows users to build a complete picture of the whereabouts, type and condition of all war memorials in the UK.
The National Archives
Online Exhibitions: First World War 100. The site commemorates the centenary of the First World War with a comprehensive program that ran from 2014 to 2018. Explore key aspects of the war through themes such as technology and the Middle East, special projects and partnerships.
The Long, Long Trail
The comprehensive website is dedicated to helping people research and discover information about the British Army and its soldiers of the First World War. It serves as a free resource with useful advice and guidance on researching individual soldiers tracing their movements during the war, researching the histories of regiments and information on the battles and engagements fought by the British Army. The Long, Long Trail was created by Chris Baker in 1996.
The Long, Long Trail
The British infantry regiments of 1914-1918. This section of the Long, Long Trail will be helpful for anyone wishing to find out about the history of the battalions of the British infantry. The history and affiliations of every battalion of every British infantry regiment can be found on these pages.
The National Archives Research Guide
How to look for records of Military maps of the First World War. Use this guide if you are looking for trench maps or other military maps of the First World War
Imperial War Museum
First World War Centenary 1914-1918. Explore the web archive of the First World War Centenary website. The archived site contains various resources and information related to the First World War, including digitised documents and photographs from the war, historical accounts of key events and personal stories and testimonies.
Imperial War Museum
Voices of the First World War. Voices of the First World War is a podcast series that reveals the impact the war had on everyone who experienced it, through the stories of the men and women who were there.
The Western Front Association
The Association was formed with the aim of furthering interest in The Great War of 1914-1918 and to perpetuate the memory of all those on all sides who served during The Great War. The site includes a section on Pension Records with articles providing help and guidance for your research into The Great War.
Lives of the First World War
Imperial War Museum. Lives of the First World War. Discover, Explore and Remember Millions of Personal Stories from The First World War. The project tells the stories of individuals from across Britain and the Commonwealth who served in uniform and worked on the home front. Each person remembered has Life Story page using a variety of sources. The digital project ran from 12 May 2014 to 19 March 2019.
British Jews in the First World War
We Were There Too. The organisation is dedicated to preserving and commemorating the contribution British Jews made during the First World War I. The site aims to create a permanent record of the lives of Jewish men and women and their families, both in the military and on the Home Front, during 1914-1919. The website offers several digitised resources to help users research individuals such as The British Jewry Book of Honour, Kelly’s Directories, plus access to Commonwealth War Graves Commission information.
In Flanders Fields Museum
The museum dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of World War I in the West Flanders front region, located in the famous Cloth Hall in Ypres, Belgium. The exhibits cover The German invasion of Belgium, The four years of trench warfare in the region and the end of the war and its lasting impact.
IWM’s Collections
This online database allows users to explore the vast collection of digitised objects, documents and artifacts held by the IWM related to World War One. The collections include 115,000 photographs from the First World War Q series and 14,000 photographs from the Bond of Sacrifice series.
Mary Evans Picture Library
Picturing the Great War: The First World War Blog.
World War One Photos
Remembering The Men And Women Who Served And Died In The First World War. Explore thousands of identified photos, obituaries and short service records of First World War soldiers sailors, nurses, airmen and civilian workers.
National Library of Scotland
British First World War Trench Maps, 1915-1918. Maps of the Western Front in the Great War depicting British and German trenches. Users can browse individual sheets using a zoomable map or view zoomable overlays of each map on a modern Google or Bing map.
Forces War Records
WW1 Troop Movements and ORBATS. First World War Orders of Battle Maps. Follow in your ancestors’ footsteps using our interactive maps. You can use this to track the progress of units throughout the course of the First World War, from the opening battle at Mons to the closing stages of the Battle of Amiens.
British Red Cross
First World War Volunteers: Search over 90,000 people who volunteered for the British Red Cross at home and overseas during the war. Groups of volunteers were organised into Voluntary Aid Detachments.
Every One Remembered
The Royal British Legion initiative allows members of the public to commemorate with a personal dedication every individual man and woman from across the Commonwealth who fell in the First World War.
The National Archives Media
Tracing British battalions or regiments during the First World War. Unit war diaries, trench maps and photographs are just some of the sources held in The National Archives. This webinar looks at how to find these records and how to use them.
Oxford University
The Great War Archive: The archive contains WWI digital photographs, audio, film, documents, and stories submitted by the general public. The initiative was run by Oxford University between the 3rd March and the 30th June 2008. Users can share First World War objects on The Great War Archive Flickr Group.
Europeana World War I
The collection includes a diverse and extensive range of materials offering untold stories and official histories of World War I. Expect to find postcards, letters, diaries, images and other memorabilia.
The Accrington Pals
Guide to researching the service records of men from the Accrington, Sheffield, and Barnsley Pals battalions. The guide is relevant to WW1 army service records in general.
LiveJournal
Unknown Soldiers. The site is dedicated to sharing and preserving lost or forgotten photographs from World War I.
Step Short
Folkestone Harbour Canteen Visitors’ Books. Online collection of 42,000 names of soldiers, nurses and other individuals who passed through the town of Folkestone on their way to the Western Front between 1914 and 1919.

Online Databases

Findmypast
Datasets Include:

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Debt Of Honour. Search the records to discover the final resting place of your military ancestors who died in the First and Second World Wars and covers cemeteries and memorials at 23,000 locations in more than 150 countries.
• British Army, First World War Casualty Lists. Search names from the War Office Weekly Casualty List, a weekly publication of the names of those who were reported as missing, taken prisoner of war, wounded, or killed in action.
• British Army, First World War Casualty Lists Image Browse. Each result will provide an issue of the War Office Weekly Casualty List, a weekly publication of the names of those who were reported as missing, taken prisoner of war, wounded, or killed in action.
• Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919. Originally published by His Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO) in 1921. It was published in 80 parts. The set also includes Officers Died in the Great War 1914-19.
• Wiltshire WW1 Hospital Records. Search admissions to the Old Sarum Isolation Hospital, the Harnham Red Cross Hospital at East Harnham and the Salisbury Infirmary on Fisherton Street. The records cover the army and royal air force as well as Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
• British Armed Forces, First World War Soldiers’ Medical Records. This collection comprises a sample selection of medical records from the First World War. The original records are kept in in TNA series MH 106.
• British Army Service Records. Search data from TNA series WO 97 which provides details on soldiers, popularly known as Chelsea Pensioners, in receipt of a pension from the Royal Hospital Chelsea after discharge between 1760 and 1913. Visit the dataset home page for a full list of other digitised record series.
• Anglo-Boer War Records, 1899-1902. The collection also features a completely revised list of men who were killed in action, died of wounds or died of disease.
• British Army, War of 1812 Casualties: The index contains the details of over 12,000 soldiers in the British Army who died, deserted or were imprisoned during the War of 1812 known as the Anglo-American War.
• British Army Casualty Lists, 1939-1945. The lists document the names of officers, nurses, and other ranks who were reported as killed in action, dead as a result of illness or accident, missing, or taken as a prisoner of war. The original records are found at The National Archives in series WO 417.
• British Army, Royal Engineers Other Ranks: Casualty Cards. Did your ancestor serve with the Royal Engineers and if so, did he become a casualty at some point? These records mostly cover the Second World War but there are also some post WW2 records as well.
• British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials. Search an extensive collection of death and burial records from The National Archives and the General Register Office.
• Royal Artillery Other Ranks: Casualty Cards, 1939-1947. Discover ancestors who fought and died in World War 2. Each record includes an image of the original casualty form and a transcript taken from the form.

To restrict and filter your search to a county or place or dataset click on ‘Browse Record Set’ on the ‘Military, armed forces & conflict in United Kingdom’ search page.

Debt of Honour Register
Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The Debt of Honour Register records and commemorates the names of some 1.7 million men and women from all three services killed in the two world wars who died up to 31 December 1947. Also commemorated are Commonwealth civilians who died between 3 September 1939 and 31 December 1947 as a consequence of enemy action, Allied weapons of war or whilst in an enemy prison camp.

Ancestry
Datasets include:

• Casualties of the Boer War, 1899-1902. The database lists the names, regiments, dates, locations and nature of casualty of all officers and men of the South African Field Force from the outbreak of war.
• Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929. This database contains records detailing the money owed to soldiers of the British Army who died in service from 1901 to 1929 and includes name of the soldier, his next of kin and their relationship. Produced in association with the National Army Museum.
• UK, WWI Hospital Registers, 1915-1919. Records are available from several types of medical facilities, including casualty clearing stations, field ambulances, ambulance trains, and hospital ships
• UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919. This database contains information extracted from 81 volumes of soldiers that died in World War I.

To view all data collections, click on ‘View all in Card Catalogue, on the Military Records home page or search for a dataset in the Card Catalogue.

Ancestry World War I Military Records
The site offers a gateway page for searching First World War collections. It offers access to a comprehensive range of military records that can help you learn about ancestors who served during World War I. The site also offers videos for tips on how to search and examples of what you could find.
The site features collections such as:

• British Army WWI Service Records (1914-1920).
• British Army WWI Pension Records (1914-1920).
• Medal Rolls Index Cards (1914-1920).
• Silver War Badge Records (1914-1920).
• Citations of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (1914-1920).
• Royal Navy and Royal Marine records.
• Navy medal and award rolls (covering a wider period from 1793-1972).
• The National Roll of the Great War (1914-1918).
• Commonwealth War Graves (1914-1921, 1939-1947).
• De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour (1914-1919).

Please note, the UK, World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 are not included in the collection.
Naval & Military Archive
Boer War Casualties 1899-1902. This database lists the names, regiments, dates, locations and nature of casualty of all Officers and men of the South African Field Force and the Natal Field Force.
The Genealogist
Search over 1.3 million records from daily and weekly First World War casualty lists from British and Commonwealth forces covering soldiers, sailors and airmen from all ranks. The collection covers both those who died of their wounds and those who recovered and returned to the front
The Genealogist
Casualty Lists, 1914-1919. The collection is a list of soldiers of all ranks who were reported as injured, missing or prisoners of war derived from the official War Office weekly casualty lists.
A Street Near You
The site contains nearly 500,000 location records for 410,000 men and women who died whilst serving in the First World War. The records are searchable by postcode, address, cemetery or regiment and bring together data sources such as IWM’s Lives of the First World War, Commonwealth War Graves records, Imperial War Museums Collections and the War Memorial Register.
Forces War Records
The site hosts a collection of over 645 million military records from various conflicts, primarily focusing on World War I and World War II as well as the Boer War, Victorian Conflicts, Crimean War, Early 19th Century Wars, Napoleonic. Explore hundreds of sources such as medal rolls, casualties lists, memorials, war diaries, prisoner of war records and military hospitals admissions and discharge registers. The site holds records for armed forces from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.
Netley Military Hospital Names
Search a database of patients, staff, family members, civilians, contractors and medical students associated with Royal Victoria Military Hospital Netley British Red Cross, the Welsh and Irish Hospitals at Netley, Hampshire between 1862 and 1966.
National Library of Scotland
Digital collection of British Military Lists. Access digitised War Office weekly casualty lists published between 1917 and 1919.
Casus Belli
The Register of the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902: Database that lists men and women who served in the British Imperial Forces during the Anglo-Boer War. The register includes soldiers, sailors, nurses and civilians as well as a casualty roll. The data is compiled for sources such as Official Casualty Rolls, A Gazetteer of the Second Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902, Medal Rolls, Anglo-Boer War Memorials Project and Winifred Scott’s Anglo-Boer War Index.
GOV.UK
Find a Soldier’s Will: Search for the will of a soldier who died while serving in the British armed forces between 1850 and 1986. Final handwritten wills and last letters home were kept by troops in their pocket service books and tucked into their uniforms.
Deceased Online
The collection comprises various digital scans of burial registers from cemeteries and burial grounds with the following TNA references: ADM 6, ADM 73, ADM 305 and WO 156, covering UK sites as well as overseas sites in Cyprus, Egypt, Malta and Singapore.

CD Roms

Naval & Military Press

CD/DVD Roms include:

• Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.
• Army Roll of Honour.
• The Official Boer War Casualty Rolls of The British & Empire Army 1899-1902.