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Pay Roll and Muster Books
If your ancestor served in the British Army, we can help here, too. Pay Roll and Muster Books survive from 1732-1878, and through these we can build up a picture of your ancestor's Army career. Although these are quite 'dry' documents (they are, basically, just lists), they can tell us where exactly your ancestor was, how much he was paid, any time spent in military hospital, any disciplinary offences or extra pay for good conduct. Often, at the time of enlistment, there are personal details (a physical description, previous trade, parental details)

If your ancestor was unfortunate enough to have been court-martialled, records of many of these survive. Likewise, if as a result of injury he was treated at the military hospitals in either Chelsea (London) or Kilmainham (Ireland) then there be details of his time there, too.

A few examples of service histories can be found here
A typical example of a Court Martial transcript can be found here
See also our page regarding Regimental Births, Marriages and Deaths

First World War Service Records
Around 5 million men served in the British Army during the First World War, and the Army kept excellent records on all of them. Sadly many of these were destroyed when the building they were stored in was hit during the blitz. Around two million records were salvaged from the blaze, so there is logically around a 40% chance of a particular individual's records surviving. Commonly referred to as the 'burnt records', these are held on microfilm at the PRO. As an aside, if your ancestor was killed in action, then his local newspaper probably carried a report about this, along with a brief obituary.

We are happy to search any of the above records for you - just contact us for a quote. We would need to know the following;

  • Your ancestor's name
  • The Regiment he served in
  • Approximate dates

    • After the First World War
    Records of Service from after WW1 are not yet released, and so Pastfinders do not research Soldiers after 1919. However, relatives can apply for individual's papers. Click here for details on how to do this.

    Don't know your ancestor's regiment?
    If you have a photograph of your ancestor in uniform, we may well be able to identify which regiment he was serving in. Just email us the photo, along with your ancestor's name and any other relevant information. If we can identify his regiment for certain, there is a £15 charge, however there is nothing to pay if we are unable to do so.