The Royal Artillery Association,
Artillery House
Tracing Service Records
Artillery Centre,
Stirling Barracks
Larkhill,
SALISBURY
SP4 8QT
TRACING SERVICE RECORDS
ARMY SERVICE RECORDS HELD BY THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
1. Serving Officers & Soldiers
Who's regular or reserve service ended after 1997 * , contact:
Army Personnel Centre (APC),
Disclosures 1,
Mailpoint 520,
Kentigern House,
65 Brown Street ,
Glasgow
G2 8EX . Telephone: 0845 600 9663; Fax: 0141 224 3522;
e-mail: http://wwwapc.dii.r.mil.uk or apcsec@btconnect.com
2. Officers & Soldiers
Whose regular or reserve service ended between 1921 & 1997 * , contact:
Army Personnel Centre,
Historical Disclosures,
Mailpoint 400,
Kentigern House,
65 Brown Street ,
Glasgow
G2 8EX.
Telephone: 0845 600 9663; Fax: 0141 224 2144
* The Ministry of Defence does not normally release information from a service record to persons other than the individual concerned or their next of kin. There is a search fee for genealogical enquiries which currently stands at £25.00
Or go to the Veterans Agency Website at http://www.veteransagency.mod.uk and download their request form. Advice can be sought from their help line 0800 1692277.
Requests from former Service Personnel
3. Requests from former Service personnel for his/her personal data held by the Ministry of Defence are processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998; such requests are called Subject Access Requests (SAR).
4. A SAR must be made in writing and must be accompanied by proof of identity (e.g. a copy of a passport or recent utilities bill), and sufficient information to locate the data sought. To assist the search, your letter should include as much information as possible e.g.:
• Service Number, Rank, Full Name, Date of Birth and period served (dates from and to).
• Requests for data for ex-Army personnel must also include the Regiment or Corps.
5. Once all the necessary information has been received, your request will be processed and you should receive a reply within 40 calendar days. To download the SAR form from the Internet, please log on to:
http://www.veteransagency.mod.uk/servicerecs/dpform.doc
6. For service records of non-UK personnel please log on to:
http://www.veteransagency.mod.uk/servicerecs/non.htm
7. To access a record the following information (or as much as possible) is required:
- Service Number, Rank, Full Name, Date of Birth and period served (dates from and to). For queries to the Army also state the Regiment or Corps in addition to the above information.
- A full copy of the record can be requested however, original documents, discharge papers/books cannot be replaced. The MOD will also provide extracts from service records.
Requests from Interested Parties
8. Enquirers must provide a letter of consent from the subject of the record.
Deceased Personnel
9. Enquirers must provide the consent of the Next of Kin and unless the person died in Service, proof of death. A charge may be made for enquiries. Prior to 1972 all Royal Navy personnel were given their service record when they were discharged. For pension purposes the Royal Navy retained pay details. Therefore the only data held on Royal Navy personnel who served prior to 1972 is their Service details (number, rank, name etc) and a list of dates and ships/shore bases.
Officers & Soldiers pre 1921
10. Because of bombing in 1940 only about 25% - 30% of soldiers' records from the period 1914-1920 have survived. Contact:
The Keeper of Public Records ,
Public Record Office,
Ruskin Avenue , Kew ,
Richmond , Surrey
TW94DU.
Telephone: 020 8876 3444 ; Fax: 020 8878 8905 ;
Email: enquiry@ nationalarchives.gov.uk Website: http://www.pro.gov.uk
THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE (PRO) & NATIONAL ARCHIVE
11. The Public Record Office is the national repository for official government records, including the War Office files and records among which are to be found surviving unit war diaries and army service records:
The Public Record Office,
Ruskin Avenue ,
Kew ,
Richmond ,
Surrey
TW94DU.
Telephone: 020 8876 3444 ; Fax: 020 8878 8905 ;
Website: http://www.pro.gov.uk
12. The PRO does not undertake research for enquiries. Public opening hours are as follows:
Monday: 09.00-17.00
Tuesday: 10.00-19.00
Wednesday: 09.00-17.00
Thursday: 09.00-19.00
Friday: 09.00-17.00
Saturday: 09.30-17.00
13. Admission is by Reader's Ticket. Readers have to register in person bearing adequate proof of identity, such as a passport or UK driving licence or UK bank/credit card. If in doubt, the applicant should call in advance for their visit on 020 8392 5200 . Intending visitors are advised to check (a) the opening times prior to a visit as sections are occasionally closed for stocktaking and (b) that the documents are available for consultation, as they are sometimes withdrawn for official use. If you are unable to undertake the research personally, or send a proxy, the PRO should be able to provide details of professional researchers and their charges.
14. See http://www.pro.gov.uk/research/easysearch/Army.htm for information on the PRO's archives of World War I and before records.
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVE
15. Service records which pre-date those held by the MOD have been transferred to the National Archive http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ and http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ family history and are freely
available for public access. However the National Archive is not resourced to carry out searches. Enquirers are instead welcome to visit, or hire an independent researcher - see the web site for further details.
THE BRITISH ARMY - Other sources of information
16. County Record Office's . Many county and borough record offices have military collections, usually based on local Militia/Yeomanry/Volunteer/Territorial or Home Guard units but in certain cases covering locally recruited Regular units as well. Details of record offices appear in: The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Record Repositories in Great Britain : A Geographical Directory. HMSO Ninth edition 1991. ISBN 0-11-440243-4.
• Genealogy .
Society of Genealogists ,
14 Charterhouse Buildings,
Goswell Road ,
LONDON
EC1M8799.
Telephone: 020 7251 8799 ;
Website: http://www.sog.org.uk/
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Hold m icrofiche libraries and may hold the World War I service records you seek. Films can be viewed on request to your local Family History Centre. To find your nearest Family History Centre visit their Website at http://www.familysearch.org
18. Once you have the service record, you may wish to discover where the regiments were posted when your relative served with them. If so contact:
Royal Artillery's Historical Researcher,
Firepower Museum ,
The Royal Arsenal,
Woolwich,
LONDON
SE186ST.
Website: http://www.firepower.org.uk/research/index.cfm
HONOURS AND AWARDS
19. For information about honours and awards (and decorations for gallantry and distinguished service awarded from 1980 onwards ) should be addressed to:
AFPAA (JPAC) the MOD Medal Office ,
Building 250,
RAF Innsworth,
Gloucester
GL3 1HW
Telephone: 0141 2243600; Veterans Freephone: 0800 0853600
20. Enquiries about decorations for gallantry and distinguished service (except those relating to Northern Ireland ) prior to 1980 should be addressed to:
The Public Record Office ,
Ruskin Avenue ,
Kew ,
Richmond ,
Surrey
TW94DU.
Telephone: 020 8876 3444 ; Fax: 020 8878 8905 ;
Website: http://www.pro.gov.uk
21. Awards are announced, sometimes with citations, in Supplements to the London Gazette. Copies of London Gazettes are held in the Public Record Office at Kew and in several of the principal libraries. Any public library should be able to help you find a library that holds them.
THE INDIAN ARMY (Until 1947)
22. Contact:
Oriental and Indian Office ,
British Library,
96 Euston Road ,
LONDON
NW12DB.
Website: http://www.bl.uk/collections/orientaloffice.html
LOST TRAILS
23. Possible ways of tracing former comrades by placing an advertisement in one or more of the following:
Gunner Net ,
Royal Artillery Association,
Artillery House, Artillery Centre,
Stirling Barracks,
Larkhill,
WILTSHIRE
SP4 8QT.
Telephone: 01980 845362;
e-mail: AC-RHQRA-RAA-MemSec@mod.uk ;
Website: www.theraa.co.uk
Gunner Magazine,
Artillery House, Artillery Centre,
Stirling Barracks,
Larkhill,
WILTSHIRE
SP4 8QT.
Telephone: 01980 845652;
Website: http://www.army.mod.uk/gunnermag/index.htm
Gunner Friend Tracker , http://www.wohnungs-suche.com/Friends/welcome.htm
Soldier Magazine ,
Parson's House,
Ordnance Road ,
Aldershot ,
Hampshire
GU11 2DU.
Telephone: 01252 347351; Fax: 01252 347358;
Website: http://www.soldiermagazine.co.uk/
Legion
Magazine of the Royal British Legion,
48 Pall Mall ,
LONDON
SW1Y 5JY;
Telephone: 020 7973 7200 ; Fax: 020 7973 7399
Website: http://www.britishlegion.org.uk
Service Pals' Teletext Limited
PO Box 297 ,
LONDON
SW6 1XT .
Telephone: 020 7386 5000 ; Fax: 020 7386 5618 ; [Pages 151, 152 or 676 Channel Four]
24. The Office of National Statistics Traceline
Operates a service that can be used to try and contact relatives, friends or beneficiaries. The address is:
Traceline,
PO Box 106 ,
Southport ,
PR82WA;
Telephone: 0151 471 4811; Fax: 01704 563354
25. Other useful Internet websites devoted to helping people get in touch with old friends are:
MUSEUMS
26. Museums can be a very useful source of information for tracing service records of individuals or units. Below are the URLs of the websites.
British Army Museums Ogilby Trust :
http://www.armymuseums.org.uk/ancestor.htm
National Army Museum :
http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/pages/information.html
The National Army Museum ,
Royal Hospital Road ,
Chelsea ,
London
SW34HT.
Telephone: 0207 7300717
Army Museums - MoD Official Website: http://www.army.mod.uk/ceremonialandheritage/museums_main.htm
Imperial War Museum - Tracing Family History:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.00100a
Imperial War Museum ,
Lambeth Road,
London
SE16HZ.
Telephone: 020 7416 5342 ; Fax: 020 7416 5246 ;
E-mail: mail@iwm.org.uk
Firepower :
The Royal Artillery Museum : Contact:
http://www.firepower.org.uk/home/home.cfm or http://www.firepower.org.uk/research/index.cfm
Firepower,
The Royal Artillery Museum ,
Royal Arsenal,
Woolwich,
London
SE18 6ST;
Telephone: 020 8855 7755 ; Fax 020 8855 7100
POPULATION CENSUSES AND SURVEYS
27. For records of Births, Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths contact:
Families Record Centre ,
1 Myddleton Street ,
LONDON
EC171UW.
Telephone: 020 7533 6400 ;
Website: http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/frc/
WAR GRAVES
28. for information on War Graves of World War I (1914-1921) and World War II (1939-1945) contact:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission,
2 Marlow Road ,
Maidenhead,
Berkshire
SL67DX.
Telephone: 01628 634221; Fax: 01628 771208;
Website: http://www.cwgc.org or http://www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/search.aspx
The advice provided by the office of the Membership Secretary of the Royal Artillery Association (RAA) is intended as guidance only and is given in good faith. No liability howsoever arising from the giving of such advice is accepted. If in doubt the RAA advise that the assistance of suitable independent advice should be sought. The RAA and its employees can accept no responsibility for the content of external websites. Please ensure that you have adequate virus protection before opening or downloading files.
Registered Charity N o 238197
Registered Office: As above
Research
Research can be a long, time consuming process, but in order to establish the facts it is necessary to conduct it in a thorough manner. People undertake such research for a wide variety of reasons. The contents of this page may assist you in your research by providing resource reference points. We hope that this page helps
Useful Addresses
Royal Artillery
Historical Secretary, Royal Artillery Library, Old Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, London (England), SE18 4DN
Membership Secretary, Royal Artillery Association, Artillery House, Front Parade, Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, London (England), SE18 4BH
Army Service Records
1. Serving Officers and Soldiers
Army Personnel Centre,Kentigern House,65 Brown Street,GlasgowG2 8EX
Fax: 0141 225 8402.
2. Retired Officers since 1914 and Soldiers since 1920
Army Records Centre,Ministry of Defence CS(RM)2b,Bourne Avenue,Hayes,Middlesex UB3 1RF.
Fax: 0181 569 2751.
The Ministry of Defence does not normally release information from a service record to persons other than the individual concerned or their next of kin and a nonrefundable search fee may be charged.
Officers' records for the period 1914-20 were transferred to the Public Record Office in January 1998.
3. Soldiers 1914-1920
These records were transferred to the Public Record Office in November 1996 but initial enquiries should still go to Ministry of Defence, CS(RM)2, Bourne Avenue, Hayes, Middlesex, UB3 1RF. A fee of £20.00 is charged and this service is now available to anybody.
Because of bombing in 1940 only about 25% to 30% of soldiers records from this period have survived.
4. Officers and Soldiers pre 1914
The Keeper of Public Records,Public Record Office,Ruskin Avenue,Kew,Richmond,Surrey TW9 4DU.
Telephone: 0181-876 3444.
Fax: 0181-878 8905.
Website: http://www.pro.gov.uk/
The Public Record Office
The Public Record Office,Ruskin Avenue,Kew,Richmond,Surrey TW9 4DU.
Telephone: 0181-876 3444.
Fax: 0181-878 8905.
Website: http://www.pro.gov.uk/
The Public Record Office is the national repository for official government records, including the War Office files and records amongst which are to be found surviving unit war diaries and army service records.
The PRO does not undertake research for enquirers. Its public opening hours are as follows:
Monday 9.00-17.00 (ordering times - 9.30-16.00)Tuesday 10.00-19.00 (ordering times - 10.00-16.30)Wednesday 9.00-17.00 (ordering times - 9.30-16.00)Thursday 9.00-19.00 (ordering times - 9.30-16.30)Friday 9.00-17.00 (ordering times - 9.30-16.00)Saturday 9.30-17.00 (ordering times - 9.30-12.00 and 13.30-14.30)
Admission is by Reader's Ticket. Readers have to register in person bringing adequate proof of identity, such as a passport or UK driving licence or UK bank/credit card. If in doubt the applicant should call in advance of their visit on 020 8392 5200.
Intending Visitors are advised to check (a) the opening times prior to a visit as sections are occasionally closed for stocktaking and (b) that the documents are available for consultation, as they are sometimes withdrawn for official use.
If you are unable to undertake the research personally, or send a proxy, the PRO should be able to provide details of professional researchers and their charges.
See http://www.pro.gov.uk/news/ww1.htm for information on the PRO's archives of World War I records.
Other sources of information
County Record Offices
Many county and borough record offices have military collections, usually based on local Militia / Yeomanry / Volunteer / Territorial / Home Guard units but in certain cases covering locally recruited Regular units as well. Details of record offices appear in: The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts. Record repositories in Great Britain: a geographical directory. HMSO Ninth edition 1991. ISBN 0-11-440243-4.
Genealogy
Society of Genealogists,14 Charterhouse Buildings,Goswell Road,London EC1M 7BA.
Telephone: 0171-251 8799.
Website: http://www.sog.org.uk/
Honours and awards
The Army Medal Office,Ministry of Defence,Government Buildings,Worcester Road,Droitwich Spa,WorcestershireWR9 8AU.
Enquiries about decorations for gallantry and distinguished service (except those relating to Northern Ireland) prior to 1980 should be addressed to:
The Public Record Office,Ruskin Avenue,Kew,Richmond,Surrey TW9 4DU.
Telephone: 0181-876 3444.
Fax: 0181-878 8905.
Website: http://www.pro.gov.uk/
Awards are announced, sometimes with citations, in Supplements to the London Gazette. Copies of London Gazettes are held in the Public Record Office at Kew and in several of the principal reference libraries. Any public library should be able to help you find a library that holds it.
Indian Army (until 1947)
Oriental and Indian Office,British Library,96 Euston RoadLondon NW1 2DB
Website: http://www.bl.org.uk
Lost Trails
Possible ways of tracing former comrades:
a. By placing an advertisement:
If a former member of 50 Missile Regiment Royal Artillery Place your details on the 'Trace-a-Mate' page of the 50 Missile Web site by clicking on the menu to the left of this screen
Soldier Magazine,Parson's House,Ordnance Road,Aldershot,Hampshire GU11 2DU
Telephone: 01252-347351
Fax: 01252-347358
Website: http://www.army.mod.uk/army/life/magazine/Nov98/mag_top.htm
The Legion,Magazine of the Royal British Legion,48 Pall Mall,London SW1Y 5JY
Telephone: 0171-973 7200
Fax: 0171-973 7399
Website: http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/
Service Pals' Teletext Limited.PO Box 297,London SW6 1XT
Telephone: 0171-386 5000
Fax: 0171-386 5618
[Page 487 - 488 Channel Four]
b. By contacting the Regimental Association.
c. By requesting the branch which deals with army service records to forward a letter to the last known address. The branch to which you should write is:
Army Records Centre,Ministry of Defence CS(RM)2b,Bourne Avenue,Hayes,Middlesex UB3 1RF.
Museums
a. Imperial War Museum,Lambeth Road,London SE1 6HZ
Telephone: 0171-416 5000
Fax: 0171-416 5374
Website: http://www.iwm.org.uk
Coverage: all aspects of war in the 20th Century which have affected Britain and other members of the Commonwealth.
b. National Army Museum,Royal Hospital Road,Chelsea,London SW3 4HT
Telephone: 0171-730 0717
Fax: 0171-823 6573
Website: http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk
Coverage: British Army; Indian Army (prior to 1947); British Colonial Forces up to their independence. Index to military casualties from 1900 giving details of next of kin and dispersal of personal possessions. Collection of Victoria Cross and George Cross files (not available online).
c. Regimental Museums
Details of regimental museums are given in the publication by Terence and Shirley Wise, "A Guide to Military Museums and Other Places of Military Interest". Imperial Press, 8th edition 1994. ISBN 185674-020-X
Population Censuses and Surveys
Births, baptising, marriages and deaths:
Families Record Centre,1 Myddelton Street,LondonEC17 1UW
Tel: 0171 533 6400
War Graves
War graves of World War I (1914-1921) and World War II (1939-1945).
Commonwealth War Graves Commission,2 Marlow Road, Maidenhead,Berkshire SL67DX
Telephone: 01628-34221
Fax: 01628-771208
Website: http://www.cwgc.org/cwgchome.htm
.