About British Army Ancestors

British Army Ancestors is a FREE photographic library of British Army soldiers.  For each record you find on this site there is also a button which provides access to additional information, some of which is published on partner sites and may be chargeable. If you are looking for a photo of a British Army soldier, I strongly advise you to read these photo-finding tips on my Army Ancestry blog.  Also read this post called, Finding a photo of your British military ancestor. Finally, read Finding Photographs of your British Army Ancestor which is published on the British Army Ancestors blog.

How British Army Ancestors works

Launched in 2017, the British Army Ancestors website enables people to search for British Army soldiers and upload photos; a permanent photographic memorial to the men and women who have served their country and Empire. There are over 100,000 photographs on this website.

Officers of the 2nd Battalion, Scottish Rifles, Malta 1913.

This named group photograph of officers serving with the 2nd Battalion, Scottish Rifles in Malta in 1913 could be added for multiple individuals.

Links to data sources

In addition to uploading or downloading photos on this site, there is also the option to find out more about the soldier concerned. This might be a link to a service record, or a medal index card, or further information. The majority of these links are to Findmypast or The National Archives or Casus-Belli where you may need to pay to view this information.

About the data on this site

The soldiers’ names that are published on this site appear as a result of collaboration with The National Archives, Findmypast and Casus Belli. There is also data from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and from my own indexing projects. The majority of the indexed names  you will find here, have been transcribed by Findmypast, from the following series which are housed at The National Archives. Dates given are the date ranges for the entire series, although the data on this site begins at 1850 and ends in 1920.

WO 76: records of officers’ services, 1760-1914

WO 96: militia attestation papers, 1806-1915

WO 97: other ranks’ service papers, 1764-1913

WO 100: Campaign medal and award rolls

WO 128: Imperial Yeomanry, soldiers’ documents, South African War 1899-1902

WO 339: officers’ services, 1914-1920

WO 363: other ranks’ service records, 1914-1920

WO 364: other ranks’ pension records, 1914-1920

WO 372: campaign medal index cards 1914-1920

WO 374: officers’ services, (temporary commissions and Territorial Force), 1898-1922

WO 398: Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) service records 1917-1920

WO 399: British Army Medical Services & Territorial Force Nursing Service Records, 1914-1918

WO 400: The Household Cavalry, 1799-1920

Information provided by the National Archives is reproduced by permission of The National Archives, London, England. The National Archives give no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for the purpose of the information provided.

In addition to the series noted above additional indexes have been provided from regimental muster lists and pay books published in 1851, 1861 and 1871. There are records from The Scots Guards and The Honourable Artillery Company, and an as yet incomplete roll call of men who were serving in uniform in the British Army in 1911 when the census was taken. A database of men born before 1900 who were still serving in the British Army in 1920 completes the picture.

Missing records

There are over twelve million names of British Army soldiers on this British Army Ancestors website. Nevertheless there will tens of thousands of men and women who do not appear here; individuals for whom no record of service survives. This may be because the person was killed whilst serving their country before 1914, their files later destroyed; or because they did not serve overseas, or because their records were destroyed during the Second World War. There are practically no Volunteer Force records that survive, thus robbing us all of the chance to remember men who volunteered to serve their country at home between 1859 and 1908.

I am constantly adding new names to this database but I do not, at this point in time, offer a facility for users to add individual entries if a name does not already appear in the British Army Ancestors’ database.

For more information about this site and how it works, have a look at these Frequently Asked Questions

Paul Nixon, August 2021


Launched in 2017, British Army Ancestors is a FREE site with a simple aim: to find or add photographs of British Army soldiers.

Soldiers

These six different avatars that you will find in search results identify the approximate periods of service of the individuals concerned.

Soldiers

On this British Army Ancestors website you will find over 12m records which have been collated from many sources. Search the database to add a photo or search the database simply to discover which records are available. Clicking the dark blue links in search results will take you to original records or transcriptions which are owned by third party partners such as The National Archives or Findmypast where payment may be required. The data on this site currently covers the date range 1850 to 1947.


The avatars on this site are intended as a guide for you and represent the British soldier throughout history. For example, if the red-jacketed soldier appears in your search results, this is an indication that this man probably served between 1850 and 1902.


SEARCH for a soldier, UPLOAD a photograph, REMEMBER the individual. There are millions of searchable names on British Army Ancestors and thousands of photographs covering conflicts from the Crimean War to the Second World War. HUNDREDS of new photographs are being added every week. Have you found your British Army Ancestor yet?


There are over 12 million names on the British Army Ancestors website and searching is easy and fast. Use the wildcard asterisk * to focus your search results. Searching is free but you will need to REGISTER in order to upload photographs or download existing images.

This website is regularly updated and new features announced on the British Army Ancestors blog. Remember too to check out the British Army Ancestors Facebook page which features a different person every day.

I RESEARCH SOLDIERS
In 2008 I launched my Army Service Numbers 1881-1918 blog and over the years I have helped hundreds (if not thousands) of military and family historians. I also carry out research. Drop me a line if you need help.

NOTE There is also a RESEARCH button against every returned result on this site. Click on this button to find out more about research services for individual soldiers.

There are currently 103264 photos of British Army soldiers published on this website