Using Army Officer Lists in research
The Officers of the Army were drawn from
the great and the good of a society which respected military
service.
Annual lists of Officers in the various
British Regiments became popular from the 1700's as both a
reference book and a form of self-aggrandisement.
They became so popular that in some years
more than one army list was published with the Official Army
list supplemented by lists from companies such as Harts.
At times, such as World War One, they
were published twice or even four times a year to cope with the
personal changes.
What information do they contain?
Regiments
Current Regiments including Territorial
Regiments are listed
Government approved Militia units are
also included
Allied services of that time such as the
Indian Army or Military Establishments i9 the
Commonwealth/Empire.
Whitehall and Military Establishments in
the UK
Officers
Lists of Officers of each Regiment
Lists of Officers on pension or half pay
Officers will range from the Honorary
Colonel to Ensign including the Quartermaster and Surgeons.
Other Information
Various according to publication and date
but can includes deaths, notable medals won, Officers recently
passed out, pay and allowances and biographies.
What use is an army list?
If your ancestor was a serving Officer
with a British Regiment then he will almost certainly appear in
an Army List.
As they appear most years it is easy to
track a career and to estimate dates for enlistment and
retirement or death.
Once a Regiment and service dates are
established it is much easier to trace service records or search
in other documents such as newspapers for information.
Where can I find them?
Original Army Lists are available at some
second hand book shops or online auction sites but they tend to
be quite expensive although some reproductions can be cheaper.
There are many companies who produce Army
lists on CD for sale.
Most of the lists are available free of
charge for download via the National Archives site.
The History site Archive.org has many of
the records online to read or download.
