British Army, Worldwide Index 1851
Discover your British military ancestor through this worldwide index. The index covers the records of over 300 regiments serving around the world in Ireland, Jamaica, Canada, Greece, and many more countries. You will discover your ancestor’s service number, rank, and regiment, as well as where his regiment was serving at the time the record was created.
See description
Discover your British military ancestor through this worldwide index. The index covers the records of over 300 regiments serving around the world in Ireland, Jamaica, Canada, Greece, and many more countries. You will discover your ancestor’s service number, rank, and regiment, as well as where his regiment was serving at the time the record was created.
Learn more about these records
The details in each record can vary but most will comprise the following facts about your ancestor:
- Name
- Year
- Service number
- Rank
- Regiment or unit
- Period
- Location of service
- The National Archives reference
There are more than 156,000 records found in this index. A wide range of ranks is represented from privates and drivers to captains and lieutenants. The index was created by Roger E. Nixon using regimental muster books and pay lists, part of the War Office records, held at The National Archives. Each transcript will provide you with an archival reference from the original source. You will find over 300 regiments and companies. For a full list of regiments, use the British Army, worldwide index 1851 regimental list as a guide. The regiments in this collection were serving in Malta, Hull, West Indies, Ireland, Pakistan, Canada, Honduras, and more places around the world. The index includes the names of 92 hired black labourers serving with the Corps of Military Labourers in Port Louis, Mauritius, as well as over 12,000 records from members of the Royal Artillery.
In 1851, the Commander in Chief of the British Army was the Duke of Wellington. The Minie rifle was introduced for the infantry regiments. Queen Victoria had ascended to the throne 14 years earlier and the British Army would face its first major conflict since the Napoleonic Wars at the Crimean War in 1854. The Crimean War highlighted the Army’s shortcomings and military reform began shortly after.