Royal Artillery Other Ranks: Casualty Cards 1939-1947

Each record includes an image of the original World War 2 Royal Artillery Other Ranks: Casualty form and a transcript taken from the form. In most cases, the image will be able to give you more information than the transcript. We would recommend that you look through both to get the most out of the records. These records are for Other Ranks and not Officer Ranks; therefore, they will not include the records of any officers; such as, Lieutenants, Captains, Majors, etc.

The information included on each form is recorded under the following headings:

Part 1

• Army number
• Rank
• Full name
• Age
• Country of birth
• Date of death
• Place of death
• Cause of death

Part 2

• Decorations
• Parent corps or regiment at time of death
• Parent corps or regiment on 1st September 1939
• Rank held at time of death
• Place of birth
• Place of domicile
• Date of death
• Theatre or country where fatal wounds sustained or death occurred

It is common to find the information in Part 1 fully completed; less common to find the information in Part 2 completed. Nevertheless this information, published online for the first time, is a unique reference source for Royal Artillery fatalities which occurred during the Second World War.

The original casualty cards from this collection are owned by The Royal Artillery Historical Trust and housed at The Royal Artillery Museum in Woolwich.

These records will give you more insight into your relative’s involvement in the Second World War including his rank, cause of death and where the death occurred. The last item will give you a clear indication about where he was fighting at that time in World War II.

Listed in the transcripts is your relative’s Soldier Number, but in the image it is titled as Army number, these are the same number.

Many of the soldiers’ ranks have been abbreviated. Below is a guide to help you: Gnr: Gunner

L/Bdr: Lance bombardier

Bdr: Bombardier

L/Sgt: Lance sergeant

Sgt: Sergeant

S/Sgt: Staff sergeant

QMS: Quartermaster sergeant

TSM: Troop sergeant major

BQMS: Battery quartermaster sergeant

RQMS: Regimental quartermaster sergeant

BSM: Battery sergeant major (warrant officer class 2)

WOII: Warrant officer class 2

SM (AC): Sergeant major (artillery clerk)

RSM: Regimental sergeant major (warrant officer class 1)

WOI: Warrant officer class 1

© Images reproduced by courtesy of the Trustees of The Royal Artillery Historical Trust, London, England. The Royal Artillery Historical Trust give no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for purpose of the information provided. Images may be used only for the purposes of research, private study or education. Applications for any other use should be made to The Trustees, The Royal Artillery Historical Trust, The Royal Artillery Museum, Royal Arsenal West, Warren Lane, Woolwich, SE18 6ST. Breach of the above condition may result in legal action.