British Army Ancestry before 1881

The further back you go, the more tricky it becomes.

If your ancestor fought at Waterloo in 1815 you'll need to check the Waterloo Medal Roll. Also see the sources below. The links will take you to the National Archives website which gives more detailed information about the information held.

- WO 25 and WO 76 (Officers' records of service 1660-1913)

- Army Lists

- Soldiers discharged to pension 1897-1913

- Soldiers' Discharge papers 1760-1913

- Muster Rolls and Pay Lists c1730-1898

- Boer War databases

Also see The National Archives' Useful Sources for Tracing Soldiers.

In addition to the above, you might also want to visit Ancestry.co.uk (FREE 14 day trial) to check non military records such as:

- Census returns and Parish records

- Births, marriages and deaths

- County and trade directories
- Immigration records

Visit The Naval & Military Press website for divisional & regimental histories and much else besides.