We’ve increased the amount of Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1883-1900 on our site by around 20,000 so there are now 270,334 records for you to search.

We’ll keep you posted on all the new updates we make to these records - you can expect to see many more in the coming months.

Get searching our Chelsea Pensioners records today.

We’ve just unearthed nearly 95,000 new records to add to the 1851 census for Isle of Man, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire and Carnarvonshire. See below for a breakdown of the records:

 
Get searching the 1851 census now.

We have just published approximately 252,000 records of men who were pensioned out of the British Army between 1883 and 1900. We’re working in association with The National Archives and in partnership with FamilySearch on this ongoing project and when it is complete, you will be able to see around 9 million full colour images. We are scanning the records in the following order, so the next pieces to be released will be:

Whereas many other military records provide information about officer-class soldiers, these records relate to ordinary, non-officer class soldiers. This makes it more likely that you will be able to find details about your ancestors. The connection with ‘Chelsea Pensioners’ is that the pensions were administered through The Royal Hospital at Chelsea. The great majority of pensioned soldiers were out-pensioners and did not reside at the Hospital itself.

Why are these records so special?

The records provide rich detail and colour to our ancestors’ lives to a level that is difficult to find elsewhere. There are usually six or seven records per soldier, whereas an individual would only get one line in, say, a 19^th century census record. Most of the service records note all of the regiments in which a soldier served, with both start and end dates, ranks attained, and the total service rendered, again in years and days, in each rank and regiment. Service in either the East or West Indies is noted separately.

The reason for the soldier’s discharge (illness or wounds) is given, as are remarks on general conduct while in the service, and notations on height, complexion, eye and hair colour, and civilian occupation. The form is dated and signed by both the soldier and commanding officer. In the absence of photographs, these records are an essential tool in providing an insight into what your ancestors actually looked like. These records are among the most popular at The National Archives as family historians and genealogists have realised how valuable they are.

The Chelsea Pensioner Service Records are made up of servicemen from all over the British Empire. Below is a percentage break down of where the servicemen were born:

• England = 68.9%
• Ireland = 17.6%
• Scotland = 8.3%
• Wales = 2.2%
• West Indies = 0.6%
• India = 0.4%
• Sark = 0.00073%

Debra Chatfield

Our marketing manager, Debra Chatfield, said: “The Chelsea Pensioners’ British Army Service Records are a wonderful resource for family historians. Unlike many other military records, which often only provide information about officer-class soldiers, these records are of ‘ordinary’ soldiers.

These fascinating, detailed records enable you to find out so much about your soldier ancestors, even including what they looked like, long before the invention of photography. The colour images of handwritten records provide amazing insights into the lives of our military ancestors.”

Interesting characters in the records

William Milligan, Spike Milligan’s grandfather, served in the Royal Artillery. He was born in St John’s, Newfoundland, British America and was a carpenter until he joined the British Army on 2 September 1869, aged 18 years in Belfast. On joining the army they recorded his ‘vital statistics’ as follows: 5′9″ (69 inches), 34 inch chest, 126 lbs, ‘fair’ complexion, grey eyes, brown hair, Roman Catholic, pulse (regular): 76 beats, respiration: 14 inspirations, muscular development: good, distinctive marks: “Slight varicose back of left leg”.

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John Henry Fry, the three day soldier - back in 1888 John Henry Fry signed up to become a soldier for the British Army in Exeter. He was born in Barnstaple, Devon in 1870 and grew up to work as a labourer before he decided to sign up to the British Army.

On 25 September 1888, aged 18 years and 3 months he joined the British Army stating he would be willing to serve the British Army for 12 years and would like to serve in the Rifle Brigade. On his enlistment papers his physical description is as follows: 5′5 1/4″, 124lbs, 32 3/4 inch chest, ’sallow’ complexion, blue eyes, brown hair, and he belonged to the Church of England.

A 12 year service, however, was not to be. On 27 September 1888, aged 18 years and 3 months, after just 3 days’ service, John Henry Fry left the British Army. His character on being discharged was recorded as “Good during his three days’ service” and his cause of discharge was recorded as “In consequence of his not being likely to become an efficient soldier”.

Using other records available on findmypast.co.uk, John Henry Fry can be found to have moved to Cardiff by the time of the 1901 and 1911 censuses.

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Start searching our Chelsea Pensioners Service Records now.

The Knowledge Base section of our site contains our Parish Records Collection. We’ve just alphabetised the parish list so finding the one you need should now be much easier. Have a look at our parish list now.

The General Register Office has just introduced new charges for ordering birth, marriage and death certificates which will take effect from Tuesday 6th April 2010. For more information view the GRO’s press release.

This weekend saw the fourth Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE exhibition at Kensington Olympia. Hundreds of people visited the findmypast shop and kept our Edwardian shopkeepers busy selling vouchers and giving out free Family History Starter Packs.

The findmypast tram proved a popular feature with all the departures pulling a large crowd. Our clippies gave engaging and informative talks throughout the weekend which described in detail how to use findmypast when researching your family history. Here you can see the journey in action:

Our research bay was busy all weekend, with members of the findmypast team answering queries and helping people with their research. Mary, who uses findmypast.co.uk in her research, came to the exhibition with the hope of overcoming a problem. We helped Mary to track down her maternal great-great grandmother who was proving elusive to trace. Our experts also found Mary’s great-great grandmother’s parents, which meant that she now has new avenues of research to explore.

The event was hugely successful and we received lots of valuable feedback about our stand and our website. We’d like to thank everyone who visited our shop, tram and research bay and hope you enjoyed the event as much as we did.