Search more than 133,000 new Napoleonic War Records for the period 1775-1817 on findmypast.co.uk

These records will be a real bonus to those trying to trace their military ancestors.

The records are split into three types:

• Army of Reserve 1803: 26,314 records of soldiers who were part of the 1803 England and Wales Army of Reserve



• Regimental indexes 1806: 97,463 regimental records of Napoleonic era soldiers from 1806
• Foot Guards attestation papers 1775-1817: 9,309 records of soldiers’ attestations to the 1st Foot Guard between 1775 and 1817

Barbara Chambers provided findmypast.co.uk with these records.

Find out more and search these records now

Our resident military expert Paul Nixon, pictured below, answers your queries.

From Lin Moorman:

‘My grandfather Thomas Pilsbury, born on 18 February 1877, volunteered or was called up quite late in WWI. He never recovered from the experience. I tried to find his war records some time ago but no luck. Have you any advice?’

Paul says:

‘The medal index cards for WWI list two men with the name Thomas Pilsbury. The first man went out to France as a private with the Shropshire Light Infantry in September 1915 and so this is probably not your grandfather as you say he was called up quite late in WWI. The other Thomas Pilsbury served with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers (RDF) and later the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR). There is a service record in WO364 which will show you that he was a brass locksmith by trade and that he enlisted on 13 April 1918 aged 41 years and two months.

Thomas was posted to the 3rd Bn RDF on 15 April 1918 and sailed for France as a draft for the 6th Bn on 27 August. Two days later he was transferred to the RIR and appears to have joined the battalion in the line on 3 September. It looks as though he spent three weeks in the line before being admitted to a casualty clearing station with haemorrhoids.

He was discharged from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment on 12 March 1919 giving his address as 58 Victoria Road, Bradmore, Wolverhampton. He applied for a pension but this was rejected in 1919 as he had ‘no disability’ (although he had suffered from scabies and haemorrhoids and been hospitalised at various times in Camiers, Trouville and Etaples).

The scabies was possibly as a result of lice, although this is not stated on his pension record. Thomas was a married man (married to Edith Ann Sarah on 13 November 1904), and they had five children: Winifred (7 December 1905), Edith (5 September 1907), Thomas (31 August 1909), Lucy (19 May 1912) and Muriel (22 January 1915). It’s not much I’m afraid but I hope it helps.’

If you’d like to send your question to our experts, please register or opt to receive newsletters in My Account. Unfortunately our experts only have time to answer a few queries each month. If yours wasn’t answered this time, you could be lucky next month!

Our resident military expert Paul Nixon, pictured below, answers your queries.

From Keith Griffiths:

‘I’m trying to trace any record of my grandfather Howell Lewis Griffiths. He was born on 11 April 1878 in Carmarthen, Wales and is said to have fought in the 2nd Boer War in South Africa. I have not been able to trace a record as I do not have a regiment to which he may have been attached. Any help would be appreciated.’

Paul says:

‘You’re going to struggle with this as the medal rolls for the 2nd South African War often only list initials rather than first names. There is one H L Griffiths listed who served with the Commander in Chief’s bodyguard (number 22647) but you’d need more evidence to positively identify this man as your relative.

Why not try the local papers for the time and see if he is named either as going out to fight, or returning home? brightsolid online publishing and the British Library have just launched the British Newspaper Archive, where you’ll be able to search 4 million newspaper pages, rising to 40 million over the next 10 years. Read more about this and register here: www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk‘

If you’d like to send your question to our experts, please register or opt to receive newsletters in My Account. Unfortunately our experts only have time to answer a few queries each month. If yours wasn’t answered this time, you could be lucky next month!

You can now search 10,529 records of WWII Escapers & Evaders on findmypast.co.uk

These records are individual reports for allied service personnel about their experiences of escaping from prisoner of war camps or evading capture in Central Europe throughout WWII.

Each entry will tell you the following key information about your ancestor: name, rank, number, corps and reference to the original paper file at The National Archives in Kew.

You may also be able to learn details of your ancestor’s decorations, date of capture, the camp in which they were held and/or the date of escape.

These records will be especially useful if you have previously been unable to find your WWII ancestors.

Search WWII Escapers & Evaders now

Our resident military expert Paul Nixon, pictured below, answers your queries.

From M Marshall in Barnet, Hertfordshire:

‘A relative called John Telford Graham (born 1890/91) came from Newcastle upon Tyne and served in the First World War. He belonged to The Army Medical Corps (Territorial Force) and died on 15 July 1917 in Malta. His army number was 386384 and his rank was Private.

What was the cause of John’s death? Where was he buried in Malta? Why was his unit serving in Malta? I would be most grateful if you could answer these questions.’

Paul says:

‘Soldiers Died in The Great War notes simply ‘died’ which probably means that he died as a result of sickness or accident; probably the former, as Pieta Military Cemetery dealt with the sick and wounded from Gallipoli and Salonika. The Commonwealth war Graves Commission gives the following information:

Name: GRAHAM, JOHN TELFORD
Initials: J T
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Royal Army Medical Corps
Unit Text: 2nd/1st Northumbrian Field Amb
Age: 26
Date of Death: 15/07/1917
Service No: 386384
Additional information: Son of John Sewell Graham and Margaret Ann Graham, of “Holmside,” Armstrong Rd., Benwell, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: C. XIV. 5.
Cemetery: PIETA MILITARY CEMETERY

The 2/1st Northumbrian FA was initially part of the 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division and you can read more about this Division on The Long, Long Trail website. From the information contained here, the unit had moved to Salonika as Army Troops in September 1916.’

If you’d like to send your question to our experts, please register or opt to receive newsletters in My Account. Unfortunately our experts only have time to answer a few queries each month. If yours wasn’t answered this time, you could be lucky next month!

Yorkshire Day is drawing to a close at findmypast.co.uk, but we’ve got one more example to show you. So far, we’ve looked at the family history of a modern-day celebrity and found the unknown family of the Brontë sisters. Now it’s time to take a look at the life of an everyday hero, in the shape of John William Mansfield.

We found John William Mansfield’s incredibly detailed record in our Militia Service Records. At 30 pages long, it’s the largest record we’ve found in the collection so far.

Mansfield attested to the East Yorkshire Regiment in 1882 and saw regular service with the British Army until he was transferred to the Army Reserve in 1890. He later signed up with the Royal Eastern Reserve and finally the Royal Garrison Regiment, serving for a total of 15 years.

The service record provides us with a lot of detailed information about John William Mansfield and his life, much more than you could find out through other records such as censuses. This is just a selection of what Mansfield’s record reveals:

Mansfield’s life

• Born: Parish of Southcoates, near the town of Hull, Yorkshire
• Trade: Farm Servant
• Father: John Mansfield of 1 Beeton Street, Holderness Road, Hull
• Wife: Married Annie Elizabeth McNamara in Sculcoates, Yorkshire on 28th May 1892.
• Children: Beatrice, Elizabeth, Edith, Millicent and James

A portion of Mansfield's service record - please click to enlarge

Description

• Height: 5 feet 6 3/8 inches
• Weight: 139 lbs
• Chest: 35 inches
• Complexion: Fresh
• Eyes: Blue
• Hair: Reddish
• Tattoos: Tombstone and two figures on front of chest, girl with open fan on right forearm, J.W.M. on left forearm
• Church of England
• Conduct: Efficient and active, very good

Medical history while serving

• Boils (9 days)
• Balanitis (4 days)
• Ague (17 days)
• Warts (8 days)
• Gonorrhoea (36 days)
• Malaria fever (7 days)
• Rheumatism (15 days)
• Sprained ankle (8 days)

Discipline while serving

• Absent without leave in 1883 – 36 days imprisonment
• Drunk on duty in 1889 – demoted from Corporal to Private
• Drunk on duty in 1902 – 42 days imprisonment with Hard Labour and fined £1.

A portion of Mansfield's service record - please click to enlarge

Have you found a more detailed record in the Militia Service Records? Let us know if you have!

We are very proud to announce the launch of four sets of nineteenth and twentieth century military records to help enrich your family history. The records provide useful detail including attestation and leaving dates, achievements made in service and soldiers’ physical appearence. And, certainly in the case of the 1861 records, the records can fill in gaps left by the census.

The releases are the 1861 Worldwide Army Index, Royal Fusiliers Collection 1863-1905, Paddington Rifles 1860-1912 and Surrey Recuitment Registers 1908-1933.

The 1861 Worldwide Army Index (or The 1861 Worldwide Soldier Index) entailed the extraction of some 245,000 serving soldiers.

The Paddington Rifles database contains the names of over 8,600 men who served with the battalion from its inception in 1860 until its demise in 1912. It can therefore be a vital tool in providing colour to your London ancestors.

The Royal Fusiliers Collection 1863-1905 comprises the names of close to 5000 officers and men who took part in a series of British military campaigns between 1863 and 1904.

The Surrey Recruitment Registers comprises details of approximately 85,000 men who attested for service with a variety of regiments in Surrey between 1908 and 1933.

You can also have a look through all our military records.

June’s Ask the Expert looks at some of your military history questions starting with this from Ted Glock:

“My grandfather was killed in France in the First World War. I have been trying to discover if he has a memorial somewhere to no avail.  His name was George Hunt army number 5785 Private in East Surrey regiment. I have his medals so know the name etc. is correct.  I would really appreciate your help.”

Our expert Paul Nixon replies:

“5785 Private George King Hunt of the 9th (Service) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment entered France and Flanders on the 7th October 1915 and was killed in Action on the 21st May 1917. He was entitled to the 1914-15 Star, and the British War and Victory Medals. Soldiers Died in The Great war notes that he was born in Camberwell, Surrey and enlisted there.

I have been unable to find his name recorded on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Roll of Honour website and so am unable to confirm where he is buried or commemorated.”

We have just published two new sets of military records on findmypast.co.uk: Royal Navy Officers Medal Roll 1914-1920 and New Zealand WWI Soldiers.

Below is further information about these records and the valuable details about your ancestors you could discover.

Royal Navy Officers Medal Roll 1914-1920

These records comprise a transcript of the complete WWI Campaign Medal Rolls to 53,000 officers of all branches of the Royal Navy.

Added to the transcript are service details for a large number of officers, particularly those killed in action or died of wounds during WWI. In many cases, post-war deaths and WWII deaths are noted.

The medals that the rolls cover are: The 1914 Star, the Clasp to the 1914 Star, the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

These records can add vivid detail to your family tree – below is an example. Note the especially comprehensive cause of death:

Find out more and search these records now

New Zealand WWI Soldiers

This is a set of records for 288,526 New Zealand WWI service personnel and reserves.

The records are obtained from the following sources: Nominal Rolls, First and Second Division Rolls of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force Reserve, Native Reserve Lists, Military Defaulters List, New Zealanders who served with the Australian Imperial Force, Guthrie Index, Smith Index, Halpin Index, British Section NZEF, Fijian Contingent, Roll Of Honour Section 3 and the Stock Index. Find out more about each of these sources

Here is an example record from this series. It shows the soldier’s military details, as well as other information, such as marital status, last New Zealand address and next of kin details:

Find out more and search these records now

We have just reduced the price of memorial scrolls dramatically for PayAsYouGo credits users.

The scrolls now cost just 10 credits each to view, as opposed to 50 credits previously. The scrolls are also now included free within a Full subscription.

You can get the scrolls for the following:

• WW1 Deaths
• WW1 National Roll of Honour
• WW2 Deaths
• Waterloo Medal Roll 1815
• De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour

Search our 1656-1994 military records collection today to view the beautiful memorial scrolls.