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.

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

From Jean Perrin:

‘My father, Charles Martin, was a driver in the Royal Field Artillery. I think his regimental no. was 101046.

The medal roll shows he received the Victory Medal and British War Medal. I think it says beside these: ‘Roll - RFA/239B, Page 27719′. This is all I can find for him in the military records. I think he would have been living in London when he enlisted, somewhere around Canning Town or maybe Stepney.

He mentioned many times that he rode a horse and was involved in taking ammunition to the troops at the front. He was born in 1890 in Sculcoates, Hull, Yorkshire but lived in London from around 1911 onwards, and I think he enlisted near the beginning of WWI.

I would be really grateful if you could throw any more light on his enlistment or service.’

Paul says:

‘Receipt of the Victory Medal and British War Medal only shows that he didn’t arrive overseas until 1 January 1916 at the earliest, and unfortunately the corresponding medal roll for these medal is unlikely to tell you which battery he served with.

His number looks as though it dates to between August and October 1915, so that’s when he presented himself at the depot. It might be worth visiting the Great War Forum and posting a message there to see if any of the Royal Artillery experts there has information on this man. Also try contacting the Royal Artillery archive in Woolwich.’

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

From Teresa Donaghue:

‘According to my eldest sister who is now deceased, my father, Vincent Maguire, served eight years and 153 days with the Royal Horse and Royal Field Artillery. He enlisted on 17 November 1910. He transferred to the Army Res. on 22 February 1919 and received his army discharge on 15 November 1922 at Woolwich. He served in the Cheshire Reg.

He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. I looked up the citation on findmypast.co.uk which I believe is his. It states: 77441 Sig. V Maguire 28th Bty… 9th Bde. R.F.A. Altrincham (LG .3 Sept. 1919) but I don’t know what this means. My father was born 15 March 1893 in Altrincham, Cheshire. His father’s name was John Maguire, also born in Altrincham.

I know from family knowledge he served in India and France, where he was gassed with mustard gas and suffered trench foot. I cannot trace any more information as my siblings are either dead or of poor memory now. On the medal rolls it states ‘77441 28 By 9 Bde MAGUIRE V’. Under Operations it states ‘DCM’, under Vol. it states ‘1 Jan.’, under page it states ‘..19′. In another column it states ‘D162- 42′.

His brother Barry James Maguire also served in the above Reg. ‘R.H & R.F Art’. He served six years with the regulars and six years with the reserves. He enlisted in October 1907 when he was 20 years old.

If you can direct me to any relevant help with this information or can help me in any way I would be very grateful.’

Paul says:

‘I’ve found the following information for you:

Vincent Maguire: The DCM citation abbreviations are expanded as follows:

Sig: Signaller (his rank)
28th Bty: 28th Battery
9th Bde: 9th Field Artillery Brigade
Altrincham: place of birth
LG 3 Sept 1919: notification of his DCM published in the supplement to the London Gazette of 3 September 1919

The number ‘77441′ looks to date to May or June 1914 rather than 1910, but he was certainly overseas by 14 October 1914 and qualified for the 1914 Star. The 9th Brigade was a regular brigade of artillery.

Barry James Maguire: I could only find one Barry Maguire listed and that is ‘48421 Gunner (later sergeant) Barry Maguire’ who was a regular soldier who arrived overseas with the 5th Royal Field Artillery Brigade on 6 November 1914. His number suggests that he enlisted around October 1907. He also received the India General Service Medal (with Waziristan clasp) and the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (in 1926). The 5th Brigade was also a regular army brigade of artillery.

Contact the Royal Artillery Museum at Woolwich (Firepower) to see if you can glean further information on either of these two men, their batteries or brigades.’

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

From Doreen Caparn in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand:

‘I am looking for a military death record and hope you can help. Here are the details:

Name: Ernest Groves
Born: ? 1879 in Preston, Dorset
Married: 1900 Devizes, Wiltshire
Spouse: Ellen (nee Tucker)
Children: Reginald Ernest Groves, born 1902 and Gladys Groves, born 1901

Ernest was known to have served in the army during World War I. He was very ill when he returned from France and was diagnosed to be suffering from Type 1 Diabetes. This eventually killed him - I don’t know the date but presumably it was before the discovery of insulin.

I am unable to find any record in civilian deaths of his demise. His widow successfully claimed his death was due to the effects of trench warfare and was awarded a pension. Would his death, therefore, be recorded in military records? If so, where would I start looking?’

Paul says:

‘If you know the regiment he served with during WWI, that will help narrow down your search results. His record may survive in the WO363 burn documents series at The National Archives but almost certainly not in WO364 which is the series for soldiers discharged to pension (but it’s still worth checking).

His record could also be in PIN 82 at TNA. This is a very small series of pension records - 183 in total - which records details of widows who received a pension in respect of their late husbands’ WWI service. Your first port of call, however, should be to determine his regiment. This will tell you his army number which should make life easier for you when it comes to tracking him down. If he died before 1921, you may find that he also has a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone.’

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

From David Franks in Stockport:

‘I hope you can help me. My mother’s birth certificate states that she was born on 30 December 1923 at 2 Crispin Court, North Hill, U.D. Colchester. My grandfather (Andrew Hughes), her father, claims that he was a driver in the 38th Battery of the Royal Field Artillery.

Her birth was registered in Colchester sub district Colchester North West on 1 January 1924 but my mother always said that she was born in India where he was stationed.

His marriage certificate shows that he married on 7 April 1923 and that his rank or profession was Private Royal Field Artillery No. 3703198, living at the Artillery Barracks, Colchester.

I think I have tried all avenues but I am unable to find out if they were in India at the time, if my mother was born in India and what campaign/war it was. I have spoken to someone at the Firepower Museum who says that 3703198 is not an RA issue number; it is from a batch issued to the King’s Own Royal Regiment and may have transferred to the RA until 1930.

I would like to see his service records but think I need a little more information. Can you offer any advice?’

Paul says:

‘The number 3703198 does indeed fall within the range of numbers issued to the King’s Own Royal Regiment (3701001 to 3757000). I can’t tell you exactly when that number would have been issued, but the number series was instigated in 1920.

Incidentally, the number range in use by the Royal Field Artillery was 721,001 to 1,842,000. Your best bet would be to contact the MOD with the details you have given here because his record should still be housed there and has certainly not yet been released for general consumption. As a relative, you should be able to obtain a copy of it, although you will need to pay a fee.’

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

From Don McMahon:

‘I am trying to find birth details of my great grandfather born in Ireland, who served in British Army. Details known: Michael McMahon, born approximately 1842. He enlisted in Depot 1st Battalion 9th Regiment of Foot (East Norfolk) on 13 June 1860, in Limerick, Ireland.

I am not able to find details of his enlistment papers. I need to find birth date, parents and place of birth. I hope you can help, many thanks in anticipation.’

Paul says:

‘The 1861 census gives a Michael McMahon aged 20, born at Cork, Ireland. On 7 April 1861 this Michael McMahon was a private soldier, one of 989 soldiers stationed at the Permanent Infantry & North Gate Barracks occupied by the 4th Depot Battalion in Canterbury, Kent. There is nothing on this census return, however, to tie in this man with the 9th Regt of Foot. Of course, it’s worth noting that the Chelsea Pensioners record set is literally just that: men discharged to pension. If Pte McMahon did not receive a pension – for whatever reason – he won’t be in that particular archive.’

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

From Jenny Fitzgerald in London:

‘I really hope you can help me with my query as this has been a mystery for 20 years. I will fill you in with the background, as this is necessary for the questions.

My great grandfather John Ernest Parkinson was born on 8 September 1856 in Ostend, Belgium, to John Parkinson. I have a copy of his birth certificate, written in old Flemish, that I’ve had translated into English. One of the witnesses on the birth certificate was a captain Veynoe domiciled in Dublin, in English Service; the other was a local Inn keeper. Annoyingly, it does not state the occupation of the father.

I searched for any military records of John Parkinson born Pentonville, London in 1832, in the new records on findmypast.co.uk, and found him serving in the Army Hospital Corps from December 1858 until discharged with TB in 1869, during which time he spent eight years in India – a fabulous find. The record showed he died on 1 May 1871 and I now have the death certificate which confirms it is the right person. The census taken just before his death shows him at home with his family.

So, I have a couple of questions: why would John be in Belgium with a heavily pregnant wife in 1856? I suspect he may have been in the army because of the witness, but if he was in the army, why in Belgium?

Also, why did he join the AHC if he had been in another division two years prior? Would he have been conscripted, or joined voluntarily? Thanks for your assistance.’

Paul says:

‘I’ll answer the last question first. He would not have been conscripted but would have joined voluntarily, and it was not uncommon for soldiers to transfer from one regiment to another. You see that a lot, particularly with cavalry regiments as a matter of fact.

I’m not sure why he’d be in Belgium in 1856 but his military papers in WO97 may state whether he had previous army service. If he did not, then he was presumably in Belgium as a civilian.’

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

From Gillian Edgell in Norfolk:

‘Ref: Edwin John Mandeville, born 13 March 1857 at 101 Kent Street (now Tabard Street) Southwark. Parents Hannah and Alfred Mandeville.

I’m wondering if you can help me find or give advice on where I can find any further information on whereabouts of my great great uncle, Edwin John Mandeville, after he left the army in 1895.

On the 1881 census he is listed under the name of Edwin J Manderville , visitor, and his occupation was carpenter. His address was 53 Royal Navy, Salmons Lane, Limehouse. He was staying with his sister, my great grandmother Amelia, and family. I have been searching for years now, trying to find out what happened to him next, but I couldn’t find any further record of him.

You can imagine how thrilled I was when I recently searched for his name in the Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913 and I found a match straight away:

Edwin John Mandeville, age of attestation: 24 years 7 months (I don’t know why he lied about his age, unless you needed to be under 25 to join?)

The attestation date was 3 March 1883, attestation corps: South Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales’ Volunteers), attestation soldier number: 873.

I have looked at the original records - there are nine images. He was discharged after 12 years of service; he was found unfit for further service and his next of kin was given as his older sister Hannah Turner, 25 Arthur Street, Oxford Street, London.

Unfortunately I have not been able to find any further record of him again. I have looked everywhere and found nothing.

I would be very grateful for any input you can give me. Is there, for example, any way of finding out the address where his pension was sent to or when it was stopped paying out? Is there any reason why he would have joint a Northern Regiment, when he lived in London? Any help would be appreciated just so I can finally finish my family tree.’

Paul says:

‘Unfortunately there are no details of the pension award that survive in his papers, but it would have been sent to whatever address he gave to the Pension Board. He was probably awarded a conditional pension of £X in respect of a degree of disablement which was either attributable to, or aggravated by, army service.

This degree of disablement would have been expressed as a percentage, e.g., 20% degree of disablement etc. In all probability, after his first pension award, he would have been called before various subsequent medical boards which would either have continued to make conditional awards or ultimately stopped them.

Interestingly, before he signed up as a career soldier with the South Lancs, he had served with the East Surrey militia and, therefore, it would be worth checking our militia records (WO96) when these go online in 2011.

As for why he joined the South Lancs Regt, he may have been approached by a recruiting sergeant for that regiment and decided to join. Despite the fact that Cardwell’s reforms of 1881 attempted to align the British line infantry along territorial or regional lines, regiments recruited not only in their own counties but also much further afield.

I have a minor study of this for the Border regiment on my Army Service Numbers blog and there’s also related information here.’

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We have just published the Army List 1787 on findmypast.co.uk. This list contains 9,560 records.

When you view these records you’ll be able to see your ancestor’s name, rank, regiment and page number. Often there are also extra notes for each soldier, for example, if they served in the Infantry, and what pay they received.

These records are an excellent way of building up a picture of your military ancestors. The Queensland Family History Society provided us with these records. The QFHS is a member of the Federation of Family History Societies.

Search the Army List 1787 for your military ancestors now.

We have just published five fantastic new military record collections on findmypast.co.uk which comprise 482,879 records.

See below for details of each set of records and for more information about each of the collections:

WWII Prisoners of War - 104,838

Distinguished Conduct Medal Citations - 24,928

Ireland’s Memorial Records of the Great War - 49,602

Register of the Second Anglo-Boer War - 259,581

WWI Naval Casualties - 43,930

More information about the records

WWII Prisoners of War

The register of over 107,000 British Army prisoners of war held in Germany and German occupied territories. On findmypast.co.uk you can search for each individual soldier’s number.

Distinguished Conduct Medal Citations

This award was instituted in 1854 during the Crimean War to recognise gallantry for Other Ranks (i.e., non-officer rank). Second only to the Victoria Cross in terms of prestige, this award was prized as much by the soldiers of the time as it is by medal collectors today. Bars were awarded in recognition of further acts of gallantry meriting the same award.

This set of records lists the full citations of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (and second and third award bars) in the Great War, and when you search, you’ll discover fascinating and rich detail about each soldier.

Ireland’s Memorial Records of the Great War

Eight volumes of details of over 49,000 fatal casualties. The men and women commemorated either served in Irish Regiments or were born or resident in Ireland at the time of their death and were serving with units from Britain and its empire. On findmypast.co.uk, you can search by each soldier’s number.

A remarkable feature of the volumes is the beautiful symbolic borders designed by the artist Harry Clarke, best known for his work in stained glass.

Register of the Second Anglo-Boer War

A unique database for genealogists, military historians and medal collectors: a quarter of a million records of men and women who served in the British Imperial Forces during the war in southern Africa: soldiers, sailors, nurses and civilians. You can search over 258,800 names, including a completely revised casualty list of 59,000 casualty records.

WWI Naval Casualties

These records contain details of naval other ranks deaths in service during the First World War. The original records are held by The National Archives and are in a perilously damaged state.

When you search these records you’ll find the soldier’s full names, rating, number, branch of service, name of ship or unit, decorations etc., as well as other valuable information. The date and cause of death, location of their cemetery and reference of grave (where applicable) is shown together with the name and address of the relative notified of the death.

Find your ancestors in our extensive military collection 1656-1994.