Passenger lists

UK Ports passenger lists 1878-1960

Ancestry contains the dataset "UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960", (located in Immigration & Travel/Passenger Lists) which contain the names of people arriving at United Kingdom ports from places outside Europe, based on records from The National Archives, Kew.
Note: The Ancestry transcribed field "Port of Departure" appears to be the first port of departure of the ship, not the port of departure of the person. It may be necessary to look at the image to find the port of departure of the person.

findmypast contains the dataset "Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960", located in Travel & migration, based on records from The National Archives.

Note however, the above websites only contain persons who travelled the entire journey to and from India via a UK port. A researcher advised: "Many people travelling from India found it faster and more convenient to travel by steamer to Marseilles and take the train direct to Calais and then by regular ferry to Dover. Entry into England by this route was not recorded. Many of my relatives did this (we know from letters) but no official records were kept. Frustrating for us later!"

The National Archives guide How to look for records of Passengers gives more details.

Both the above sites are free to search, but require payment to view the records. They are free to view at the National Archives. Some Libraries may have free access, refer Miscellaneous tips. Some Genealogy Societies provide free access from their libraries if you are a member.

For passenger lists between India and Australia see Australia

FIBIS resources

• See Arrival and Departure notices. Includes information on FIBIS Database
• Passenger lists on FIBIS Database
• Embarkation Records on FIBIS Database relate to soldiers of EIC and British Armies and, in some cases, include women and children, lists of ship's crew and passengers.

Earlier passenger lists

• See Ships' Journals
• Refer to the British Library webpage Maritime Services,and associated information, accessible from Maritime Service-External links.
• Passenger lists appear in various directories and periodicals. For editions available online, see Directories online and Newspapers and journals online
• Wendy Leahy’s Shadows of Time includes
  • India Records
    • Duchess of Atholl passenger list and information 1828
    • Duchess of Atholl passenger list and information 1830
    • Duke of Sussex passenger list and information 1831
    • Duke of York passenger list and information 1822
    • Dunira passenger list and information 1822
    • Bombay Calendar And Almanac Passenger Lists and Shipping Information 1822 – 1842 (Extracts)
• Shipping Related Events of 1862 From The Times from the Ships List. Includes some passengers from India.
• India List post transcribing a letter in The Times Thursday, 29 July 1858 praising the captain of the Peninsula and Oriental Steamship Candida, travelling from India and China, with signatories, and a second India List transcription of a letter in The Times 5 January 1859 regarding the “evils and annoyances” experienced on the transit through Egypt to board the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam vessel Ceylon,(for travel to India), with signatories

Military embarkation records

• East India Company Army-India Office records at the British Library Embarkation lists 1753-1861. Also available on LDS microfilm.
• British Army-India Office military records at the British Library British Army troops embarked for India 1871-1889.
• Indian Army Registers of Passage Cases IOR/L/MIL/14/195-212 1909-1947. The registers cover claims to passage money, arranged by regiment, and giving ship and date of sailing, reason, and whether accompanied by a family. Each contains an index
• National Archives, Kew British Army WO 25/3502-3528: Embarkation and Disembarkation Returns 1789-1907 including
  • WO 25/3528 Unaccompanied Families to India (Indexed). 1908-1915