British Army

The British Army is the land-based forces of the United Kingdom. The British Army was heavily involved in Imperial affairs in India and most regiments (both infantry and cavalry) served in India at some point. Throughout the nineteenth century, a significant number of British troops were stationed at India at any one time. In 1847, for instance, around 20% of British Army regiments were on the sub-continent.

A British man, or man of British descent could also be a soldier/officer in one of the Presidency Armies. These were seperate from the British Army, instead consisting of regiments formed by the East India Company and under their control.

Regiments

Any regiment name prefaced by the initials H.M. (Her or His Majesty's) is a British Army regiment, although the term is not strictly applied, especially amongst the ecclesiastical records. These regiments may be referred to as "Royal Regiments".

Regiments are divided across several arms of the army, these being the Cavalry (who fought mounted on horseback), the Infantry (soldiers who fought on foot) and the support arms such as the Artillery (who used weaponry such as canons and large guns) and the Engineers construction, demolition, surveying etc.)

The article History of British Army Infantry Regiments is a general history of the origin and development of the infantry regiments and explains some of the reforms that took place.

• To browse British Army regiments, see List of H.M.’s Regiments.
• To browse the Infantry category, see British Army Infantry Regiments
• To browse the Cavalry category, see British Army Cavalry Regiments
• To browse the Artillery category, see British Army Artillery Regiments

Regiment names terminology

Regiments, especially prior to the twentieth century, were not named in a uniform manner and the historical terminology used can be unfamiliar to a beginning researcher. Some common terms and the regiment types they apply to can be found below.

Term	Regiment type
Dragoons	Cavalry
Foot	Infantry
Fusiliers	Infantry
Grenadier	Infantry
Hussars	Cavalry
Lancers	Cavalry
Life Guards	Cavalry
Rifles	Infantry

Wars and campaigns

The British Army were involved in numerous wars, campaigns and battles in India and the surrounding region.

• To browse wars in the region, see the Wars and Campaigns category.
• To browse battles, see the Battles category.

Family research

See also - Military reading list

There are various sources of information for finding out about a man in the British Army.

Military records

Unlike those of the presidency armies, muster rolls for British Army regiments stationed in India are not at the British Library but are instead at The National Archives at Kew in London. Discharge papers (usually contains service/attestation information) and pension records may also be found at TNA. Discharge papers up to 1854 are listed alphabetically by name and can be searched online. Copies (paper or digital) of TNA records can be ordered by distance for a fee. Another useful TNA source may be the WO22 subseries Army and other pensions paid out locally in India, Ceylon and China.

Ecclesiatical returns

If the man married, had children or died out on the Sub-continent then records of these occurences can often be found in the India Office Church records. However, some regimental chaplains only filed their BMDs with the General Register Office in London and certificates of these army returns can be obtained via them (indexes can be found in genealogical libraries, the National Archives and various online sources such as findmypast.com).

Other sources

Additional sources include:

• Medal Rolls

See also

• Category:Military Terms
• Category:Church records

External links

Wikipedia articles:

• History of the British Army
• Recruitment in the British Army
• British Army Regiments 1881 (The Childers Reforms)