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The National Archives has worked with findmypast to scan and place A separate online dataset is '''WO 97''' (British Army Pensioners - Royal Hospital Chelsea: Soldiers' Service Documents 1760Kilmainham, Ireland, 1783-1913). All WO 97 records, for the years 1822'''1760 to 1913''' are currently available on findmypast as part of a group of located in Armed forces & conflict /Regimental & service records called '''British Army Service Records 1760-1915'''. This group of These records consists of*Militia service are from the National Archives WO 119 records 1806-1915 (WO96)*Chelsea Pensioners British Army service records 1760-1913 (WO97)*Royal Hospital, Chelsea: pensioners' discharge documents 1760-1887 (WO121) (see [[British Army#Other Pension Records| Other Pension Records below]])*Royal Hospital, Chelsea: pensioners' discharge documents, foreign regiments 1816-1817 (WO122) *War Office: Imperial Yeomanry, soldiers' documents, South African War 1899-1902 (WO128)*Royal Hospital, Chelsea: documents of soldiers awarded deferred pensions 1838-1896 (WO131)
This India List '''WO 120''' and '''WO 121''' records may be helpful. <ref> Murphy, Sylvia. [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2011-04/1303469139 postThomaSs Pittmans pension record] mentions ''Rootsweb India Mailing List'WO 120''' and '''WO 121''' records22 April 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2016</ref>. Catalogue references are: *[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C14328?v=r '''WO 120'''] "From about 1812 dates of death have been noted and in the last series these dates extend to 1877" The WO 120 records are not available online but are available on [[LDS]] microfilm with this [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=315468&disp=Regimental+registers+of+pensioners%2C+ar&columns=*,0,0 catalogue entry].
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====Service and pension records====
=====Chelsea PensionersOnline records=====Discharge papers ([http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C14305?v=r=====Findmypast======Findmypast contains a database '''WO 97British Army Service Records''', (to '''1913''')])located in Armed forces & conflict/ Regimental & service records, usually containing service/attestation informationwhich contains records between1760 and 1920, for officers and pension records ([http://discoveryother ranks, from The National Archives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C14231?v=r ''' This database consists of *WO 22''']) may also be found at TNA. Records in WO 97 are usually only for men discharged with a pension (i.e. for long service or having been invalided <ref name=Skel > Victorian Wars Forum thread [http- Royal Hospital Chelsea://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=5904#p23104 Pension?] quoting from ''The Victorian returns of payment of Army at Home ''by AR Skelley</ref>) as these were the papers sent to the and other pensions 1842-1883*WO 23 - Royal Hospital Chelsea and preserved: admission books, but from 1883registers, most causes and papers 1702-1876*WO 76 - Regimental records of discharge, (apart from death (with a few exceptions)<ref>There are officers' services 1775-1914*WO 96 - Militia service records 1806-1915*WO 97 - Chelsea: pensioners British Army service records for a few men who died in the Anglo1760- Boer War (and papers in the Ancestry "WWI" series for men who died during the Anglo1913*WO 121 -Boer War) according to this [httpChelsea://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=82&t=3511&start=15#p23904 Victorian Wars Forum post] dated 1 October 2011 by Meurig. This further Victorian Wars Forum [httppensioners' discharge documents 1760-1887*WO 122 - Chelsea://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=82&t=7112#p30127 post] dated 30 May 2012 by Mark A Reid also mentions a few other deaths. George Francis died in the Tochi Valley in 1897pensioners' discharge documents, yet his papers appear in the foreign regiments 1816-1817*WO 363 WW1 records on findmypast.</ref>) were included. Note however128 - Imperial Yeomanry, soldiers'''the survival rate documents, South African War 1899-1902*WO 131 - Chelsea: documents of discharge papers appears to be low for men discharged overseas<ref>''My Ancestor was in the British Army'soldiers awarded deferred pensions 1838-1896*WO 339 - Officers'services, page 63 by Michael Watts and Christopher Watts 2009</ref> [ie not in BritainFirst World War, regular army and therefore low for India]. If a man went on to serve during emergency reserve officers Transcripts only*WO 363 - First World War 1 then his records would normally have been removed from WO97 and placed with his WW1 service records<ref> 'burnt documents'My Ancestor was in the British Army'', page 64 by Michael Watts and Christopher Watts 2009 and [http://newsarch.rootsweb.com/th/read/DEVON/2010*WO 364 -03/1269096802 Chelsea Pensioners] dated 20 March 2010 from Rootsweb Devon List.</ref>. First World War pension claims*WO 97 records are also unlikely to include men who immediately went on active service with a Milita unit, (whose discharge papers may have been transferred to the Milita unit)<ref>India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2011374 -06/1308580161 post] dated 20 June 2011</ref>Officers'''. The records often contain a wealth of genealogical informationservices, including birth date and locationFirst World War, next personal files*WO 400 - The Household Cavalry 1801-1919 See below for details of kin, physical description, service locations, medical history and medals. They may include information about marriages, births of children or deaths of family membersthese records. An associated database is '''NoteBritish Army Service Records Image Browse''': There are examples of records to 1913, which are located in Armed forces & conflict/Service Records which contains the WW1 above records, rather than in excluding the WO 97First World War records, even though the man did not serve in WW1.
Searching the records is free, but charges apply to view the records, although they can be viewed for free at TNA (and other institutions with a FMP subscription).
For some findmypast blogs about these records, see below<ref>FindMyPast blogs "Behind the scenes":
[http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/2010/09/behind-the-scenes-the-chelsea-pensioners-records-with-paul-nixon-content-licensing-manager/ The Chelsea Pensioners records with Paul Nixon, content licensing manager] 15 Sep 2010 and [http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/2010/10/behind-the-scenes-our-expert-stephen-rigden-on-spelling-variations/ Our expert, Stephen Rigden, on spelling variations] 29 Oct 2010</ref>
======Ancestry======
Ancestry is a pay website.
*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1219 '''British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920'''] are WO 363 records.
*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1114 '''British Army WWI Pension Records 1914-1920'''] are WO 364 records.
=====Chelsea Pensioners=====
Discharge papers ([http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C14305?v=r'''WO 97''', (to '''1913''')]), usually containing service/attestation information, and pension records ([http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C14231?v=r '''WO 22''']) may also be found at TNA. Records in WO 97 are usually only for men discharged with a pension (i.e. for long service or having been invalided <ref name=Skel > Victorian Wars Forum thread [http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=5904#p23104 Pension?] quoting from ''The Victorian Army at Home ''by AR Skelley</ref>) as these were the papers sent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea and preserved, but from 1883, most causes of discharge, (apart from death (with a few exceptions)<ref>There are WO 97 records for a few men who died in the Anglo- Boer War (and papers in the Ancestry "WWI" series for men who died during the Anglo-Boer War) according to this [http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=82&t=3511&start=15#p23904 Victorian Wars Forum post] dated 1 October 2011 by Meurig. This further Victorian Wars Forum [http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=82&t=7112#p30127 post] dated 30 May 2012 by Mark A Reid also mentions a few other deaths. George Francis died in the Tochi Valley in 1897, yet his papers appear in the WO 363 WW1 records on findmypast.</ref>) were included.Note however, '''the survival rate of discharge papers appears to be low for men discharged overseas<ref>''My Ancestor was in the British Army'', page 63 by Michael Watts and Christopher Watts 2009</ref> [ie not in Britain, and therefore low for India]. If a man went on to serve during World War 1 then his records would normally have been removed from WO97 and placed with his WW1 service records<ref> ''My Ancestor was in the British Army'', page 64 by Michael Watts and Christopher Watts 2009 and [http://newsarch.rootsweb.com/th/read/DEVON/2010-03/1269096802 Chelsea Pensioners] dated 20 March 2010 from Rootsweb Devon List.</ref>. WO 97 records are also unlikely to include men who immediately went on active service with a Milita unit, (whose discharge papers may have been transferred to the Milita unit)<ref>India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2011-06/1308580161 post] dated 20 June 2011</ref>'''. The records often contain a wealth of genealogical information, including birth date and location, next of kin, physical description, service locations, medical history and medals. They may include information about marriages, births of children or deaths of family members. '''Note''': There are examples of records to 1913, which are located in the WW1 records, rather than in the WO 97
records, even though the man did not serve in WW1.
This [http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=5904#p23104 link] <ref name=Skel /> has some general information about pensions, quoting from ''The Victorian Army at Home'' by AR Skelley
=====Kilmainham Pensioners=====
The records online at findmypast now include those men discharged through the Kilmainham Hospital in Ireland, as '''"British Army Pensioners - Kilmainham, Ireland 1783-1822'''". These records are held under TNA reference [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C14327?v=r WO 119], and are similar to the Chelsea Pensioner records WO 97, above. Searching the records is free, but charges apply to view the records, although they can be viewed for free at TNA (and other institutions with a FMP subscription).
There are other records for Kilmainham , not digitised, under [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C14326?v=r WO 118] “Registers of in- and out- pensioners of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham”. In-pensioners were admitted until 1922.
=====Other Pension Records=====
Another useful TNA source is the now available online '''WO 22''' subseries "Army and other pensions paid out locally in India, Ceylon and China" detailing names and payments made, including [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C168751?v=r '''WO 22/228-230'''] Bengal, [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C168760?v=r '''WO 22/237-238'''] Bombay and [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C168789?v=r '''WO 22/266-270'''], mainly Madras.
**The book ''British Army Pensioners Abroad, 1772-1899'' by Norman K. Crowder includes all British Army pensioners who retired to any place outside of Great Britain for which records are available (1772-1899). There are 8,934 entries, transcribed from [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C1923393?v=r WO 120/35] and [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C1923427?v=r WO 120/69-70]. Each entry has one line, in the form "51st Regiment of Foot; Josh ABBOTT; pension awarded 27 Sept 1842; residence - Hobart Town, Australia; died 22 Apr 1871. Source WO120 Volume 69 page 206". <ref>[http://grthom.info/cpindex.html Chelsea Pensioners - Out Pensions] by Grahame Thom</ref>
*[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C14329?v=r '''WO 121'''] records. These records are available online on findmypast as part of British Army Service Records 1760-1915, refer [[British Army#Chelsea Pensioners|above]]. The records include "Register of men discharged without pension", 1884 to 1887. Although the catalogue does not mention this, there are many records of men leaving the army in India under the heading "Nominal list of men discharged by the Commander-in-Chief in India." As the register provides name, regimental number, rank, corps, date and cause of discharge, attestation date (and a few other administration details) it is an invaluable resource for those not able to find these details elsewhere. Searching the records is free, but charges apply to view the records, although they can be viewed for free at TNA (and other institutions with a FMP subscription).
These records are included in the National Archives catalogue entry [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C537 Records of the Royal Chelsea and Kilmainham Hospitals]. The latter hospital was in Ireland. This category of records also includes
An interesting series of selected records is [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C11584?v=r '''PIN 71''': Selected War Pensions Award Files for Service Prior to 1914]. This series consists of personal case files on disablement pensions arising from service in the Army or Navy before the First World War and case files concerning widows of such servicemen. The files contain medical records and details of place of birth, age, names of parents and siblings, religion, physical attributes, marital and parental status. The series appears to consist of approximately 6,300 individual files which are searchable by name online on the [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/ Discovery catalogue]. The actual files however are not available online.
Service and pension records from '''World War 1''' from the National Archives are available on the pay site [http://www.ancestry.com sites findmypast and Ancestry .com], and from May 2014 on the pay site findmypast [[British Army#External links| refer below]]above. They do '''contain some papers for men who did not serve in WW1''',<ref>Victorian Wars Forum [http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=7266&start=15#p31162 post] dated 17 July 2012 by Meurig. Other examples have been seen.</ref> so it is suggested you check these records for men with service prior to the War years.The World War 1 records include*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1219 British Army WWI Service Records, '''1914-1920'''] are [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C14567?v=r '''WO 363'''] records also known as the ‘Burnt Documents.’ These are the records which survived a fire, about one third of the total documents. *[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1114 British Army WWI Pension Records '''1914-1920'''] are [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/C14568?v=r '''WO 364'''] records
====Courts martial and desertion====
*The National Archives have the following research guides:
**[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/britisharmyofficerbefore1913.htm Looking for records of a British Army officer up to 1913]
***Regarding records mentioned in this link, note that WO 76 records are now available on findmypast, refer above, and are also available to download free as pdf files from the National Archives' Discovery catalogue. See "Free online records: digital microfilm" (link follows later in this section). For Army Lists, see [[Military periodicals online#New Annual Army List|Military periodicals online-New Annual Army List]]
***[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/army-officers-1660-1913.htm British Army officers up to 1913: further research] (Military Records Information 4)
**[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/officerbritisharmyafter1913.htm Looking for records of a British Army officer after 1913]
