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Records in this collection
- 1st Sportsman's Battalion, Royal Fusiliers 1914-1918
- 1861 Worldwide Army Index
- Anglo-Boer War Records 1899-1902
- Army Deserters 1828-1840
- Army List August 1878
- Army Roll of Honour 1939-1945
- Birmingham City Battalions 1914-1918
- Birmingham Employers Roll of Honour 1914-1918
- Bradford Pals 1914-1918
- British Armed Forces, First World War Soldiers' Medical Records
- British Armed Forces, First World War Widows' Pensions Forms
- British Armed Forces, Roman Catholic Registers Baptisms
- British Army Casualty Lists 1939-1945
- British Army Discharges, 60th Foot 1854-1880
- British Army Officers' Widows' Pension Forms 1755-1908
- British Army Service Records - WO 363 & WO 364
- British Army Service Records WO 22 & WO 23
- British Army Service Records WO 96 & WO 97
- British Army, Bond Of Sacrifice: Officers Died In The Great War 1914-1916
- British Army, British Red Cross Society volunteers 1914-1918
- British Army, East Surrey Regiment 1899-1919
- British Army, East Surrey Regiment 1899-1919
- British Army, East Surrey Regiment 1899-1919
- British Army, Honourable Artillery Company
- British Army, Imperial War Museum Bond of Sacrifice 1914-1918
- British Army, Indian Volunteer Force Medal Awards 1915-1939
- British Army, Irish regimental enlistment registers 1877-1924
- British Army, List Of Half-Pay Officers 1714
- British Army, Lloyds Of London Memorial Roll 1914-1919
- British Army, Northumberland Fusiliers 1881-1920
- British Army, Queen's Royal West Regiment 1901-1918
- British Army, Queen's Royal West Regiment 1901-1918
- British Army, Queen's Royal West Regiment 1901-1918
- British Army, Railwaymen Died in the Great War
- British Army, Royal Artillery Officer Deaths 1850-2011
- British Army, Royal Artillery Officers 1716-1899
- British Army, Royal Artillery War Commemoration Book, 1914-1918
- British Army, Royal Artillery, 80th Field Regiment, WW2
- British Army, Royal Welch Fusiliers
- British Army, War of 1812 Casualties
- British Army, Women's Army Auxiliary Corps 1917-1920
- British Army, worldwide index 1851
- British Casualties, Aden 1955-1967
- British Casualties, Indian Mutiny 1857-1859
- British Casualties, Korean War 1950 – 1953
- British Casualties, Spanish Civil War 1936 - 1939
- British in Argentina 1914-1919
- British India Office Army & Navy pensions
- British Officers Taken Prisoner of War 1914-1918
- British Red Cross Register of Overseas Volunteers, 1914-1918
- British Royal Air Force, Airmen's Service Records 1912-1939
- British Royal Air Force, Gallantry Awards 1914-1919
- British Royal Air Force, Officers’ Service Records 1912 - 1920
- British Royal Naval Reserve 1899-1930 ADM240
- British Royal Naval Reserve 1899-1930 ADM337
- British Royal Navy & Royal Marines service and pension records, 1704-1919
- British Royal Navy & Royal Marines service and pension records, 1704-1919
- British Royal Navy & Royal Marines, Battle of Jutland 1916 servicemen
- British Royal Navy Allotment Declarations 1795-1852
- British Royal Navy personnel 1831
- British Royal Navy Seamen 1899-1924
- British Royal Navy, Foreign Awards To Officers Index 1914-1922
- British Royal Navy, Ships' Musters
- British Women's Royal Air Force Service Records 1918-1920
- Chelsea: documents of soldiers awarded deferred pensions 1838-1896 - WO 131
- Chelsea: pensioners' discharge documents 1760-1887 - WO 121
- Chelsea: pensioners' discharge documents, foreign regiments 1816-1817 - WO 122
- City of York militia & muster rolls 1509-1829
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission Debt of Honour, 1914-1921
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission Debt of Honour, 1938-1947
- Cyprus Emergency Deaths 1955-1960
- De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour 1914-1918
- Edinburgh Pals 1914-1918
- Essex, Clacton Roll Of Honour 1914-1918
- Glasgow Pals 1914-1918
- Hampshire, Portsmouth Military Tribunals 1916-1919
- Harold Gillles Plastic Surgery Archives from WWI
- Harts Army List 1840
- Harts Army List 1888
- Imperial Yeomanry, soldiers' documents, South African War 1899-1902 - WO 128
- Kempston Servicemen 1914-1920
- Kilmainham Pensioners British Army service records, 1771-1821
- Leicestershire and Rutland, Soldiers Died 1914-1920
- Lincolnshire, Kesteven Militia Ballot List 1824
- Liverpool Pals 1914-1918
- London County Council Record Of War Service 1914-1918
- London Stock Exchange Memorial Roll 1914-1918
- London volunteer soldiers, 1859-1955
- Manchester Employers' Roll Of Honour 1914-1916
- Manchester Regiment city battalions 1914-1916
- Middlesex War Memorials
- Middlesex, Poplar, Military Tribunals 1916-1918
- Military Nurses (Royal Red Cross)
- Military Nurses 1856-1994
- Napoleonic War Records
- Napoleonic War Records
- Napoleonic War Records 1775 - 1817
- National Roll of the Great War 1914-1918
- Northamptonshire Military Tribunals 1916-1918
- Northamptonshire militia lists 1771
- Officers' services, First World War - WO 339 & WO 374
- Oldham Pals 1914-1920
- Oldham Pals Roll of Honour
- Palestine Conflict British Deaths 1945-1948
- Peninsular Medal Roll 1793-1814
- Plymouth Militia records 1625-1831
- Plymouth Rolls Of Honour 1914-1919
- Plymouth Second World War records 1939-1945
- Plymouth Subscribers For Redemption Of Captives In Turkey and Algiers 1680
- Prisoners of War - Second World War (1939-1945) - Europe
- Prisoners of War - Second World War (1939-1945) - Far East
- Prisoners Of War 1715-1945 - Napoleonic
- Prisoners of war 1745-1945: Crimean War to Boer Wars
- Prisoners Of War 1914-1920
- Regimental records of officers' services 1775-1914 - WO 76
- Royal Air Force Muster Roll 1918
- Royal Artillery Attestations 1883-1942
- Royal Artillery Honors & Awards
- Royal Artillery Military Medal Awards
- Royal Artillery Other Ranks: casualty cards 1939-1947
- Royal Fusiliers Collection 1863-1905
- Royal Fusiliers, Stockbrokers' Battalion 1914-1918
- Royal Marine Medal Roll
- Royal Marines 1899-1919
- Royal Naval Division Casualties, 1914-1919
- Royal Naval Division Service Records, 1914-1920
- Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve medal roll
- Royal Navy Officers 1899-1919
- Royal Navy Officers Medal Roll, 1914-1920
- Royal Sussex Regiment Southdown Battalions 1914-1918
- Royal Tank Corps enlistment records, 1919-1934
- Salford Pals 1914-1918
- Silver War Badge roll 1914-1920
- Soldiers died in the Great War 1914-1919
- South Africa Roll Of Honour 1914-1918
- Surrey Recruitment Records
- Surrey, Military Tribunals 1915-1918
- Swansea Pals (14th Welsh Regt)
- The Household Cavalry 1801-1919 - WO 400
- Waterloo Roll Call 1815
- Welsh Guards 1915-1918
- World War One British Army Medal Index Cards
- WW1 Ships Lost at Sea, 1914-1919
- WWI Distinguished Conduct Medal Citations
- WWII Escapers and Evaders
These records contain references to just over 13,000 military nurses who served between around 1856 and 1994.
This collection includes the following sets of records:
Army Nursing Service
A small but interesting set of 238 nurses of often quite genteel origin, born in the 19th century (between 1823 and 1875), mostly extracted from The National Archives' record series WO25 piece 3955. These records also contain supplementary information from additional sources, such as army lists and the London Gazette.
Entries usually give date of birth and a combination of one or more of: father's occupation, training hospital, date of appointment to the Army Nursing Service (between 1869 and 1891), and notes on retirement or resignation from the service.
Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service
Entries for 783 nurses, born between 1859 and 1904, were taken from The National Archives' record series WO25 piece 3956. Entries usually give date of birth, father's occupation, place of education, training hospital trained, training dates, date of appointment to QAIMNS (between 1902 and 1926) and rank at appointment, while some also give dates of promotion, whether retired or resigned, and sundry other notes.
Royal Hospital Chelsea Nurses
Details of 165 largely untrained nurses, born between 1839 and 1876, who served at the hospital for pensioned soldiers between 1856 and 1910. The original record can be found at The National Archives' record series WO23 piece 181 and appears to have been created for pension purposes.
These give variously: year of birth, date of appointment, dates of proficiency and whether died, dismissed, resigned or retired. Some of those dismissed were discharged from the hospital for such irregularities as drunkenness, indiscipline, neglect of duty and unspecified misconduct.
Royal Red Cross Register
The Royal Red Cross (RRC) was first awarded in 1883 'for special exertions in providing for the nursing, or for attending to, sick and wounded soldiers and sailors'. So special was the award, that by the outbreak of WWI only 246 women had been considered worthy of the honour during the preceding 31 years. With new classes of medal introduced, this rose to 6,741 by 1922. Fewer were awarded during WWII and peacetime and men became eligible for the first time in 1976. The RRC awards are entered in three ledgers, the originals of which are held at The National Archives in class WO145. In total, the RRC Register documents more than 9,500 awards to a total of 8,969 individuals over a period of more than 110 years.
Scottish Women's Hospital
Contains references to 1,575 women (and men) who were stationed in continental Europe during WWI. Many were in France or Corsica; however, a significant number were based in Serbia, from which some accompanied the Serb government, army and civilian refugees on their long retreat across the snow-covered Albanian mountains to evacuation to Corfu.
The entries give title, position, station, dates of service and occasionally extra notes. The information is taken from a source at London's Imperial war Museum.
WWII Military Nurses
This small collection of records contains details of 1,244 nurses who served in France with either Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, or Queen Alexandra's Reserve, or the Territorial Army Nursing Service, during WWII.
Details recorded include title, rank, any promotions, date of embarkation to France, unit at which served and sundry notes. The information is taken from The National Archives' record series WO177, pieces 14, 1157 and 1199.
The women in all these units, from the orderlies to the fully qualified doctors, must have been extraordinarily strong characters. For those whose interest in the subject has been piqued, we recommend that you search on the internet for biographies of such women as Katherine Harley (killed by a shell in 1917 in what is today Bitola in Macedonia), the feminist Cicely Hamilton, Evelina Haverfield (died in 1920 in Serbia) and Dr Elsie Inglis.
Like many record sets, this is intended as a prompt to further research. Those family historians fortunate enough to have one of these nurses in their family tree will be able to make continued enquiries and discover more about their relative using the references to the original materials held at The National Archives in Kew, Greater London.
Data © Sue Light