Military

Military and army records, history, research and family history

First World War soldiers at the Battle of Ypres, 1917 First World War records

How to find First World War records

Royal Marines records. Royal Marines practice a bayonet charge, 1940

Royal Marines records: How to find them

British soldiers at Anzio in Southern Italy, 1944. Second World War Army records

Second World War Army records: Where to find them

A military hospital, 1914

The best websites for finding military hospital staff

British prisoners of war at Dunkirk.

How to find WW2 POW records

Prime minister Winston Churchill inspecting Home Guard volunteers

What was the Home Guard?

Nurses at the Sir William Hospital treat shell shock victims during the First World War with experimental medical equipment

What is shell shock?

Army Form B.103 Service and Casualty Form

First tranche of military service records added to The National Archives’ catalogue

'Scotland for Ever'; the charge of the Scots Greys at Waterloo, 18 June 1815, Napoleonic Wars

When were the Napoleonic Wars?

Hawker Hurricanes flying in formation during the Battle of Britain in 1940 Battle of Britain pilots

Battle of Britain pilots: How many pilots were killed, are any still alive and how can you trace them?

Victorian wars British soldiers crossing a river during the Boer War, c.1900

Victorian wars: What wars took place during the Victorian era, and how can you research them?

RAF bomber crew c1940

Discover your past

How to find and use RAF Operation Record Books

Children sit in front of their bombed-out house in London's East End during the Blitz

What was the Blitz, when did it start and how long did it last?

First World War nurses, Christmas Day 1914

Discover your past

How to find First World War nurses’ records

The defeat of the British army at Tweebosch, on 7 March 1902, in the Second Boer War

How to find Boer War service records