Diploma in Family HistoryDiploma in Family History

Occupational Records

Why?Why?

The Irish in the British Army

Where are the originals?Where are the originals?

National Archives, KewSome few exceptions

Guards regiments ...Post 1920 records

Why are they so hard to grasp?Why are they so hard to grasp?

1660ReformsSheer scaleGenealogy subscription sites

Where are the online copies?Where are the online copies?

In general ... TNA commercial deals withPre-1913 FindMyPast.co.ukWW1 Ancestry.co.uk

But ... exceptions

General guide ...nam.ac.ukGeneral guide ...nam.ac.uk

Detailed guide ...Detailed guide ...

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

What records?What records?

CommissionedNon-commissionedBefore or after 1913

Army List from 1740 . Annotated copies downloadable from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk (“digital microfilm”)At Kew:

WO 31, 25: Commissions WO 64: PromotionsWO 25: PensionsNational Archives catalogue search

Commissioned officersCommissioned officers

1785 Army List

1785 Army List

discovery.nationalarchives.gov.ukdiscovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

discovery.nationalarchives.gov.ukdiscovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

discovery.nationalarchives.gov.ukdiscovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Service records pre-1913Pension or non-pension?

• Pension: Chelsea or Kilmainham: FindMyPast• Soldiers’ Documents (Discharges) – pension to 1883, all

thereafter WO 97 • To 1915 (?) on FindMyPast.co.uk• Other, piecemeal, on FindMyPast.co.uk

Records of the non-commissionedRecords of the non-commissioned

Kilmainham PensionerKilmainham Pensioner

Chelsea PensionerChelsea Pensioner

Chelsea PensionerChelsea Pensioner

Enlistment record

Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Register of Soldiers who served in Canada 1743-1882 (ancestry.co.uk)

Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Register of Soldiers who served in Canada 1743-1882 (ancestry.co.uk)

Non-Pension records (Kew only)WO 12: Muster Books and Pay Lists (1732-1878)13,307 volumesKnow the regiment!

Campaign and Service Medals and Awards (ancestry.co.uk)

Army service recordsArmy service records

Post 1913: Ancestry.comPost 1913: Ancestry.com

• Service: 3.6 million records• Pension: 2.1 million records• Medal Index: 5.3 million

Post 1913Post 1913

• WW1 short service record

• “Burnt” documents

Medal index cards 1914-1920Medal index cards 1914-1920

Created c.1917/185 million entriesEveryone who “served in a theatre of war”

British War MedalVictory Medal1914-15 Star

name, rank(s), unit(s), regimental number, medal entitlement [...]www.1914-1918.net for explanation

Medal index cards 1914-1920Medal index cards 1914-1920

War Graves CommissionWar Graves Commission

Deaths after 1915www.cwgc.org

Irish RegimentsIrish Regiments

www.militaryarchives.ie => “About”Caution

War diaries 1914-1922War diaries 1914-1922

Pot luck, partially digitised, payingwww.nationalarchive.gov.uk => War diarieswww.operationwardiary.org (crowdsourced)

Miscellaneous (!)Miscellaneous (!)

www.bmdregisters.co.uk (prisoners of war)Enlisted men

Other Records• Casualties and deserters 1795-1875• Description Books 1756-1900• Regimental Registers of Births, 1761-1924

MiscellaneousMiscellaneous

OtherDeaths of Irish [...] African War (1898-1902) (GRO)Ireland's Memorial Records (FindMyPast.ie)

Wills: www.gov.uk/probate-searchWills: www.gov.uk/probate-search

soldierswills.nationalarchives.iesoldierswills.nationalarchives.ie

9,000 pre-printed Free, fully-searchableIrish

FindMyPast.co.ukFindMyPast.co.uk

FindMyPast.co.ukFindMyPast.co.uk

Ancestry.comAncestry.com

• Service: 3.6 million records• Pension: 2.1 million records• Medal Index: 5.3 million

Summary?Summary?

POLICEPOLICE

1814: Peace Preservation Force 1822: County Constabulary 1836: Irish Constabulary 1867: Royal Irish Constabulary Dublin Metropolitan Police

POLICEPOLICE

General Register 1816 -1922 NA- Kew(mf NAI, PRONI, LDS ...)Herlihy, Jim: The Royal Irish Constabulary: a complete alphabetical list of officers and men, 1816-1922 DMP: Garda Archives (mf NAI)

POLICEPOLICE

POLICEPOLICE

LAWYERS: KING’S INNSLAWYERS: KING’S INNS

Up to 1867: solicitors (apprentices); barristers (students). Family information requiredKing's Inns admission papers, 1607-1867, edited by Edward Keane, P. Beryl Phair, and Thomas U. Sadlier (Dublin : Stationery Office for the Irish Manuscripts Commission, 1982).www.irishmanuscripts.ie

Later: Dublin directories

CLERGYCLERGY

Catholic: think sidewaysC of I: Biographical succession lists, RCBLPresbyterian: www.presbyterianhistoryireland.com

Prison registersPrison registers

Cork city prison registers 1819-1924

www.findmypast.ie