Genealogy Chat

My Great Grandfather was a career soldier with the Seaforth Highlanders and I have his regiment number and the list of medals he gained eg WW1 medals, Long service and North West frontier medal, but how do I go about getting his military records? all i have of him is his marriage certificate and an old photo.

www.army.mod.uk/contacts/divisions/records.htm has details of where to contact etc. It depends on when he left the army. nell

Have you tried www.nationalarchives.co.uk? It might not be any good for you, but I found a recor on my Ggrandfather and GGgrandfather who were in the Navy.

The key to this is the year he left the army. If left at end of First World War then details might be in the unburnt record section at Kew as he would probably have left with a pension. Jan

Have a look at the National Archives website. That will tell you where to find military records as it depends when he left the army and his rank as to where the records will be held. 1914 to 1920 the records could be at Kew or they may have been lost in a fire (the remaining records are nicknamed the burnt files) After 1920 you need to go to:- http://www.veteransagency.mod.uk/service_recs/service%20_recs_army.htm Good luck

He definitly left after ww1 as my grandmother was born at Fort George Scotland and he was still listed as a private, i do think he went on to serve in Ireland after that

You could try a look up for him with someone with access to British Origins. I got my Gfathers military record dating 1906 from them. Admittedly it cost £10 but it's cheaper than going to Kew for me.

Sorry whats British Origins?. He must have been in Scotland in 1921 and then Ireland a few years later. Which makes me think he was a career soldier- plus I know he got a Long service good conduct medal ( I dont know how long you have to serve to get one of these)

Go to www.origins.net You can get 48 hour access for not much money but the military stuff costs extra. (someone goes to Kew and copies the originals for you.) Alternatively, just search the site to see if he's on it first.

Tamsin, I suspect if he was still in service in 1921 that his records won't be available via the National Archives/PRO at Kew. However, it would be a good idea to get his service number - you can do this by examining the medal rolls on the National Archives website and downloading a copy of the entry - it will have his regimental number on it. Next, you will need to apply to the Army Staff Section ..... have a google around for these details, or were they mentioned higher up the thread. Hope this helps. Jane