Family History
Our archives are not only a rich source for military historians but are also of particular value when researching family history.
We do not hold service records for people who served in the Royal Artillery as these are held by the MOD and can be accessed at the GOV.UK website here. However, if you know which unit your ancestor was with (Battery, Regiment/Brigade) then we are likely to hold information on the unit’s activities, locations etc.
The following records from our archive are available online via www.findmypast.co.uk. These are for non-officer ranks only:
- Attestation Ledgers (1880-1942) These are enlistment records of soldiers joining the Royal Artillery. Please be aware that the records do not catalogue all soldiers who enlisted. They give more information for the years before 1929; they are less detailed for later years.
- Casualty Cards (1939-1947) created for soldiers who died during WW2.
The following records from our archive are available online via www.ancestry.co.uk. Again, these are for non-officer ranks only:
- WWII Tracer Cards. These give some abbreviated information on the units an individual served with. They are not held for all Gunners. The final batch has been put up and these are all now available on Ancestry.
These research guides from The National Archives are a useful resource for family history research:
We are sorry that the Royal Artillery Museum archive is currently unable to accept enquiries.
This year the Archivist and volunteers have had to carry out a large amount of work in merging parts of the former Badley Library (at the Royal School of Artillery) into the Royal Artillery Archive. The move and the preservation of important books and documents has had to take priority over other work. Our enquiry service has always been very popular, and we have built up a large backlog of enquiries that we need to answer before we can re-open the service.
We hope to be able to accept enquiries again in 2025.
The archive remains open to researchers visiting in person. If you wish to book a visit please call us on 01980 634208 and leave a message, including possible visit dates.
