ARMY RECORDS
Phil Tomaselli explains how to use regimental Description Books to research a military ancestor
Searching for genealogical information on British soldiers from the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly where they originated in order to check whether they might be an ancestor, can be frustrating. If they left the army to take a pension, the discharge-to-pension papers may survive and provide this information; but if they were killed, deserted or purchased their way out, it can be difficult to find anything to confirm their background.
Regimental Description Books are a possible solution, because they provide, as the name suggests, a physical description of the man as well as his age, his parish of birth, his civilian trade and some details of his army service. Some Description Books are available and indexed online, but even more can be downloaded for free from The National Archives’
(TNA’s) site discovery. nationalarchives. gov.uk and they usually have an internal index at the front or back of each volume. The books seem to have been completed fairly regularly by each regiment, probably about every five years. They would have been used when compiling a record of service for each soldier to show how much pension he was due, and to provide a physical description to the authorities if he deserted. The description usually includes his height, hair colour, eye colour and complexion. Later books include details of scars and tattoos – not something one is likely to find for a civilian ancestor!
A typical example, one I’ve used recently to help someone confirm that a soldier she’d found was an ancestor, describes him as: Height: Five foot six and a half; Age on Enlistment: 33; Complexion: Fresh; Eyes: Hazel; Hair: Brown; Born: Lincoln, St Peter’s Parish; Trade: Labourer; Place of Attestation: St Thomas’ Mount, East Indies; Date of Attestation: 19 July 1824 for unlimited service; Former service in 69th Foot and 1st Royals; Service in East Indies from 3 June 1819. Knowing the
The books provide a description of the man as well as his age, his parish of birth, his trade and details of his service
parish where he was born enabled the lady to confirm that the soldier she’d traced through the musters was her ancestor.
The physical descriptions, especially in later volumes, can go into quite surprising detail. Thomas Everett, a recruit to the South Wales Borderers, had a “Slight tattoo mark on left wrist, mole on right side, slight scar over right hip” as well as a fair complexion, brown eyes and black hair; and he joined the regiment from the militia.
Please be aware that, for some regiments, no Description Books appear to survive; both 4th and 5th Foot Regiments do not appear to have any, for example. The surviving books cover 1756– 1900, but for most regiments there are volumes for the first half of the 19th century only.
You also need to note that Description Books only feature ordinary soldiers, not officers. However, various lists relating to officers can also be downloaded for free via Discovery.
Key sources
Some Description Books for regiments that served in Canada are included in ‘Canada, British Regimental Registers of Service, 1756–1900’ which can be found within the ‘Soldier, Veteran & Prisoner Rolls & Lists’ category on the military section of Ancestry at bit.ly/anc-canadasoldiers. Since a large number of British regiments served in Canada, it’s possible your man might be included here.
FamilySearch has indexed some of the Description Books online, but the images are only accessible from a Family History Centre and a visit will be needed in order to see them; you can find a centre near you at familysearch.org/locations.
The main source for free access to some of its enormous holding of Description Books (nearly
3,000 of them) is via TNA’s Digital Microfilm section which is part of Records Online. There are
422 books in WO25 ( discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14234), which cover the cavalry and infantry regiments (including colonial units) and date mainly from the early part of the 19th century. These can be downloaded (possibly in sections) and examined, then discarded if they prove irrelevant. Some officer records can also be found here.
To see the remaining Description Books (the vast majority), you have to visit TNA
at Kew in person. Every regiment had, in addition to its fighting battalions, a depot which acted as a recruiting and training base. Most recruits passed through the depot at some point and the Depot Description Books are held in WO67, although be aware that many regimental depot books do not survive.
There are also Description Books for the Royal Artillery, 1749–1863 and 1773–1876, in WO54/260–309 and WO69/ 74–80. For the Royal Irish Artillery between 1756 and 1774, records are in WO69/620 which has been indexed by individual soldiers – so if you know the name, you can search online and order the folio. Description Books of sappers, miners, artificers and the like, 1756–1833, are in WO54/310–316. There are a few Militia Description Books in WO68. For the sake of novelty I’ll also mention the Horse Description Book (Commissariat Department) in WO62/3.