Casualty records may list those missing, wounded, taken prisoner, killed in action or who died as a result of their war service. Rolls of Honour can include those who served and returned. Nominal Rolls of those who served at specific times, died or received awards may occasionally also be found in Unit and Operational histories. See also our Tracing Prisoners of War guide.

  • Officers and other ranks who were discharged from the British army from 1914-1920 due to sickness or wounds were issued with a badge to wear on their civilian clothing - the Silver War Badge Roll on Find My Past, Ancestry and Naval and Military Press (£)
  • Plastic surgery patients 1917-1925 - rank, tour dates, injuries, and admission and release from the hospital together with information on plastic surgery on The Harold Gillies Plastic Surgery Archives and Find My Past (£)
  • Officers and other ranks who received a war service pension – summary cards and ledgers held by the Western Front Association have been digitised by Ancestry (£) and can also be viewed free of charge by Western Front Association members
  • Officers deceased from 1916 to 1920 - pensions paid to relatives (PMG 44) at The National Archives 
  • Officers invalided from 1917 to 1920 - Officers’ pension records (PMG 42) at The National Archives 
  • Other ranks who died between 4 August 1914 and 11 November 1918 (in some cases up to 25 March 1921) whilst serving with the British army. The official list of First World War casualties, published by HMSO in 1921 in 80 volumes organised by regiment, Soldiers Died in the Great War on Find My Past, Ancestry and Naval and Military Press (£)
  • Army officers who died between 4 August 1914 and 11 November 1918 (in some cases up to 26 September 1919) Published in one volume in 1919 (less detailed information than for other ranks), Officers’ Died in the Great War on Find My Past, Ancestry and Naval and Military Press (£)
  • Officers and other ranks who died whilst serving 1901-1929- money owed to them and paid to their next of kin by the Government - Army Register of Soldier’s Effects on Ancestry(£)
  • Some other ranks serving with the British armed forces 
    in conflicts from 1850 to 1986: wills with probate in England on Probate Service (£)
    in conflicts from 1857-1965: wills with probate in Scotland on Scotland’s People (free with registration)
    from 1914-1918, wills with probate in Ireland on The National Archives of Ireland and Find My Past  
  • Service personnel who died between 4 August 1914 and 31 August 1921 and between 3 September 1939 and 31 December 1947 - the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) are responsible for the graves or official memorials to those with no known grave.
  • Officers and other ranks who died whilst serving with the British Army during the Second World War 1939-1945 – War Office: Roll of Honour, Second World War (WO 304) on Find My Past, Ancestry and Naval & Military Press (£)
  • Officers who died whilst serving with the Royal Artillery 1850-2011 on Find My Past (£)
  • Other ranks who served with the Royal Artillery - Casualty Cards 1939-1947 on Find My Past (£)
  • British personnel who died in the:
    Palestine Conflict 1945-1948 on Find My Past (£)
    Malayan Emergency 1948-1960 on Find My Past (£)
    Korean War 1950-1953 (includes those wounded) on Find My Past (£)
    Cyprus Emergency 1955-1960 on Find My Past (£)
    Aden 1955-1967 on Find My Past (£)
    Falklands War 1982  on Find My Past (£)
  • Military personnel who died in service after 1 January 1948 may have had either a private or a service funeral and headstone. Details of service personnel buried in ‘non-World War’ graves are available by writing to the Commemorations team at the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre.
  • Personnel who have died whilst on duty or as the result of terrorist activity since 1 January 1948 are commemorated on the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum.
    Search the roll of honour
  • IWM’s War Memorials Register records UK war memorials and the names of those they commemorate. 

Rolls of Honour may list those who served in addition to casualties. IWM holds a large collection of published rolls of honour for localities, schools, institutions and other organisations.
Search our online catalogue or see those available online:

  • Abingdon, Berkshire 1914-1920 on Find My Past (£) and at IWM 
  • Activities of the British Community in Argentina During the Great War 1914-1919 – lists British volunteers from Argentina who served during the First World War on Find My Past (£) and at IWM
  • Birmingham Employers Roll of Honour 1914-1918 on Find My Past (£) and at IWM
  • The Bond of Sacrifice - biographies and photographs of officers who died from the beginning of the war in 1914 until 1916 on Find My Past (£) and at IWM
    Search our online catalogue
  • Bromsgrove School, Birmingham, England Deaths 1899-1945 on Find My Past (£)
  • Clacton, Essex Roll Of Honour 1914-1918 – The men of the town who died during the First World War on Find My Past (£)
  • Craven's Part In The Great War - book produced by a local newspaper to commemorate the men of Craven in Yorkshire who had died for their country on Find My Past (£) and at IWM
  • Croydon and the Second World War: Roll of Honour on Ancestry (£) and at IWM
  • De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, 1914-1919 - biographies of over 26,000 officer and other rank casualties from the British Army, Navy and Air Force, with 7,000 photographs can be found on Find My Past, Ancestry, Naval & Military Press (£) and at IWM
  • Electrical Engineers Rolls of Honour First World War (1924) and Second World War (1949) – biographies of members of the organization who died in World War I or World War II with some photos on Ancestry (£)
  • Epsom College, Surrey England Deaths 1899-1945 on Find My Past (£)
  • Gateshead, Durham, England War Honours Scrapbook, 1914-1920 - newspaper clippings of photos and names of soldiers from the Gateshead area during the First World War on Ancestry (£)
  • Ireland’s Memorial Records - information on over 49,000 Irish men and women who died in the Great War compiled by The Committee of the Irish National War Memorial, originally published in 1923, on Ancestry, Naval and Military Press (£) and at IWM
  • Ireland, National Roll Of Honour 1914-1921 - information on Irish casualties from the First World War compiled from various sources on Find My Past(£)
  • British Jewry Book Of Honour, 1914-1920 - 50,000 Jewish men who served with British and Colonial forces during the First World War, with some photos on Find My Past (£) and at IWM
  • Kempston, Bedfordshire - Servicemen 1914-1920 on Find My Past (£) 
  • Leicestershire and Rutland, Soldiers Died 1914-1920 on Find My Past (£)
  • Lloyd’s of London employees who died during the First World War – biographies and some photos on Find My Past (£)
  • London County Council – Record of service in the Great War 1914–18 on Find My Past, Ancestry (£) and at IWM
  • London Stock Exchange Memorial Roll 1914-1918 on Find My Past (£) and at IWM
  • Manchester Employers' Roll Of Honour 1914-1916 - more than 63,000 names from Manchester companies of men who served in some capacity during the First World War on Find My Past (£) and at IWM
  • The National Roll of the Great War - compiled by subscription with information submitted by individuals or their families, limited coverage on Find My Past, Ancestry, Naval & Military Press (£) and at IWM
  • The Oldham Battalion of Comrades - Book of Honour in 1920 on Find My Past (£)
  • Plymouth Roll Of Honour 1914-1919 on Find My Past (£)
  • Plymouth Second World War Records 1939-1945 on Find My Past (£)
  • Royal Artillery War Commemoration Book, 1914-1918 - 3,000 officers of the Royal Artillery who died during World War One on Find My Past (£) and at IWM
  • Trade Union Members, Service & Casualties 1914-1918 - Trade Union members from branches across Great Britain and Ireland, recorded in the union’s newsletter on Find My Past (£)
  • University of London Officers Training Corps Roll of War Service 1914–1919 on Ancestry(£) and at IWM
  • Universities of Aberdeen, London, Oxford, Manchester, Durham, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Eton Memorial Rolls,1914-1918 - 58,520 names on Find My Past (£) and at IWM
  • Wyggeston Grammar School England Deaths 1939-1945 on Find My Past (£)
Other things to look for:

Download a copy of our guide to tracing your British Army ancestry