Enquiries

Please read these notes carefully before making a research enquiry.

We are pleased to assist with enquiries and research and we will do our best to help you. 

However, we are not always able to provide all the information requested. Our archives are substantial but not all material relating to the Regiment or to the soldiers who have served with it has been deposited with the Museum. In particular, please note that we do not hold any Service Records of individual soldiers. These are held by the National Archives at Kew (pre 1920) or by the Ministry of Defence Army Personnel Centre (post 1920). Records we do hold though usually allow us to provide some information. 

Our information is not currently available on-line through the Internet although we are working towards that. The information you require may involve a personal visit to us or other archives to undertake traditional manual research. 

Family History Research 
We are only able to answer questions on soldiers who have served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers and its antecedent 23rd Regiment of Foot. Some archive material relating to local militia and volunteer battalions has survived but it is not all with us.

Enquiries to the Museum must be made on our Enquiry Form downloadable here. We cannot accept enquiries by telephone or e-mail. Using the Enquiry Form, tell us as much as you know about the soldier concerned – his full name, army rank, when he was born, his regimental or Army number (if you have it), his dates of service and any medals he was awarded. Some 250,000 men served in the regiment between 1850 and 1970 so it is not an easy task to identify the correct man. There is always a problem with soldiers named Jones, Evans, Roberts and Williams and it is almost impossible to identify those with these Welsh names without knowing the regimental number. 

The standard charge for research is £25. This allows time for searching and any photocopying and postage. Difficult cases sometimes require more time and if this is the case, we will contact you before any further costs are incurred. 

What records do we have? 
Our Regimental archive contains a large library of books relating to the Regiment and to Military History. It includes Army Lists. We have campaign medal rolls from 1815 onwards, details of recipients of decorations and gallantry medals since 1854, biographical notes of Officers, Battalion War Diaries for the Great War and World War 2, unit digests of service and Enlistment Registers from 1920 to 1946.

If we are unable to answer your enquiry the organisations below may be able to help.

The Great War 1914-18 and earlier 
The National Archives (NA) at Kew, formerly the PRO, holds the personal Service Records of soldiers and officers who served prior to 1920. Sadly about 60% of the 1914-18 Service Records were lost during the Blitz in 1940. The odds are therefore against your locating a Great War soldier’s Record. 1914-18 Service Records are also available online viawww.Ancestry.co.uk but a subscription charge is required. 

The National Archives also holds the following; Pay Lists, Muster Rolls, Records of Pensioners of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, Medal Rolls for campaigns between 1793 and 1904, Great War Campaign Medal index cards, Great War Medal Roll Books in regimental or unit order and War Diaries for WW1 and WW2.

The National Archives publishes useful guides for researchers -
• Army Records: A Guide for Family Historians 
• First World War Army Service Records 
These titles are available from the National Archives Online Bookshop.

Useful National Archives web sites: 
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk (includes the on-line catalogue PROCAT) 
www.1901census.com (1901 UK Census) 
www.1911census.co.uk (1911 UK Census) 
National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU 
Tel: 0044 (0) 208876 3444

After 1920 
All Service Records of soldiers who served after 1920 (including those who enlisted earlier and were in service at this date) are held by the Ministry of Defence at the Army Personnel Centre. A fee is charged for each search, even if no material is discovered. A special form has to be completed prior to the search. It is essential that you quote the Regiment and Army number of the soldier concerned. There is always a long backlog of enquires so it may take some weeks to receive a reply. To download an application (SAR) form - visit www.veterans-uk.info and click on 'service Records'.
Army Personnel Centre, Historic Disclosures, Mailpoint 400, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX. Tel: 0044 (0)141 2243303 or 2242023 

Casualties in World War 1 and 2
For soldiers who lost their lives during the two World Wars, grave or memorial details are available on-line from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission at: www.cwgc.org


Click here for an Enquiry Form