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Army records

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the county of Somerset had links with a number of army groups:

  • the Somerset Light Infantry, (from 1959 to 1968, the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry)
  • the Yeomanry brigades, including the West Somerset Yeomanry and the North Somerset Yeomanry
  • the militia units, including the Somerset Rifle Volunteers and the later territorial units

The records

All official army records, such as muster rolls, service records, pension records, medal rolls, records of court martial and casualty returns of service up until 1921 are at The National Archives. Some of these records are available to view online via Ancestry and Find My Past, details of these records can be found in the detailed research guides on The National Archives website.

For the pre First World War period the records are arranged by Regiment and it is useful to know a date of discharge. Unfortunately, The National Archives do not hold records of the territorial units, unless they were deployed on active service, such as during the Boer War or the two World Wars.

Records of service after 1922 are still held by The Ministry of Defence. However, you can apply for your own records or those for deceased service personnel. Details on how to apply and the forms to do so are on the UK Government’s website, search for ‘Get a copy of military service records’.

If the soldier was an officer then details on his commission and service will be shown in the published Army Lists. These are held in the Local Studies Library at the Heritage Centre, and those for 1839-1950 can be found online via the National Library of Scotland's website. 

The records of the Somerset Light Infantry (ref. DD/SLI)

The Somerset Light Infantry, formerly known as the 13th Foot, was instituted in 1685. The regimental archive contains the material collected by the Regiment during its lifetime. It, however, does not contain service records, and there may be little information about the individual men who served with the Regiment. However, it does include rich and varied material on the Regiment’s history and background, the conflicts it served in and information about its successor and affiliated Regiments. It also contains a large photographic record of the Regiment from the 1860s through to the present day.

Notable and useful classes of records are:

  • Digests of service (ref. DD/SLI/1) and war diaries (ref. DD/SLI/2): The digests of service record operations during peacetime and often include details on the movements of the Battalion, changes in senior personnel, deaths of officers and visits by noteworthy officials. The war diaries record the events of the Battalion on active service, including details about daily operations, numbers of casualties, acts of recommendation or bravery and the deaths of senior personnel. War diaries for all battalions on active service are also held at The National Archives, those for World War I can be downloaded from The National Archives website, and can also be viewed online via Ancestry. 
  • Muster rolls (ref. DD/SLI/3/1): Unfortunately, we hold few muster rolls for the Battalion, but we do hold a complete muster roll and casualty list for the 1st Battalion for the First World War (ref. DD/SLI/9/4) and a partial casualty list for the 7th Battalion for the First World War (ref. DD/SLI/3/1/12-13), along with a muster roll for the 5th Battalion, 1920-1939 (ref. DD/SLI/3/1/19) and the 6th Battalion, 1899-1915 (ref. DD/SLI/3/1/20). Indexes to these volumes can be found on our online catalogue
  • Enlistment and discharge registers (ref. DD/SLI/3/5): These registers for the period, 1891-1958, although incomplete especially for the earlier period, will provide details on enlistment and/or discharge, and at times notes on service. Please be aware that these registers relate only to men joining the regular army, and do not include war-service personnel who enlisted for the duration of either of the World Wars. A name index to the earlier registers can be found on our online catalogue
  • Militia rolls (ref. DD/SLI/3/2): We have a small selection of militia returns covering limited parts of the county, 1758 to 1878. A name index to these records can be found on our online catalogue
  • Medal rolls (ref. DD/SLI/5): A select number of copies taken from ones held at The National Archives, these include rolls for most of the nineteenth century conflicts the Regiment served in, gallantry awards and the General Service Medal. A partial index to these records can be found on our online catalogue
  • Army issue maps and plans (ref. DD/SLI/14): These include operational maps for the Crimea, the First World War, Monte Cassino during the Second World War and the Malayan Emergency of the 1950s
  • Photographs (ref. DD/SLI/15): This is a collection of over 2,000 photographs of the Regiment and its activities. The series includes many formal group shots, along with some individuals, locations and personal photograph albums
  • Soldiers’ personal papers (ref. DD/SLI/17): A small selection of personal documents collected by the Regiment, alongside a number of personal diaries and correspondence
  • The Light Bob Gazette and The Silver Bugle (ref. DD/SLI/18/1): These are the Regimental Journal of the Somerset Light Infantry and the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry, they detail changes to regimental personnel, sporting events and social events. It is a very good source of informal background information for the period 1893 to 1973. The Light Bob Gazette is currently being indexed, and the index can be found on our online catalogue
  • Published histories: Many published histories, including the formal regimental histories, are held in the Local Studies Library at the Heritage Centre, and are useful for an overview or introduction to a period of the Regiment’s life. These are especially useful for the Second World War period, where the original records in the archive are sparser

A full list of all classes of records, along with a brief history of the Regiment is included in the introduction to both the paper and online catalogues.

The Records of the North Somerset Yeomanry (ref. DD/NSY)

This is a smaller collection of records collected by the North Somerset Yeomanry, which includes:

  • First World War casualty lists (ref. DD/NSY/3/1): These volumes provide details of the soldier’s name, number, rank, date of injury, type of injury or illness and other remarks. They cover the whole period of the War; a transcript of these lists can be found on our online catalogue. There are also field service records for soldiers who died on active service during First World War (ref. DD/NSY/3/2)
  • Correspondence, 1804 to 2001 (ref. DD/NSY/5): This details the actions of the Regiment and is especially detailed for the early nineteenth century
  • Photographs (ref. DD/NSY/9): This is a small selection of images, mainly showing the life of the Regiment during the early to mid twentieth century
  • Regimental histories (ref. DD/NSY/11): These are mainly research notes used to compile a regimental history

A full list of all classes of records, along with a brief history of the Regiment is included in the introduction to both the paper and online catalogues.

The Records of the West Somerset Yeomanry

The regimental archive of the West Somerset Yeomanry is not known to have survived, however the Somerset Light Infantry archives (ref DD/SLI) contains relevant material.

  • First World War diary, (ref. DD/SLI/2/16): The West Somerset Yeomanry was reformed as the 12th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry in 1916, and we hold the war diary from this date through to 1919
  • Muster roll (ref. DD/SLI/3/1/21) for the Regiment, 1925-1938. A name index to this register can be found on our online catalogue
  • Photographs (ref. DD/SLI/15/16): A collection of over 100 photographs of the county’s Yeomanry forces from 1880s onwards, including many images of annual training camps and members of the Regiments
  • Other records can be found in family and private collections, a search for the ‘West Somerset Yeomanry’ on our online catalogue will bring up a list of relevant records

Army Records in other collections

There is a considerable amount of army related material in other private collections, especially concerning the militia and yeomanry forces. Private gentlemen who raised militia units often kept their own records and you can find these in family collections, such as the Malet family (ref. DD/MAL), Sanford family (ref. DD/SF), Phelips family (ref. DD/PH) and the Trevelyan family (ref. DD/WO). Parish collections also often have details about the upkeep and raising of parish militia units.

We have a growing number of personal papers and memoirs, especially for the First and Second World Wars.

Somerset Military Museum

The Somerset Military Museum features objects relating to Somerset’s military past, especially the Somerset Light Infantry. This is part of the Museum of Somerset at Taunton Castle.

Further reading

  • Boyle, Capt. R., (1922), A record of the West Somerset Yeomanry 1914 to 1919 (S 355.31 BOY).
  • Delaforce, Patrick, (2002), The Fighting Wessex Wyverns: From Normandy to Bremerhaven with the 43__rd (Wessex) Division (S 940.54 DEL).
  • Everett, H., (1934), The History of the Somerset Light Infantry 1685 to 1914 (S 356 EVE).
  • Fisher, G., (1924), The History of Somerset Yeomanry, Volunteer and Territorial units (S 356 FIS).
  • Fowler, S. and Spencer, W., (1998, reprinted in 2000), Army Records for Family Historians (Q 929.3 FOW).
  • Gibson, J., (2000), Militia lists and musters 1757 to 1876 (Q Gibson Guides Folder 2, 929.3).
  • Grant, L., (2004), The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) 1685 to 1959 (S 356 GRA O/S).
  • Hamilton-Edwards, G., (1977), In Search of Army Ancestry (Q 929.3 HAM).
  • Molesworth, G., (1951), The History of the Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert’s) 1919 to 1945 (S 356 MOL).
  • Whitehead, K., (1961), History of the Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert’s) 1946 to 1960 (S 356 WHI).
  • Wilkinson, F., (1980), Badges of the British army, 1820 to 1960 (S 355.14 WIL).
  • Wyrall, E., (1927), The History of the Somerset Light Infantry 1914 to 1919 (S 356 WYR).