Finding great grandfather through attestation number ?

futurefarmer

Hi ppl thanks for looking,
I have found what I think is my great-grandfathers Attestation form from the British army military records 1760-1913 which includes his regiment and attestation number but little other information just wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction about where to find his full record such as how long he was in service and what units he served in and where, I know from an Irish census that the unit he joined wasn't the one that he was serving in at the time of census,

All help welcome thanks in advance

Ponster

It all depends on what year he was in service. Some are available online (but not free) while others will require a visit to Kew (Richmond, just outside London). I know some people who have paid researchers to do this work instead. The Regimental muster rolls and pay lists are probably your best bet.

Link

Depending on what regiment he was in there's a large possibility that there's a website out there run by people who can tell you of his movements.

futurefarmer

Thanks for the reply

Attestation year was 1884

Royal Irish regiment - 18th foot,

Any other information that anyone can offer ? Thanks again really helpful

Waitsian

futurefarmer wrote: »

Thanks for the reply

Attestation year was 1884

Royal Irish regiment - 18th foot,

Any other information that anyone can offer ? Thanks again really helpful

Was he 1st or 2nd Battalion? My great great grandfather's older brother was in the 1st, 18th Foot. He fought at Sebastopol, in Burma, in China and was at times in Ireland, England and Malta. He served from 1849-1871 (two separate enlistments.) Your best bet is definitely hiring a researcher to find all that's available in Kew.

Here's a link that will be of interest:


http://web.archive.org/web/20080113000804/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/018RIrish.htm