TOPIC:

“in my experience one can never find attestation papers and service records for officers who served in the ABW.”

The above was written in a post and after years of collecting, it indeed seems to be the truth. My question is, why are there no service papers on officers? Surely the bureaucratic British Army would have had some forms for officers to fill out, and did they not need physicals too? Wouldn’t there have been records on each one of them as there were on other-rankers? Could there be archives on them at the regimental level? For the landed gentry and royalty, info via peerages is available, but what about the “less” connected officers of which there were many?

Thanks for your advice and input on advance.

Bumping

Perhaps Army Form B199?

Although it doesn't appear to cover Boer War service, I have found these papers iro many of my men.



Regards

Rory

Thanks Rory,
I’ve actually never come across one of those in my research at FMP or Ancestry etc. Are they available through the NA?
It seems odd that there appears, in some ways, that there is less on officers than other-rankers. What you’ve shown is that there is yet another avenue. Thank you!

Regimental Records of Officers' Service (WO 76) can be found on FMP here:

Regimental Records of Officers' Service

However, there is little here from the ABW period.



And WWI Officers' Service Records (WO 374) can be found here:

Officers' Services, WWI

Brief transcripts only.


..

My chap Crealock's papers are under WO 76/476 - see below