The British Army WW1 Medal Rolls Index cards can be used to fill in the gaps of your ancestor’s WW1 military career and outline the medals that they would have received. They do not however contain any biographical information as such so if you are researching a fairly common name you will need to have found out information such as their regiment beforehand.

The Medal Rolls Index currently contains approximately 4.8 million people, which is nearly all of the total collection. The records can be searched by first and last name and Corps, Unit or Regiment. These cards were created by the Army Medal Office (AMO) of the United Kingdom in Droitwich near the close of World War I (WWI). The cards are available to search and view either at the National Archives or through Ancestry.

The collection also includes:

• most British Army officers
• Indian Army personnel
• British Army nurses
• Royal Flying Corps personnel
• Royal Naval Division personnel
• some civilians

About the Index Cards:

There is both a front and back side to each card. Cards are arranged alphabetically by soldiers’ surnames. There are a few different card forms that were used, so the amount of information recorded will vary. However, for the majority of the time the type of information that may be found on the cards includes:

• Name of soldier
• Regiment
• Corps
• Rank(s)
• Regiment number(s)
• Name of medal(s) received

If you are lucky you will find:

• Roll and page numbers (references to the original AMO medal rolls)
• Theatre of war served in and date of entry
• Date of enlistment
• Date and reason of discharge
• Remarks

There is no date of birth or address given so you will already need to know something about their military career.

To find out more visit the National Archives website or Ancestry.