Discover your ancestor in our British Royal Marines records. Find detailed information in their service record including a physical description, the name and address of their next of kin and which ships they served on.
Discover your ancestor in our British Royal Marines records. Find detailed information in their service record including a physical description, the name and address of their next of kin and which ships they served on.
Each record is a transcript and an image of a service record from the National Archives ADM159 series.
The amount of information listed varies, but the Royal Marines 1899-1919 records usually include a combination of the following information about your ancestor:
Transcript
Name
Service number
Division
Date of birth
Year of enrolment
Image
Where born
Where enlisted
Trade
Next of kin, name and address
Physical description: height, eye and hair colour
The Royal Marines were formed in 1755 as marine infantry for the Royal Navy.
During World War 1, in addition to their usual stations on board war ships, Royal Marines were part of the Royal Naval Division which landed in Belgium in 1914 to help defend the port of Antwerp. They later took part in the amphibious landings at Gallipoli in 1915 and also served on the Western Front.
These records contain the full service records of up to 76,000 men who joined the regiment between 1899 and 1919.