Army

There was no regular army in England before the outbreak of Civil War in 1642. Individual regiments were raised to meet a specific local or national need and were usually named after the person who raised them. Most of the surviving Tudor and Stuart Muster Rolls (the earliest dates from 1522) are at the Public Record Office. Until the union with England in 1707, Scotland had its own army.

From 1757, the Militia Act established Militia Regiments in all counties of England and Wales and two further regiments, Yeomanry and Volunteers were introduced later. See the Public Record Office leaflet for more information on Militia records. Some Militia ballot lists and muster rolls for places in Staffordshire are held at
Staffordshire Record Office.
Locations of the various records are listed in:

Militia Lists And Musters 1757-1876:
a directory of holdings in the British Isles, 3rd edition, by Jeremy Gibson and Mervyn Medlycott
(Federation of Family History Societies, 1994).

Regular Army

In order to trace an ancestor's service in the regular army you will need to know the regiment, service number and approximate dates of service. It is also helpful to know whether or not he/she was an officer as, generally speaking, records of officers are easier to trace. Most army records are arranged by regiment.

The Public Record Office holds extensive historical records of officers and other ranks and has produced factsheets and leaflets to help trace details of army ancestors.

Indexes to the regimental registers of births/baptisms, marriages, deaths/burials of soldiers or members of their families 1761-1924 and to Army returns 1796-1965 are available as part of the General Register Office Overseas Indexes.

The Ministry of Defence's website gives details of contact addresses for information on army ancestors.