Empire's Children

Prior to British rule, Egypt had already been subject to foreign control for centuries and therefore the military generally served foreign interests. During the first half of the nineteenth century the Egyptian army pursued campaigns on behalf of the Ottoman Sultan. Under European control proposals to restrict Egyptians from entering the officer corps provoked a countrywide uprising which was suppressed by British troops in 1882.

From this time the British took responsibility for defending the country and the Suez Canal, a vital trading route for the British Empire. The British recreated the Egyptian army, incorporating Egyptian units staffed by British officers. British regiments remained to defend the canal.

During the First and Second World Wars troops from India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa served in Egypt. The Camel Transport Corps was formed as a logistical unit, with British officers, and Egyptian drivers and handlers. The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was formed in March 1916 to command the expanding British and Commonwealth military forces in Egypt.

From 1922 command over the Egyptian armed forces transferred to Egyptians but a British inspector general remained at its head until 1936. After this time independent Egypt expanded its own army. Further details about regiments in Egypt can be found at 'Regiments.com'.

http://www.regiments.org/nations/mideast/egypt.ht
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Following the Egyptian nationalisation of the Suez Canal in 1956, the Eden Government colluded with France and Israel to attack Egypt. Forced to withdraw after only a week, the episode was a milestone in the decline of Britain’s status as a world power.

If your ancestor served with a regiment in the British Army, you may be able to get hold of the regimental history of his unit from the National Army Museum. The museum is located at Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, SW3 4HT Tel: +44 (0) 20 7730 0717

http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/

Ministry of Defence and Military Production: 3, Khaleefa Al-Maamon - Kobri El Kobba, Cairo. Tel: + 20 (2) 4032 159/158/155

mod@idsc.gov.eg

The Egyptian Ministry of Defence holds archives covering Egyptian military affairs from 1882. The archives contain service and battalion records for all areas of the army. If you had an Egyptian ancestor who served in the military, you may be able to locate a military certificate. You will need to know the name, and approximate date of service.

http://www.mmc.gov.eg

Military records are very useful in providing details of a person's life and history. Although the records can vary from person to person, the military records can usually tell you dates and places of birth, next of kin, and in some cases a physical description of your ancestor. They can be useful for verifying facts that you have already discovered, but be careful as sometimes people lied about their age in order to sign up.

The Colonial Office (CO) records at The National Archives contain some material on soldiers who fought in the Egyptian Camel Corps. If service records survive for men from these regiments or later Egyptian regiments, they are most likely to be at the National Library and Archives of Egypt.

War diaries or campaign records for the British Army are held in The National Archives, Kew, and although they rarely mention individuals, they can give an interesting insight into the movements of specific regiments on a daily basis.

Army service records for First World War soldiers can be found in series WO 363 (soldiers who were killed) and WO 364 (soldiers who were wounded/discharged to pension). These are on microfilm, and are in alphabetical order of surname. The information provided varies from soldier to soldier, but if the records survive, they should contain the regiment, regiment number, details of date and place of birth, and next of kin. However, approximately 60 per cent of these records were destroyed in the Second World War. For records before 1914, you need to consult class WO 97, which are also in alphabetical order.

'Ancestry.com' are in the process of putting the WO 363 records online. As the project is still in its early stages, the best place to start your search is The National Archives, Kew. However, do check the website to see the progress of the project.

www.ancestry.co.uk

If your ancestor served in the British Royal Navy, you can find these records at The National Archives, Kew. Registration of naval ratings was centralised in 1853, and The National Archives has records available from 1853 to 1923. There is an index to service numbers in ADM 139, and from this, you can access the records in ADM 188 (they are arranged by service number). After 1923 the records are held at the Ministry of Defence and are not on open access to the public.

If you had an ancestor who served in the British Merchant Navy, you can trace these records at The National Archives, Kew. Before 1835 the records are hard to trace, but from 1835-1857 you will find the records in the registers of seamen. These are listed by date under BT 112, BT 113, BT 114, BT 116 and BT 120. The entries are arranged alphabetically and give date and place of birth, as well as a physical description.

From 1857-1913 there was no official registration of Merchant Seamen, but you can trace the service records from 1913-1941 in BT 350 and BT 364. Unfortunately there are few surviving records for the years 1913 to 1920.

If your ancestor served in the Merchant Navy after 1941, you may be able to find the seaman's pouch in BT 372. The pouch usually contains lots of detail, including a physical description, date and place of birth as well as a photo or fingerprint. These records have been indexed by name, and you can search the online catalogue to see if the record survives.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue