Introduction to the Wiltshire Regiment Page
This page of the Military section of the website holds information about our own regiment together with general information about army activities in Wiltshire. Some of the information refers to army units from other countries – especially the Commonwealth – who have had a presence in Wiltshire.
Please note that information about the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) – a separate regiment and itself steeped in Wiltshire history – is contained on a different page in this Military section.
Also, please note that information about Wiltshire and the Royal Artillery is contained in the separate parish page for Durrington – Larkhill. Many Wiltshire men served with the Royal Artillery and the Royal Artillery Museum is now based at Larkhill.
The history section of this page does not attempt to provide a history of the Wiltshire Regiment nor the effects of the two World Wars or other conflicts on the County.
Where possible, the various transcribed documents and information we hold about the Wiltshire Regiment have been shown under the following chronological sub-headings related to the period or conflict involved:
– Regiments prior to 1881 (inc. Militia and Volunteer Battalions)
– From 1881 to First World War
– Boer War (1899-1902)
– First World War (1914-1918)
– Between the First and Second World Wars
– Second World War (1939-1945)
– Post-Second World War (1945-date)
There is a section below outlining information about Memorials to the Wiltshire Regiment and where to locate photographs of individual graves. There are also links to two galleries of images related to the Wiltshire Regiment and general army activity in Wiltshire.
This page then concludes with references to other websites and books which will hopefully help researchers in their further investigations into aspects of the Wiltshire Regiment.
Further contributions by members of articles, transcriptions, photographs, etc. related to the Wiltshire Regiment and/or army activities in Wiltshire are always very welcome.
The Wiltshire Regiment – History & Regimental Museum
Linda Robson is a volunteer at The Rifles Berkshire & Wiltshire Museum and has agreed to act as a contact for the Wiltshire Regiment section and will try to reply to any queries anyone has regarding the Wiltshire Regiment.
The museum website provides excellent detailed descriptions of both the Wiltshire and Berkshire Regiments histories and that of their predecessor organisations. It also covers the evolution of the Wiltshire Regiment into the current umbrella regiment of The Rifles.
The Rifles Berkshire & Wiltshire Museum
The Wiltshire Regiments – prior to 1881 (inc. Militia & Volunteers)
The 62nd & 99th Regiments of Foot
This section contains documents relating to the 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot and the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot before they were amalgamated in 1881 to become The (Duke of Edinburgh’s) Wiltshire Regiment.
| Dring Family & the Wiltshire Regiment | The story of members of the Dring family serving in the Wiltshire Regiment in India in the Nineteenth Century. |
| Autumn Manoeuvres 1872 | The ‘training’ Battle of Wishford, fought between Northern & Southern forces. |
Wiltshire men in other Regiments prior to 1881
We have some information about men from Wiltshire who served in Regiments other than the 62nd and 99th Regiments of Foot.
| Napoleonic War Reserves | List of (2) Wiltshire men who signed up with the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot for whom we do not know the parish. |
| Veterans of the 41st Regiment of Foot 1810-1828 | List of men born in Wiltshire who were veterans of the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot. |
| Veterans of the 66th Regiment of Foot 1810-1828 | List of men born in Wiltshire who were veterans of the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot. |
| Family Notices 1850-1899 | Short news article about a man in the Hussars. |
Wiltshire Militia (1757 – 1881)
From 1757, individual counties raised bodies of men to perform military duties. The Wiltshire Militia initially served in England, Scotland and Ireland, then saw overseas service in France in 1814 as part of the Napoleonic campaign. In 1881 the Wiltshire Militia effectively became the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the Duke of Edinburgh’s (Wiltshire Regiment).
| Military Matters 1850-1899 | Short news reports, including Militia |
| Wiltshire Militia 1780-1814 | History of the Wiltshire Militia in that period, including names of volunteers from certain parishes. |
| Wiltshire Militia officers List 1797 | List of the Officers of the Wiltshire Militia. |
| Militia Substitutes Advert 1797 | An advertisement for men required to be substitutes for others looking to avoid the Militia call-up in several counties, inc. Wiltshire. |
| Wiltshire Militia Deserters 1812 | List of deserters from 2nd Bn. Wiltshire Local Militia from the Salisbury & Winchester Journal, Monday, 17 February 1812 |
| 1st Wiltshire List of Deserters and Absentees 1803 | Names and details of Militia deserters by parish. |
| Militia Inquests 1700-1899 | Inquest report of a Militia man, 1799 |
| General Medical Council Registration 1859-1959 | Registration of 2 surgeons to the Royal Wiltshire Militia in 1859 |
| Family Notices 1700-1799 Family Notices 1800-1849 Militia News 1700-1849 | Various short press articles about Militia men. |
Wiltshire Volunteer Battalions (1798 – 1908)
Around 1798, Volunteer Battalions were organised by Wiltshire towns in response to the threat of French invasion. In 1860, these Volunteer Battalions were re-formed into two Battalions of Rifle Volunteers. They would go on to fight in the Boer War (1899-1902), before being merged into the 4th (Duke of Edinburgh’s) Wiltshire Regiment in 1908.
| Encampment of the Wiltshires 1868 | 1st Bn. Wiltshire Volunteers camping at Warminster. |
| Bazaar at Wilton Park in Aid of the Battalion 1880 | In aid of the 1st Bn. Wiltshire Volunteer Rifle Corps. |
The (Duke of Edinburgh’s) Wiltshire Regiment from 1881 – 1914
In 1881, the British Army underwent reform – known as the Cardwell Reforms. This resulted in the merger of the 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot and the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment becoming respectively the 1st and 2nd Battalions of The (Duke of Edinburgh’s) Wiltshire Regiment.
The documents below relate to the period from 1881 up to the start of the First World War in 1914, except for the Boer War which has its’ own section below.
| The Duke of Edinburgh (Wiltshire Regiment) Weekly Pay Rates | Pay rates for soldiers. Exact date of information unknown. |
| 1st Wiltshire Regiment Census (South Africa) 1911 | Listing, from the official Census record, of 300+ members of the 1st Bn. Wiltshire Regiment stationed in South Africa. |
| Army Manoeuvres 1898 | A major training exercise, giving the Order of Battle between the Southern and Northern forces, involving numerous Regiments gathered in Wiltshire, including the Wiltshire Regiment and Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry. |
| Army Manoeuvres (2) 1898 | A report of the major training exercise between the Southern and Northern forces, involving numerous Regiments gathered in Wiltshire, including the Wiltshire Regiment and Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry. |
| National Probate Index 1858-1966 | Summary of a will of one Wiltshire soldier, 1897. |
| Crime Reports 1850-1899 | Includes a Devizes deserter from the Army in 1874 |
| Brimstone Corner, Ludgershall 1905 | An article about the camp of the 2nd North Staffordshire Regiment from the Lichfield Mercury 11 August 1905. |
The Wiltshire Regiment and Boer War (1899-1902)
The 2nd Bn. (Duke of Edinburgh’s) Wiltshire Regiment and the two Wiltshire Volunteer Battalions fought in the Boer War.
For a comprehensive account of the Wiltshire Regiment in the Boer War, please refer to the book War on the Veldt by Ian Smith (see the list of Useful Books below).
The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) also fought in the Boer War – please see the separate RWY page.
| Wiltshire Regiment Casualties on the Boer War Memorial, Bloemfontein | Transcribed list of Wiltshire Regiment names from the memorial panel of those men buried in Bloemfontein Cemetery, South Africa. |
| The Fallen in South Africa – Proposed Tablet in Swindon | List of men who fell in South Africa, during the Second Boer War. Based on an article originally published in the Swindon Advertiser, Friday, 24 June 1904. Additional information has been added to the original data in the article. Includes men from Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry and 2nd Bn. Wiltshire Regiment. |
The Wiltshire Regiment and the First World War (1914-1918)
“No regiment has done better than the Wiltshires” said King George, early in 1915, and since then the various Wiltshire battalions have added greatly to their laurels.
First World War – Information related to the Wiltshire Regiment
| Wiltshire Regiment During WWI | A very useful summary of key events for each of the 10 battalions of the Wiltshire Regiment in the First World War. |
| WWI Volunteers by Parish (Wiltshire Telegraph), 1914 | Detailed listing of 1,600+ Wiltshire men who enlisted, as reported by the Wiltshire Telegraph, August – September 1914. The list includes men enlisting into the Wiltshire Regiment, other Army regiments, The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry and the Royal Navy. |
| Wiltshire in the Trenches 1914-1918 | Two photographs – plus descriptions – of Wiltshire Regiment soldiers in the trenches of the First World War |
| Cricket Match Wilts. v R.A.M.C. 1914-1918 | A report and scorecard from a cricket match between 1st Wilts Regiment and R.A.M.C. “behind the lines”. |
| Parsi Tower of Silence 1914-1918 | 4th Bn. Wiltshire Regiment men stray to a Hindu temple in India. |
| Common Abbreviations Used in Australian Service Records | A list of common abbreviations used in Australian service record files. |
| Private Headstone Not Permitted 1914-1919 | 2 letters from the CWGC confirming that private (non-standard) headstones were not allowed to mark graves. In these examples, for Australian burials in Wiltshire cemeteries. |
| V.A.D. & Red Cross Hospitals 1914-1918 | A list of parishes and locations in Wiltshire of such hospitals. |
| X-Rays 1916-1918 | A sort list of x-rays performed on soldiers of the Wiltshire Regiment. |
| Appeal from the Trenches 1914-1918 | A poem written by 2nd Wilts Regiment soldier serving at the front. |
| Regimental March – The Wiltshire | Old Wiltshire ditty adopted as a marching song by 4th Battalion, T.A. of the Wiltshire (Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal) Regiment. |
| Sergeants of the 4th Bn., Wilts at Delhi 1915 | Photograph with names from an article in Wiltshire Telegraph 3 April 1915. |
| 1-4th Wiltshire Cross Country Race, Delhi 1915 | Photograph with names from an article in Wiltshire Telegraph 15 May 1915 |
| Wiltshire Soldiers Newsletter February 2012 | A newsletter from “Wiltshire Soldiers” covering men who served in the First World War, now remembered and memorial information. |
First World War – Information related to the County of Wiltshire
| Prisoner of War Camps in Wiltshire | Extracts from Wiltshire and The Great War: Training the Empire’s Soldiers (Crawford) |
| Wiltshire Agricultural War Committee 1916 | An order setting out the conditions upon which a man aged 35 years would be exempt from Home Service. |
| Prisoner of War Food Parcels | Contents of parcels sent to Wiltshire Prisoners of War |
| Letter From the Front 1917 | A letter home from the front, author unknown but with a Devizes connection. |
First World War – General Information
| Devastation of War 1914-1918 | A soldier from the 2nd Wessex Royal Engineers describes what a bombarded city looks like in the War. |
| Football in Wartime 1914-1918 | General wartime restrictions on football plus changes to the teams in the Football League. |
First World War – Wiltshire Casualty Coverage
The Wiltshire Telegraph published various lists covering soldiers from Wiltshire during the First World War. Other newspapers also published casualty lists but they were not as extensive as those in the Telegraph.
Huge thanks are due to John Pope for transcribing these lists and providing various other documents in this Wiltshire Regiment section.
The men listed in the transcribed documents below either served with the Wiltshire Regiment, had a connection to Wiltshire parish or both. The lists include those killed in action, missing, sick, wounded or taken as a Prisoner of War (PoW), as recorded in the Wiltshire Telegraph during the period shown.
The lists below mainly contain Wiltshire men who served with various battalions of the Wiltshire Regiment, but they also include Wiltshire men serving in other regiments, including the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry.
| WWI Casualty List (Wiltshire Telegraph), 1914 | List of 1,800+ soldiers, as reported in the Wiltshire Telegraph, August – December 1914. Includes men wounded, killed in action and taken a PoW. |
| WWI Casualty List (Wiltshire Telegraph), 1915 | List of 1,800+ army men – mainly Wiltshire Regiment – as reported in the Wiltshire Telegraph, January – December 1915. Almost certainly includes some casualties from the last few months of 1914. |
| WWI Missing List (Wiltshire Telegraph), 1915 | Lists of 400+ army men – all Wiltshire Regiment – as reported in the Wiltshire Telegraph, January – December 1915. |
| WWI Killed in Action List (Wiltshire Telegraph), 1915 | List of 500+ army men – mainly Wiltshire Regiment – as reported in the Wiltshire Telegraph, January – December 1915. |
| WWI Prisoners of War List (Wiltshire Telegraph), 1915 | Lists of 500+ army men – mainly Wiltshire Regiment – as reported in the Wiltshire Telegraph, January – December 1915. |
| WWI Casualty List (Wiltshire Telegraph), 1916 | List of 2,800+ army men – mainly Wiltshire Regiment – as reported in the Wiltshire Telegraph, January – December 1916. As of 22 July 1916 the War Office issued new instructions which now forbid the publication of the numbers of Battalions and the theatres of war which casualties occurred. The Wiltshire Telegraph stated that it would now be necessary to exclude these details from obituary notices of soldiers. |
| WWI Prisoners of War List (Wiltshire Telegraph), 1916 | List of 40+ army men – mainly Wiltshire Regiment – as reported in the Wiltshire Telegraph, January – December 1916. |
| WWI Casualty List (Wiltshire Telegraph), 1917 | List of 2,000+ army men – mainly Wiltshire Regiment – as reported in the Wiltshire Telegraph, January – December 1917. |
| Wiltshire Regiment – Wounded List (Western Gazette), July 1917 | A list of wounded Wiltshire Regiment soldiers published in the Western Gazette, 13 July 1917. |
The Wiltshire Regiment between the First and Second World Wars
In 1920, The (Duke of Edinburgh’s) Wiltshire Regiment was re-named as the Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh’s) Regiment.
| Wiltshire Military Family Notices, 1900-1999 | One newspaper snippet from 1920. |
Wiltshire Regiment and the Second World War (1939-1945)
There were 6 Battalions of the Wiltshire Regiment in the second World War, which served in many theatres of war as well as supporting Home defence.
| Wiltshire Regiment 1943 | Photograph of 15 Platoon with names, 15th I.T.C. Colchester, 20 September 1943. |
| WWII Ditty Sang by the 7th Battalion Wiltshire Regiment | A short verse. |
| Tips to Help to Dig for Victory | An advertisement with guidance for growing your own vegetables, from Taylors Telephone Directory 1941. |
Wiltshire Regiment post Second World War (1945 to date)
In November 1948, the Wiltshire Regiment’s two regular battalions merged and the following year, it joined the British force in West Germany. It returned to Hong Kong for three years in 1950, and then moved to Cyprus in 1956. In 1959, it was merged with The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s) to form The Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire).
We currently do not have any transcribed documents related to the Wiltshire Regiment post Second World War. Please let us know if you would like to submit any related historical information or interesting personal articles.
Wiltshire Regiment – Memorials & Graves
The WOPC is currently researching the location of memorials to the Wiltshire Regiment, other than those held in individual parish locations. One such memorial is within Salisbury Cathedral, which commemorates the fallen of Wiltshire in the Second Boer War and mentions officers by name and gives numbers of non-commissioned officers and men (not by name) of the Wiltshire Regiment.
From time to time, we receive photographs from our members of graves or memorials – located in the UK or Overseas – where personnel with Wiltshire connections are buried or remembered.
If a member of the Wiltshire Regiment WITH A DIRECT Wiltshire connection to a Wiltshire parish died in service, then any images of their individual grave or memorial (UK or Overseas), that we have received from our members, may be found via the Military Gallery link on the relevant parish page on this website.
If a member of the Wiltshire Regiment with NO DIRECT Wiltshire connection – other than serving in the Regiment – died in service, then any images of their individual grave or memorial (UK or Overseas), that we have received from our members, may be found in one of these three galleries:
| Wiltshire Regiment – UK Graves & Memorials | Photographs of INDIVIDUAL UK GRAVES and/or MEMORIALS of men serving in the Wiltshire Regiment but NOT from the county of Wiltshire. (Photographs of UK graves/memorials of men serving in the Wiltshire Regiment AND associated with a parish in Wiltshire may be found on the relevant parish page). |
| Wiltshire Regiment – Overseas Graves & Memorials | Photographs of INDIVIDUAL OVERSEAS GRAVES and/or MEMORIALS of men serving in the Wiltshire Regiment but NOT from the county of Wiltshire. (Photographs of OVERSEAS graves/memorials of men serving in the Wiltshire Regiment AND associated with a parish in Wiltshire may be found on the relevant parish page). |
| Wiltshire Regiment – Rolls of Honour & Other Memorials | Photographs of both UK and OVERSEAS Rolls of Honour, usually listing men who died serving in the Wiltshire Regiment. These may typically be photographs of ‘panels’ of memorials or plaques. (Photographs of Rolls of Honour located in parishes may be found on the parish pages of this website).This includes any UK or Overseas memorials, specifically dedicated to the Wiltshire Regiment which may not contain the names of any personnel. |
Note that information about graves and memorials related to the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry may be found on a separate page.
Wiltshire Regiment – Galleries
We have two galleries in connection with the Wiltshire Regiment and general army activity in Wiltshire.
| Wiltshire Regiment Gallery | This gallery holds images, provided by members, which specifically refer to the Wiltshire Regiment. These include historical photographs together with images of postcards, cigarette cards, uniforms, insignia and other artefacts. |
| Wiltshire General Military Gallery | This gallery holds images, provided by members, which refer to army activity in Wiltshire (other than the Wiltshire Regiment) and general war-related militaria, such as Public Notice posters. |
Wiltshire Regiment – Useful Links
| National Archives – Wiltshire Militia Collection | The National Archives listing of Wiltshire Militia documents and other records held mostly by the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre. |
| Army Service Records (IWM) | The Imperial War Museum (IWM) guide on where to find Army Service Records |
| Army Family History (IWM) | The Imperial War Museum (IWM) guide on Tracing your Army Family History |
| British Military Records Online • FamilySearch | The Family Search organisation listing of Military Records by on-line provider, e.g. Ancestry. Provides links to the underlying record collections. |
| British Army war diaries 1914-1922 – The National Archives | The UK National Archives general guidance on How To Look For Army War Diaries. You can search for diaries here and (after a free sign up to the National Archives) download free digital copies – beware, they are large files. |
| British Army operations in the Second World War – The National Archives | The UK National Archives guide will help you find records relating to military operations in the Second World War. |
| War Diaries – The Wardrobe | The Rifles Berkshire & Wiltshire Museum has transcribed all the Wiltshire War diaries and provided this on-line facility to search for Battalion activity on any specified day during the First and Second World Wars (also includes Berkshire Regiment). |
Wiltshire Regiment – Useful Books
These are books that the WOPC has found useful in researching information about the Wiltshire Militia, Wiltshire Regiment and its predecessors.
| The Story of The Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh’s) (Colonel N.C.E. Kenrick DSO, 1963) | Probably the single most comprehensive volume written about the Wiltshire Regiment, written by a former Commanding Officer of the Wiltshire Regiment. Essential reading for anyone who wants to know about the Regiment in depth. From the formation in 1756 up to the amalgamation with the Berkshire Regiment in 1959, this book covers the 62nd and 99th Regiments of Foot, The Wiltshire Militia and Territorials, The Service Battalions and Regular Battalions. |
| War on the Veldt (Ian Smith, 2024) | The definitive in-depth account of the 2nd Wilts. in South Africa. Includes the nominal and medal rolls of every Wilts. Regiment man that served in South Africa and St. Helena, plus records for the 3rd (Militia) Battalion. It contains many biographies of Officers. The book was produced in association with The Rifles Berkshire & Wiltshire Museum. |
| Battalion War Diaries (WWI & WWII) | These are an incredibly valuable source of information, if you are trying to find out the movements and activities of any of the Wiltshire Battalions (or other army regiments) during the First or Second World Wars. See the links above to get started. |
| The History of the 1st Batt. Wilts Volunteers (Robert Dwaris Gibney, 1888) | A book (144 pages) accessible via the WOPC website. Covers the period 1861 to 1885. |
| Ranks and Badges 1942 (E.C.Talbot-Booth, 1942) | A booklet (in colour), accessible by the WOPC website, showing all the badges of rank of the Navy, Army & RAF. |
| Wiltshire and the Great War – Training the Empire’s Soldiers (T.S. Crawford, 2012) | A tour-de-force of the many aspects of training and preparation in Wiltshire for the 1914-1918 war. |
| Historical Retrospect of the Wiltshire Regiment: Formerly the 62nd and 99th Foot and the Royal Wiltshire Militia (HMC) – published by Gale and Polden, Aldershot, 1899 | This book covers the period 1756-1881 and has been identified by The Wardrobe and includes information about the Royal Wiltshire Militia (The WOPC has not seen a copy). |
