1. Introduction
This research guide is mostly about Army pensions, as the greatest number of casualties was borne by the Army. However, the sections on record series PIN 26 and PIN 82 cover pensions for the other services, merchant navy and nurses, as well as the army. Pensions were granted for service in World War I, and widows were able to claim even if their husbands had died many years after 1918.
The Office of the Paymaster General was responsible for all service pay and pensions, until the establishment of the Ministry of Pensions in 1916, when responsibility was divided. For more information, see the The National Archives Current Guide, Part 1, 417/1/2. The Paymaster General's records (PMG) normally relate to officers only.
The Ministry of Pensions administered various war pension and allowance schemes in the United Kingdom and Overseas. Useful administrative records in this series include PIN 15/277, PIN 15/278, PIN 15/279, service and disability pension for those with over 14 years of service, 1917-1927; and PIN 15/570-589, entitlement to pension, 1916-1930.
2. Pensions to dependants of deceased officers
| Pension etc. | Date | Catalogue reference | Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deceased officers: pensions paid to relatives | 1916 Apr -1920 Mar | PMG 44/1-7 | Name and address of the claimant, rank and name of officer, date of birth and date of payment. Some volumes indexed |
| Missing officers: pensions to relatives | 1915 Mar- 1920 Mar | PMG 47/1-3 | Name and address of relative receiving pension, relationship to missing officer and name and rank of officer, dates of payment |
| Officers' children: allowances | 1916-1920 | PMG 46/1-4 | Child/children's name; name, rank and regiment of father; record of payments and who collected the money |
| Officers' widows' pensions | 1917 Sept- 1919 July | PMG 45/1-6 | Name and address of widow, officer's name, rank and date of birth, date of payments |
| Officers' widows and dependants: special grants and supplementary allowances | 1916-1920 | PMG 43/2 | Name and address of claimant, rank and name of officer, date of birth, and payment: indexed |
| All services, all ranks | 1920-1989 | PIN 26 | See below |
3. Pensions to disabled or invalid officers and men
| Pension etc. | Date | Catalogue reference | Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Officers: half pay | Up to 1921 | PMG 4 | |
| Disabled officers and men | PMG 9, PMG 42 | Registers of payments of pension | |
| Invalid officers: temporary retired pay and gratuities | 1917 Apr -1919 Feb | PMG 42/1, PMG 42/2 | Rank, name, address, date of warrant, amount paid |
| All services, all ranks | 1920-1989 | PIN 26 | See below |
4. Chelsea pensioners
For files on some Chelsea in-pensioners, now deceased, see WO 324.
5. Pension case files: PIN 26
This series contains 22,756 personal files on people awarded (or refused) pensions, from all services. Although large, this represents only 2% of the pensions awarded. The list is arranged by type of pensioner, and then by name, so that it may be worth checking on the off-chance. Because no service details are given in the list it can be difficult to tell if you have the right person. The only way to identify a person exactly is to check the document. Searches can also be done by medical complaint. Unfortunately, it is not at all clear what all the various categories mean, so you may have to check in more than one sequence. The whole series is open, even if documents in it are not yet 30 years old. Earlier documents than 1920 exist in the files. The files can contain fascinating material, some medical, some social, and can cover many years, with claims being raised a good four decades or more after the end of the war.
| PIN 26 | Type of pensioner |
|---|---|
| 1-203 | All services, all ranks. Not in alphabetical order |
| 204-16374 | [Army: other ranks], disability |
| 16375-16683 | [Army: other ranks], disability (with some out of alphabetical order at the end) |
| 16684-17178 | Navy, disability |
| 17179-19523 | Widows (by name of husband) (see also PIN 82) |
| 19524-19720 | Alternative widows pensions (by name of husband) (see also PIN 82) |
| 19721-19820 | Mercantile Marine, death and disability |
| 19821-19853 | Dependants (by own name) |
| 19854-19923 | Men (DM series) |
| 19924-19954 | Officers (DO series) |
| 19955-19984 | Alternative disabled pensions |
| 19985-20286, 22744 | Nurses, disability |
| 20287-21065 | Overseas, death and disability |
| 21066-22756 | Officers, death and disability |
6. Widows' and dependants' pension case files: PIN 82
There is an 8% sample of widows' and dependants' pensions, for all services, in PIN 82. It is arranged in alphabetical order of servicemen's name, with his regiment or ship, and cause of death.
