The King’s Royal Rifle Corps Chronicle was first published by the regiment in 1901 and this release by Findmypast covers the years 1901 to 1920 with gaps, at present, for 1915 and 1919.
When you search the King’s Royal Rifle Corps Chronicle you can discover the following about your ancestor:
Name
Rank
Awards or medals
Details of military career
In some cases, the chronicle may hold a photograph of your ancestor.
The King’s Royal Rifle Corps fielded four regular battalions and a regimental depot headquartered at Winchester and the chronicles record, in often minute detail, where these battalions were stationed and what they were doing in those stations. All serving officers are named, as well as colour sergeants and often other senior NCOs and some riflemen.
The inaugural 1901 volume sets the standard and the tone for the years that would follow, reporting on Boer War casualties, sporting achievements, educational certificates awarded, and a host of other notices which identify private soldiers, NCOs and officers alike. There are articles on operations in northern Nigeria, the Battle of Talana Hill, operations at Ladysmith and Spion Kop, obituaries and more lists; a list of officers serving in 1901, a list of officers serving in 1801, a list of officers who were extra-regimentally employed.
These are not ‘dry’ volumes but rather fascinating glimpses into a proud regiment and its evolution from the Boer war to the end of the First World War. Each volume also includes a number of photographic plates, often of men who were serving in the regiment at the time. Having been fully OCRd, for the first time it is also possible to quickly find the names of men who appear in multiple volumes.
These books provide, in many cases, the only record of men who served with the King’s Royal Corps, certainly up until 1914. The 1914 volume, for that matter, includes a full casualty listing, across 19 pages, of officers and men who were killed, wounded, missing or reported as prisoners of war up to November 1914.
As far as we are aware, this is the most complete collection of King’s Royal Rifle Corps Chronicles published online and a welcome addition to our ever-growing military collection.
King’s Royal Rifle Corps
The King’s Royal Rifle Corps can trace its history back to 1756 at the 62nd (Royal American) Regiment. Re-numbered as the 60th (Royal American) Regiment the following year it retained this title until 1815 when it became the Duke of York’s Own Rifle Corps. The final change came 15 years later when it became the King’s Royal Rifle Corps or simply, KRRC.
As well as fielding four regular battalions, the KRRC also had a number of militia battalions, special and extra reserve battalions and later, during the First World War, service battalions which provided valuable service between 1914 and 1918.
The King’s Royal Rifle Corps was headquartered at Winchester along with the Rifle Brigade, and Findmypast also publishes a complete run of Rifle Brigade Chronicles from 1890 to 1920.