The database currently contains 1217 records and was last updated on 28 April 2025.

Hints and tips

Clicking search without any search criteria will return everyone in the database. You can narrow down the search in the following ways:

First and last names: If you are unsure of the spelling you can type in a partial name, for instance 'sm' will return 'Smith', 'Smyth', 'Smithy' etc., 'edw' will return 'Edward' and 'Edwin' etc. You can use % as a wildcard, for instance Ma%ne (Maine or Mayne) or Gill%n (Gillon or Gillan). The search will include 'also known as' names - look in the biographical notes to see these mentioned. Many 'Mac/Mc' names are entered as Mac, taking Mc as the diminutive, but entering Mc will work also.

Year (birth/death): These must be in the form of four digits, eg. 1856 rather than just 56. Not all database entries have birth or death dates, so try again without a date if unsuccessful.

Casualty: You can search for three kinds of casualty: killed in action, wounded in action, and died - not in action (usually illness). In the search results these will be indicated by a black cross , a red cross and a purple cross , with further information, if known, in the notes.

Regiments: You can search either for a specific regiment (eg. 5th Fusiliers) or by regiment type (eg. British infantry). If you choose the first option, you don't need to select the second. Search by type, for instance, if you know your man was in the Royal Artillery, but do not know the specific battery.

Sometimes a man served in more than one regiment during the campaign - the database allows up to 3 but only one will be listed alongside his name. The others will be mentioned in the biography section, but will be recognised in regiment searches.

Service number: These are often four digits, but you can type in partial numbers. If the number involves letters, eg. 58B, the form is 58B/**** (a forward slash separating the parts). There are no service numbers for officers, but if you wish to view officers exclusively then tick the box 'officers only'.

Action: Actions are limited to those for which a clasp was awarded, plus Maiwand and the march from Kabul to Kandahar. The Victoria Cross, DCM and IOM can also be searched under this heading (only if awarded during the Afghan campaign). By choosing 'was not present' you can search for those who were not awarded a clasp, or who missed an action (eg. 72nd Highlanders who were not at Charasia). In addition you can select a second action to search for more complex criteria such as 72nd Highlanders who were at Kabul but not at Kandahar etc.

Biographical and family keyword: This is a free search for keywords within a record's biographical or family notes. As an example, you could type in 'Gallipoli' as biographical information may note service in that theatre, or 'mutiny' for those who served in the Indian Mutiny. Many Afghan war small actions are noted in the biography, so 'Kam Dakka' could return those who saw that action. Biographical notes are not consistent, so this search can not be relied upon to return definite and complete results. Be aware that spellings may vary, for instance Ashanti may be 'Ashantee' or 'Ashanti', 'Ambela' my be 'Umbella'. If unsure, try a partial word (eg. 'Ashant'). More than one word will look for that combination as an exact phrase (eg. 'Egypt 1882' will return only those that say 'Egypt 1882' together), there is no boolean option at this time (eg. AND).

Tip: You can try and find family connections by typing a surname into the family keyword search; for instance, typing 'Durand' into the family keyword box will return all those in the database with known connections to the Durand name.

Completed projects

• Officers of the 72nd Highlanders
• Surgeons on the Kabul-Kandahar march
• Officers of the 25th Foot (King's Own Scottish Borderers)
• Officers of the 4th Bengal Cavalry