Finding soldiers after 1811
If your male ancestor married between 1811 and 1932, the marriage supplements should have a declaration that he fulfilled his military duties. This declaration should show if the ancestor served or got an exemption. If you are lucky, the declaration will name the regiment.
Another way to find out if your ancestor served is by consulting the militieregisters [militia registers], which recorded all men that were called up in a municipality in a given year. Some of these militieregisters are available online.
Once you know the regiment, you can consult the military records at the National Archives. These records will be digitized in the near future. Some of the earlier records are available at FamilySearch. The National Archives has several indexes of soldiers in the army [landmacht], navy [marine], and the Royal Dutch East Indies [KNIL, OostIndië].
Finding soldiers before 1811
In earlier centuries, there are no national records that record all soldiers. Marriage records will often tell you if the groom served in the army, and give the regiment or officer they were serving under. The National Archives has an index of soldiers serving in the army between 1707 and 1795.
Military recruits, 1934
About Yvette Hoitink
Yvette,
It appears that to purchase scans thru Militieregisters.nl you need to have an account with a dutch bank. Is there a way to purchase thru chase or another American Bank?
Sincerely,
Matt Newbold
You can also select “handmatige overboeking” and transfer the money to the Dutch bank account electronically. The information you need is provided when you select that option.
Yvette,
Thanks for the tip I was able to purchase the military record for several of my male relatives. I especially love the “signalements” These physical descriptions are great when I don’t have any photos! Transferring the money to the bank was rather expensive, The bank in the Netherlands charged 7.5 Euros and my bank in the states charged $40 for a money wire so I requested 13 documents rather than just one so that extra expense would be spread out. Great to have this information!
Sincerly,
Matt Newbold
Wonderful to hear about your success!
How about finding a female in the military? I’ve got a nurse, who when called up on 1 Jan 1940 was a head nurse. She reports her bike stolen in April 1941 in Amsterdam and my next contact is her death in 1947 Indonesia. She’s buried in the field of honor and listed as a war victim so i’m assuming dying of the results the war, POW? Where do i look?
Would you be able to find military record of someone who served in the Dutch Navy in the run up to WW II?
You can order the personnel file via this page: https://www.defensie.nl/onderwerpen/privacyrechten/privacyrechten-bij-defensie
Some records were lost during World War II so it is not certain that the file survives.
Hello,
I am looking for military records of my Grandfather Evert Willm VanDykhorst Dijhorst) He was discharged in 1918 or 1919 from the Dutch Army? Is there a particular place I should be looking?