Lionel S. Challis' "Peninsula Roll Call"

Lionel S. Challis's "Peninsula Roll Call"

After the First World War, Captain Lionel S. Challis of the Queen's Westminister Rifles, began a project that would consume much of his time over the next three decades. His goal was to develop a listing of every British Army officer who served in the Peninsular War from 1808 - 1814. Captain Challis scoured Army Lists, Gazettes, despatches, official records, and regimental histories for information. He recorded what he found on more than 9,600 officers onto index cards, but realizing that the final product would be too expensive to publish, in 1949 he donated his research to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). The cards now reside in a cabinet in the RUSI Library. The Royal United Services Institute owns the copyright to the "Peninsula Roll Call" and has very generously given the Napoleon Series permission to publish it on the Napoleon Series.

How to Use the "Peninsula Roll Call"

1. The alphabetical listing of the officers that is at the bottom of this page is the easiest way to find an individual in the "Peninsula Roll Call". When you click on the specific individual, you will be taken to a page showing the scan of approximately 10 of Captain Challis's index cards, in alphabetical order, and among which will be that of the individual searched for.

2. A typical card in the "Peninsula Roll Call" will provide the following information:

Name of the individual
Ranks the individual held while serving in the Peninsula
Dates of rank
Dates the individual served in the Peninsula
Unit or units the individual served with in the Peninsula
Staff Positions the individual held
Wounds received, along with the date wounded
Date and cause of death if died in the Peninsula
Battles and campaigns the individual fought in
Medals and honors received

3. Some of the cards are quite detailed, while others will consist of only one or two lines. Captain Challis made extensive use of abbreviations and at times they can be confusing. A partial listing of these abbreviations can be seen by clicking on: Abbreviations used in the "Peninsula Roll Call".

4. Captain Challis's handwriting is very old fashioned and at times can be difficult to decipher. The best way is to check name that you know, such as Jones or Smith, and see how he wrote the letters to use as a basis for deciphering. Please do not write to us asking us for help on his hand-writing. Your guess is as good as ours!

5. We have also included a spreadsheet that includes every officer in the "Peninsula Roll Call" and the units he served with. You can search it by regiment (e.g. all officers assigned to the 43rd Foot), by position (e.g. all officers who were an ADC), whether he was in the King's German Legion, or seconded to the Portuguese. The spreadsheet is in Microsoft Excel. To see the spreadsheet, click on: The "Peninsula Roll Call" Spreadsheet. Please note that the spreadsheet will not link you to the actual files. You will have to access them by going through the list of the names.

5. We recommend you read our Frequently Asked Questions, before you start searching the Peninsula Roll Call. The FAQs will answer many of the questions that you may have.

6. Occasionally, we find an officer who served in the Peninsula, but is not included in this edition of the "Peninsula Roll Call". They can be found in: Additions to the "Peninsula Roll Call".

Acknowledgments: Many people helped to bring the "Peninsula Roll Call" online. In alphabetical order they are: Gary Donaldson, who wrote to the RUSI on our behalf. Paul Horsfield, who developed the initial guide to the abbreviations. Tim Mahon who was instrumental in obtaining permission from the RUSI for us the published it. Ron McGuigan and Howie Muir who joined me in spending many hours transcribing the names from the cards into our alphabetical index. Rory Muir, who coordinated with the National Library of Australia for permission to use their microfilm copy of the "Peninsula Roll Call".

A Note to Those Researching Their Ancestors: Unless the individual you are researching was a general officer, there is little chance that we have any additional information on him other than what is on the card. Please do not write to us asking for more information. I recommend that you do a search of the Napoleon Series for your ancestor's name. If there is more information on your ancestor, it will be there. Our search engine can be found at: Search the Napoleon Series.

Errors and Broken Links: Occasionally, Captain Challis made an error. We can not correct the actual files, but we have set up a page to note factual error. You can see the corrections at: Corrections to Lionel S. Challis's "Peninsula Roll Call". Should you find that our spelling for a name is different than Captain Challis's or if the link is broken or does not take you to the correct file, please contact the Editor.

The "Peninsula Roll Call"

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | XYZ

Placed on the Napoleon Series: January 2009; last updated August 2010

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