WO 1641720-1899Royal Hospital Chelsea: Prize Records
This series contains a list of entitlements to shares in war prize won in military actions between 1779 and 1858. Most of the records are registers of shares unclaimed, with entries of the dates on which any eventual claims were settled, and notes of the recipients. There are specific volumes of out-letter books for claims relating to the Peninsular War and the Battle of Waterloo, and these include lists of original payments. Also contained are warrants, correspondence, quarterly accounts and other miscellaneous papers.
Many of the registers remained open for several decades after the original payments and this explains the apparently extreme dates of some of the entries. However, the bulk of the payments in any volume tend to fall within five or ten years of the opening date.
The books relating to the Peninsular War cover the following six periods; 2nd-12th May 1809, 5th March-16th May 1811, 13th January-5th April 1812, 14th May-21st October 1812, 14th May - 31st December1813 and 1st January-10th April 1814. The forces were entitled to war prize according to their participation in successful campaigns during the six periods. A list of all the forces, noting their eligibility for each payment will be found in the front of volume 379.