Since 1948, in Which Years Did the UK Armed Forces Suffer No Operational Deaths?

Operational and Hostile Action Deaths

For the period 01 January 1948 to 31 December 2021, there were two (2) years where there were no operational deaths among UK Armed Forces personnel:

1968
2016

For the same period, there were twelve (12) years where there were no hostile action deaths (see below) among UK Armed Forces personnel:

1960
1968
1970
1995
1998
1999
2002
2014
2016
2017
2019
2021

Defence Statistics Health

Defence Statistics Health compiles the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) authoritative deaths database for all UK Armed Forces personnel who died whilst in Service since 1984. Information is compiled from several internal and external sources from which the MOD release several internal analyses and external National Statistics Notices.

Armed Forces Memorial

For data prior to 1984, Defence Statistics Health have access to the Armed Forces Memorial (AFM) database owned by the tri-Service Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) The AFM database was created to identify Service personnel whose names were and continue to be engraved on the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire. The AFM database records the deaths of all personnel who have died in Service sine 01 January 1948, and for those who were killed or who died in Palestine from 01 August 1945 to 31 August 1948.

Entries on the AFM roll of honour database include rank, type of service, regiment or corps, date of death, burial place (if known), and whether someone’s name is on the memorial in the National Arboretum.

The AFM roll of honour can be accessed here.

It is important to note that the AFM database is not regarded as a validated source of historical fatality information, therefore, it cannot be guaranteed to be 100% complete or accurate due to it being populated manually from Service files.

Hostile Action Deaths

Hostile action (HA) deaths include deaths categorised as:

Killed in Action (KIA): A battle casualty who is killed outright or who dies as a result of wounds or other injurie before reaching a medical treatment facility; or
Died of Wounds (DOW): A battle casualty who dies of wounds or other injuries received in action, after having reached a medical treatment facility.
- This only includes those who have died of wounds whilst under the care of the Defence Medical Services.
Includes all deaths caused by terrorist activity as a result of The Troubles in Northern Ireland.