The documentation produced by the Military District of Novara and deposited in the State Archive of Novara relates to enlisted personnel enrolled at provincial level. The territorial military district, formed after the Unification of Italy, coincided with that of the province before the break off of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and the Vercelli area.

The military body, in charge of recruitment and the mobilisation of the army in its area of jurisdiction, consisted of two offices assigned to these activities: the Recruitment Office, charged with overseeing conscription processes and calls to arms, and the Registration Office, which oversaw the registration services for all personnel on leave, filling out the conscription rolls. In the second half of the 19th century, the complex rules established three separate categories based on the state of health and the social condition of young men regarded as fit for military service.

Military District of Novara, 1792 - 1940 (link to SIAS)

Archive series:

- Draft and conscription records, 1792 - 1940, vol. 438, folder no. 153.

These registers include the names of young men indicated by the Municipalities for each conscription cohort, sent to the competent military district office. The records of every young man included their date and place of birth, the name of their mother and father, their address, profession, the final examination of the conscription office and, where applicable, the unit to which they were assigned.

- Conscription rolls, 1866 - 1936, reg. 501 (List of conscription roll registers up to 1921)

The registers contain information on the personal details of the soldier, a physical description, their level of education and their profession, the units to which they belonged during their military career, the date they were discharged, or on which they died in service, the date on which they were recorded as missing in action. 

- Indexes of conscription rolls, vol. 122.

- Conscription records, 1869 - 1926, folder no. 400

Files containing documents on the soldier’s military career, with more details compared with the rolls.