Where can I find any records for this Soldier?

[Romilly]

On the 1881 Census for England, RG11; Piece: 1789; Folio: 82; Page: 31 in an Infantry Camp at St Botolphs, Colchester, I have found:

William Wilson, Soldier, 21yrs old, Born 1860, Manchester, Lancs.

There's just a slight chance that he might be my Grandfather, William James Wilson, Born Manchester Lancs, 1860...

Is there any way that I could establish what Regiment  this was, and if any records can be had of the soldiers - muster rolls and the like which might give more of a clue as to parents/last addresses etc? Would any Service Records for this period exist, and where might I find them?

Cheers, Romilly.

[km1971]

Unusually there does not appear to be any officers listed on the census. Officers are easier to find as you can look either on the London Gazette site or in Army Lists. And they usually have several interesting names that are easy to trace.

However looking at a few other names there is a James Ward on Page 5 who could match with a record on Findmypast. He served in the 24th Foot, which at the time of the census was the 2nd Warwickshires. A few months later (on 1st July 1881) they were re-named the South Wales Borderers.

From another list I have the 1st Battalion, 24th Foot were in Colchester at the time of the 1881 census.

I cannot find a service record for William. In these days you had to serve two - ten year enlistments to earn a pension, and many choose to leave after the first period.

Ken

[km1971]

...however George Woodhead is on the same page as William, and his record is on Findmypast and he was serving in the 11th Regiment. And they too were in Colchester. So William was almost certainly in the 1st Battalion, 11th Regiment of Foot.

To confirm you will need to access the muster books in Kew. They are not online.

Ken

[Romilly]

...however George Woodhead is on the same page as William, and his record is on Findmypast and he was serving in the 11th Regiment. And they too were in Colchester. So William was almost certainly in the 1st Battalion, 11th Regiment of Foot.

To confirm you will need to access the muster books in Kew. They are not online.

Ken

Many thanks indeed Ken.

That's no problem, - I can trek over to Kew. (I was there recently going through the Royal Marine's Attestation papers looking for the very same chap:-)

Do you know how I get to the right reference to look for at Kew please?

Cheers, Romilly.

[km1971]

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_cr1=wo16&_dss=range&_sd=1875&_ed=1891&_ro=any&_q=%2211th+foot%22

Start with 1881-1882 for the 1st Battalion as the year probably runs April to March and work forwards and backwards. The first and last entries give the most information. But you will not get NoK except if he married AND the wife was accepted onto the marriage establishment. This is recorded in the muster and give wife's name and ages (in years and months) of any children. If you are lucky you may get parish within Manchester.

He may have started in the Depot or in one of these - http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_cr1=wo16&_dss=range&_sd=1875&_ed=1891&_ro=any&_q=34+%22brigade+depot%22 - this is a change from before. The 34 Brigade Depot acted as recruitment centre for the 11th Regt from 1873 to 1881.

If you are OK with spreadsheets then download the CSV and tide it up.

Musters are like school registers but only taken once a month. If he changes 'class' you have to get the same year for the new 'class' to pick up the story again. You may need 12 or more lookups, so allow 6-7 hours. They are open late on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Check they are open before you go as they may be on strike or closed for stocktaking.

Ken

[deebel]

Based on the birthplaces of the married soldier Thomas Reynolds looks like the regiment was in East Indies 1875 Devonport 1879 an recently returned from East Indies

[Romilly]

Many thanks for the further info Ken and deebel.

I've never looked at Army records before, as both sides of my family seem to have been Merchant and Royal Navy.

It's entirely possible that this chap might turn out to be another red herring too, - but having exhausted all other avenues in searching for my Grandfather William James Wilson, (1860 - 1937) prior to his Marriage in Swansea in 1893, - it's worth a try!

Ken, - can you recommend any books on searching Army Records for this timescale please?
And is 'CSV' a File Format used on Excell? I have that, but where do I download from, - The National Archives Site?

Cheers, Romilly.

[km1971]

I have done the searches for you. Select the option EXPORT RESULTS. The default is already set to CSV, so just click DOWNLOAD and it will open in Excel.

You only need Column A which is what you order at Kew, and the year(s) covered. Almost certainly they will run April to March. You can ignore ones referring to the 2nd Battalion.

I trust you are aware that they are original documents so you will need a reader's ticket.

The NA used to publish Research Guides, but now that most records are no longer available at Kew they only have this -  http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/britisharmysoldierupto1913.htm

Ken

[Romilly]

Many Thanks for all of the help Ken, - greatly appreciated.

I will get onto the Downloads now. Yes, I have a Reader's Ticket for Kew. (It's a bit of a haul over there from here, but I think it's the only way I'm going to be able to definately eliminate this William Wilson or not). Thanks also for the Link to the Research Guide.

Best Wishes, Romilly.