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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Hampshire & Isle of Wight => Topic started by: lisauk on Tuesday 15 February 05 13:05 GMT (UK)
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Hi, I am interested in find out more about this soldier as it may be my gt grandfather, can anyone point me in the right direction and what information can be found from a soldiers files?
Cheers Lisa
James Breakspear aged 20 in 1891, Soldier, b Oxford
Found at:
RG12/881/80 p4
New Barracks, Alverstoke, Hampshire
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Hi,
There is lots of information to be found in Army Service records - both genealogical and physiological. Service records can tell you date/place of birth, next of kin, height, colour of eyes/hair/complexion etc. They can differ in detail however. The records will of course also give you their military history as well. The problem is, unless you know their service number or, at least the regiment they served in, it can be a slow process. Looking at his age, he would have joined up within the last 3 or 4 years so you can narrow down his enlistment dates somewhat. I don't know what regiments were based at these barracks - I know the Royal Artillery and Army Service Corp were located in the Hampshire/Andover area. I also think there was a Naval Barracks in this area as well. I will see if I can find out more about Alverstoke.
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Hi again,
I had a quick look at the 1891 census and the regiment is "1st Battalion, ??????? Light Infantry". I'm trying to decipher what the rest is.
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Richard thank you for all your help.
Can you view military records online or would I need to order James's records and where would I do this from?
Cheers Lisa