Good Evening/Morning,
I'm hoping to find any information available about my gt grandfather who served in the 25th foot.
He was born in Beaford, Devon in Jan 1858.
Served a five year apprenticeship as a shoemaker. Then joined the 25th foot, so would assume he was about 18 making it approximately 1876. His service no. was 2815
On 28 July 1880 he deserted the regiment in Devonport. Listed in the Police Gazette.
He laid low for nearly year (though there is a tangible record in the 1881 census). He then joined the newly amalgamated Devonshire Regiment on 13 July 1881 under an assumed name of Francis (Frank) Dawson. I have his service record in the Devonshires in which he claimed he had previously served in the militia. In 1888 while serving in India he revealed his true identity and signed an affidavit confirming it. He went on to serve for nearly 30 years in the Devonshires, finally discharged in 1910. My grandfather recollected in his writings, as a child he would sleep in the rolled hides in his workshop, so it seems he continued his trade within the regiment. In "A REGIMENTAL HISTORY OF THE 1ST BATTALION DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT DURING THE BOER WAR 1899-1902 BY COLONEL M. JACSON"
"We have all read realistic descriptions of troops on the march in South Africa, the writer using all his cunning to depict the war-worn dirty condition of his heroes, seeming to glean satisfaction from their grease-stained khaki. It must be admitted that the South African War is responsible for a somewhat changed condition of thought as regards cleanliness and its relation to smartness. No such abstraction disturbed the Devons; a Devon man was always clean. Individuals of some corps could be readily identified by their battered helmets or split boots; not so the Devons."
I like to think of that as a personal tribute to him.
Any information that anyone has from the 25th foot's musters would be very welcome.
Any ideas why the 25th foot was in Devonport and where he was likely to have served in the preceding years, I am still reading around the subject but believe the 25th were part of the Peshwar Valley Field Force around the time he would have been serving. Any pointers to texts to read would be great too.
Most of this information was gleaned by my uncle, his grandson and namesake, John Bennett who is a contributor on these boards.
Merry Christmas.
trikidiki
P.S. My uncle has previously made a request on this forum:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=299177.0This was before he found the details of the desertion and hence the correct regiment, so I feel it is more at home being asked in this topic.