Hi Maureen,
I can add a little on Major Poole's later activities. I researched the Coorg campaign earlier in the year to find out what happened to Captain Forbes of the 39th who wrote the diary of the Voyage of the Guildford, referred to in my previous post.
By the time Poole received his appointment to the 39th on Feb 21, 1828, most of the 39th's complement were already in NSW. Their headquarters had been transferred the previous year. Presumably Major Poole was a later arrival. Unless the Sydney Gazette reported his arrival, I can't add to what Ken said. Ironically, detailed records exist for convict arrivals but not for the military.
A google search will give you a fair bit of information on the 39th's activities in NSW but I haven't noticed anything on Major Poole.
On the transfer of the regiment to India: six companies of the regiment embarked at Sydney on the 21st of July 1832, in three divisions, and disembarked at Madras on the 22nd of September and the 10th and 14th of October. The remaining four companies embarked at Sydney on the 3rd of December, and arrived at Madras on the 21st of February of the following year. On arrival they marched the 13 miles from Madras to Poonamalee where they were stationed.They next marched to Bangalore in February 1833. In the following month cholera broke out amongst the troops and they suffered a heavy death toll. In the course of five weeks the regiment lost their adjutant, Captain Thomas Meyrick, four serjeants, forty-two rank and file, two women, and eleven children.
The Coorg campaign is well documented and I recommend these sites (if you haven't already found them)
http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/2217218 http://malabardays.blogspot.com/2010/03/outbreak-of-war-with-coorg-1834.htmlAs you'll see, Colonel Lindesay praised his infantry commander, Major Poole, very highly. (Forbes, who appears to have acted as Lindesay's personal assistant, also gets a very favourable mention). This campaign would have been quite profitable to Major Poole.
Captain Forbes became the secretary of the Coorg Prize Committee and their nominated agent. Following normal procedure, this was set up to organise the distribution of twenty-nine thousand pounds in prize money derived from the sale of plunder. Over nine thousand would go to Colonel Lindesay with the remainder distributed amongst the lesser ranks. Even the dead received their share although it might be slow in coming. The widow and son of Private Bennett of the 39th had to wait twenty years to receive his four pounds nine shillings share.
Forbes didn't live to enjoy his share either. He left a final diary, a private log kept between 10th April and 12th June, 1836, of his voyage on SS Protector en route from Madras to Gravesend. He was in command of a group of soldiers who, like himself, were being invalided back to Britain. Reportedly the diary tells us that he boarded the ship for home “more dead than alive”. On June 16 he died and was buried at sea. At the time of his death the prize money still hadn't been distributed: he bequeathed the monies he expected to receive to his relations. I hope Major Poole derived more benefit from his share.
I can't help much with the remaining years. After the Coorg victory they were highly praised. They remained camped at Mercara, the capital of the Coorg region until mid-1834 then marched back to Bangalore. In late 1838 and early 1839 they marched the 160 miles to Bellara to replace the 41st Regiment. It was there that Major Poole died. The United Services Magazine of 1839 lists his death at Bellara, Madras on April, 23, 1839. Have you found how he died?
The story behind his reference to Mary as a "worthless wretch" would be very interesting. I googled Thomas Poole out of interest and saw that Mary was the youngest child of the (then) wealthy Freeman-Deane family of Castle Cor in County Cork. After such a noble upbringing she might have let her self go a bit! It would be interesting to hear her side of the story.
Just let me know if you want further information on my sources etc. Hope this is of some use.
Cheers, Doug.