1889: Gunner buys himself out for £10 after just 2 months. Was this common ?

[MaxD]

Far easier to simply look at the attestation paper (para 18 particularly).  A militia attestation was a different form.

I beileve the higher formation for the Carmarthen RGA was Western District.  Divisions had gone by then.  BUT his later involvement with them should not be conflated with the 1889 paperwork we have been looking at.  The RGA designation did not arrive until 1899 and the title in 1902 was Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) and in 1908  Royal Garrison Artillery (Militia) so the exact correct title will help with a time frame.  Problem is it isn't always used.

MaxD

[kob3203]

Thanks.

Okay, so this Gunner 71052 RA attestation we're looking at is not our 'Carmarthen RGA' link (Our Walter uses that exact phrase for previous service on his WWI attestation)

So we're left with a possibility that this Gunner 71052 could well be our Walter. But we don't have anything conclusive yet. And if it does turn out to be him, then rather than answering any questions it actually raises even more.
 

[MaxD]

Agree with the first point - there is nothing in the 1889 short service paperwork that links with the later Carmarthen RGA on the WW1 paperwork.

Agree with the second point also but you have I think previously said that the address St Pauls Llanelly (1889) does not compute with the 1915 address or could it?  He may simply have omitted his short regular service when asked the question about previous service, owning up only to the Carmarthen RGA.

Reviewing your attempts on this and the earlier thread to find the earlier service of your Walter Williams, I would respectfully suggest that you have reached the point where, no disrespect to fellow Rootschatterers, you need a professional researcher. 

MaxD

[kob3203]

You're probably right. But even if I could afford to hire a researcher I wouldn't. Trying to figure things out for myself (with lots of help of course!) interests me far, far more than simply knowing the answer.

Just for my own reference - other related threads of mine here at Rootschat:
- Parish of St Pauls in or near the Town of Llanelly in the County of Glamorgan - tracking down the comparatively small number of other Walter Williams who might be Gunner 71052 (via FreeBMD births and 1871/1881/1891 censuses) might rule them out or confirm that Gunner 71052 is not our Walter
- Carmarthenshire RGA Militia disbanded 1908, becomes Field Artillery - Due to the unit's renaming, our Walter's WWI attestation (previous service in Carmarthen RGA) indicates that he probably served with them some time between 1899 (when they became RGA) and 1908 (when they became Field Artillery Reserves).
- *COMPLETED* Two stepbrothers of Walter Williams, who both died in WWI- this story was true and we found service and CWGC records for both.
- Could a stint in the Boer War really fit into this man's life?- Nothing conclusive regarding artillery or Boer War. Back in 2010 this threw up Gunner 71052. I rejected it at the time due due the county being wrong.This also mentions finding our Walter's WWI service record Private 20212.
- *COMPLETED (UNSUCCESSFUL)* Lookup Request: QSA Medal Rolls, RA/RHA/RFA - ended up searching at Kew myself when I was in the UK in 2011. Lots of W Williams but nothing more definitive than what I already had
- Is ABSENCE of a WO96 record PROOF that a man did NOT join the militia?? - No. It could be that the records simply didn't survive.

There's another story that Walter's father, William Williams b1838, served as a sergeant farrier, possibly in the Anglo-Zulu War (1879). The Boer War story might be a mixup.