Second Anglo-Afghan War 1878-80

[km1971]

Hi Colin

49th Infantry Brigade Depot was created in 1873. They were formed to give the infantry their first permanent depots. After initial training recruits were allocated to one of the two battalions making up the Brigade Depot.

The 1st to 25th Regiments of Foot already had two battalions so they were put in the same brigade. 49th Brigade Depot was in Hounslow. Regiments of Foot of 26th and above were paired to form other Brigade Depots.

They lasted until July 1881 when a few amendments were made to the pairings, but otherwise the term Infantry Brigade Depot disappeared and most regiments were given new names instead of using the precedence number.

His service record will probably only say he served in 'India' or 'Home'. To get a breakdown of where exactly he served month by month you will have to research the muster books in the National Archives. They are not online.

If he was married the musters of this period will give his wife's name and the ages of any children in years and months. Also, knowing the actual town/fort you can then look up nearby church records. It all depends on how thorough you want to be.

From the dates it looks as if he enlisted for 12 years - split six years in uniform, followed by six years in the First Class Army Reserve. Seven plus five later become the norm. Reservists served two weeks a year in exchange for half pay. Reservists very rarely record the fact on census and BMDs. But they remained part of the Regular army until they had completed their 12 years enlistment.

Ken

[caterpillar20]

Hi Ken,

Many thanks for the info, that's really helpful. So if I went to the National Archives, would I need to look at the 2nd Foot muster rolls, do you think, or will I need to plough through all of them? Also, are there records for the 2 weeks service undertaken as a reservist, do you know?

I'm quite lucky, I think, in that the service records I have list his next of kin (though locate them in Closter Street, Limehouse, which I haven't yet found any record of), but more importantly also include hospital admissions (mostly for "ague"), and so lists in more details where he was stationed. Unfortunately, it's quite hard to decipher what the listing says (there's a screen shot attached  in case anyone can see easily). So far, I've deduced:
Woolwich
??
??
Ahmednuggur (?)
Field Service Afghanistan
Kandahar
Bellary
??
Bellary

You mentioned church records near the forts, what sort of thing might those tell me?

Apologies for all the questions, I'm relatively green on the nuances of military service history, so any hope is greatly appreciated!

Thanks again,

Colin

[Garen]

Hello Colin

Ken has already given you a good answer on the fact that the 7th Foot was within the 49th Brigade, and they became the 2nd Royal Fusiliers after 1881.

Would be happy to add him to the database, just email me some of his details - birth, death, parents, wife, children, occupation, etc, would be great :-)

I think, as Ken says, the Muster Rolls for the 7th Foot are a good next step. Also see if you can find a good history on the 7th Fusiliers that includes your dates, for some wider context.

In regard to his hospital admissions - your second set of question marks is ‘HMS Jumna’, so was likely en-route to India. The one between the two Bellary entries looks like Wellington.

Best wishes -
Garen

[cerchier]

HI Collin,
  I am searching for some info into medals that belong to my wife's family.  They pertain to 5 individuals, one of which was in Afghanistan in the 1878-80. The medal in question has an ALI MUSJID clasp.  The edge has number, rank, name and regiment inscribed on it. They are 1503, Gunr, R. McDowell, 13/9 R.A..  There is also another medal of his that is for around that area, it has two clasps, top says BURMA 1885-7 and bottom say JOWAKI 1877-8, this one has his name spelled as McDowall.  If you could help with identifying him, such as DOB, parents and any other family related info I would be very gratefull, or point me in the correct direction.
  There are other medals and they all are related to the Royal Artillery.  One is a long service medal to the Arsenal in Woolwich.
   Again thank you in advance.

Chip

[Garen]

Hello Chip

(This is Garen, by the way, not Colin :-))

Looking at the medal roll for 13/9 RA in Afghanistan I see your man's full name is Robert McDowall. It gives no extra info other than to confirm the Ali Musjid clasp.

The next thing to do would be to visit Find My Past and see if there's a service record for him, and if so, that might give some next of kin information.

If you know where the family originated, then looking at the census returns for a Robert McDowall might be fruitful - he may even be in the RA and stationed in the UK during a census year, if you're lucky.

Is the artillery unit on the clasps for Jowaki and Burma (this will be the India 1849-95 medal) the same as for Afghanistan? 13/9 were in Jowaki, but he may have been in a different battery for Burma.

All best -
Garen

[cerchier]

Hi Garen,
   sorry about the mix up with the names.  I'm new at this site and just used the name I last saw, anyway sorry.
    The Burma medal has the same info on it, so my guess is he is in the RA.  The thing is I don't know where he is from or how he is related to all the others, in regards to the medals, other than they have the same family name.  One I know is the father to my wife's grandfather.  He is the one in the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, George McDowell.  Long story but he was born in Canada in 1851 and one of his sons, John Benjamin McDowell has medals from WW1.  I know I'm getting off subject with your area, but thank you for your help.  I'll try Find My Past and see hat happens.

Thanks again

Chip

[Garen]

My initial guess would be that Robert might be a brother to George - it's the right time frame (1850s) to be born to be a soldier in the Second Afghan War.

Anyway - good luck! If I can be any more help, just let me know.

[cerchier]

Hi Garen,
    You have been a great help, so thank you.  You may be on to something about Robert being George's brother, close to the same age.
    What I was wondering about is how do I check the regimental numbers that are on the medals and would the records hold family information? ie. Mother, Father, place of birth and so on.
     Again thanks for your help, it has gotten me going again.
Cheers
Chip

[CAMPaske]

A relative, not an ancestor since he died aged only 23, Charles Alfred Montanaro Paske died in Kabul during the Second Afghan War. This is to add to the memory of a young man who died long ago far from home.

He was born 20th June 1855 and gazetted in 1874. In 1878 he joined No.2 Derajat Mountain Battery, Punjab Frontier Force. On 19th December he was shot in the side at Kabul, the bullet lodging in his spine. He died the next day. He had invented a time-fuze and a Pioneer's saddle, called the 'Montanaro Pattern'.

[Source: web.ukonline.co.uk/ewh.bryan/mont-2.html]



If anyone can add to this information it would be very welcome