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General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: susanne44 on Sunday 08 April 18 22:11 BST (UK)
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Captain John Wilkinson of HM 44th regiment was my husband's gt gt grandfather. His son, William has a biography in the archive of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia. William was born in Dublin on 28 June 1846, and educated at Castleknock College before going to Australia, aged 14. A history of the 44th by Thomas Carter (1864) states that the 44th returned to Dublin in April, 1845. They were stationed at The Barracks, Dublin. That ties in with William's birth! John is referred to as "Captain" on a marriage certificate in 1875. I have one note that states: John Wilkinson: serial number 3552, a private, was slightly wounded in 1856. This may or may not be our relative. John's wife was Margaret. Any help with verifying this would be appreciated. So far, I have been unable to document them in Dublin or John in the 44th. Thank you. Sue.
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Copies of the Army List are available online. I've looked at Hart's Army List and it has no Wilkinson in any officer rank. There's only one John Wilkinson indexed and he's a veterinary surgeon with 2nd Life Guards; there are others with middle names. Might be worth further trawling online.
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just found the john Wilkinson army no 3552 in world wide army index in 1851 he was in malta and 1861 Kowloon china , unless he had a benefactor I doubt as a private he would have been able to purchase a commission at approx. £1800 pounds .
trevor
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The "slightly wounded" reference probably comes for the Crimean War casualty list for 29 July 1855 - see https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/6518/page/995/data.pdf (bottom of right hand column)
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Hi
Ancestry has medals for him 1860 in China and earlier in the Crimea.
He started as a Pte.
44th Regiment 2nd Battalion 3rd Division Crimean medal
Ciderdrinker
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Hi Susanne,
I'm currently researching a John WILKINSON who married a Margaret CAMPBELL (1846 in NSW) who also went by Bridget (on her marriage and children's birth certificates), I was wondering if this is any relation to yours?
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I'm sorry that I have not replied to your question. John Wilkinson is hard to research because it is a common name. I am not sure of my facts about him. There is a discrepancy about whether he was an officer or a private in the military. The John W. that I think is our ancestor, was in the military from 1842 to 1860. He was in China and the Crimea. After that he appears to have been a resident of Dublin. So this John W. could not have been in Australia in 1846. Good luck with your research. Sue.