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My 2 x great grandfather Benjamin Cooper, born about 1828, enlisted in the Royal Artillery in Acton Denbighshire on the 20th May 1847.
He  left the service on 21st December 1869, settled in Gravesend and received a Chelsea pension. I obtained his service record from Find My Past but it has raised further questions and I wonder if anyone can suggest where I should look next?
As well as serving in the Crimea and Bermuda he was stationed at Fort George in Inverness where he married in 1854 and in Cork where his two older children were born about 1858 - 1861.
At the end of his service the record said that:
"conduct has been very good -he is in possession of 4 good conduct badges, the Crimea medal with clasp for Sebastopol also the Turkish War Medal."
But then it adds that -"He has been convicted by Court Martial and in addition his name has been 6 times recorded in the Regimental Defaulters book."
As a result, presumably, of the Court Martial he was demoted from Sergeant to Gunner from July 1860 to March 1865 -quite a punishment I would think.
Short of going to Kew (I live in Devon so it's really too far) Is there any way of finding out about his service -how he earned the medals and, in particular, what he did to deserve the punishment?
I forgot to mention his army number was 3190.
Does anyone know of a paid site that would give the information I am looking for or any researcher at Kew? (It's got to be cheaper than going up there, I could never do it in one day!)

Help from Rootschatters has shown my family story to be more complicated that I'd thought so now I'm trying to complete the picture.
Hannah Maria Futter was born in Costessey in 1822, the daughter of Edmund Futter and Elizabeth Frost. In 1840 she married John Tann, a wheelwright and carpenter. They lived in Bawburgh moving to Norwich St Julian on the 1851 and 61 census, Hannah was a shoe binder and John worked in his father's wheelwright business, they had 5 children.In 1863 John brutally attacked Hannah in an argument over money, also attacking their eldest child Clara/Clarissa who tried to defend her mother. John was imprisoned for 6 months and after this time, seems to have left the family. He married again, in Northamptonshire in 1868 to Lucy Brain (freeBMD has Baines). He was found guilty of bigamy in 1869 and imprisoned again, for 5 months.
In 1871 Hannah was living in Norwich with her younger daughter.By  1873 there is no record of her elder daughter, all 3 of her sons have died and her younger daughter, Sarah, has married.
Hannah then remarried, losing 10 years from her age in the process-in 1874 to Charles Warren Faux who died in 1879; in 1880 to Henry Howes a publican of the Wellington Inn in St Giles Norwich who died in 1881(FreeBMD gives her name as Anna Maria Faulks) and finally to Robert Eagleton a gardener in 1885.
Freereg have all but the 3rd marriage, her father's name Edmund Futter and occupation, brickmaker, is given in each case.
In 1889 she was charged with bigamy but acquitted. In 1891  Robert Eagleton is on the census living alone, as a widower, there is no sign of Hannah nor is she with her daughter.
John Tann lived in Lincolnshire and Norfolk finally dying in Norwich in 1901
There are some possible deaths for Hannah-with the surname Howes, Tann and Futter, but with 3 possible Christian names and 5 surnames, not to mention mispellings, she's proving elusive! Does anyone have any ideas?

In 1862 Sarah Ann Jackson had a daughter, baptised in Hethersett, Rosa Rainger Jackson. The records on Freereg describe her as "illegitimate, mother a servant."
County   Norfolk
Place   Hethersett
Church   St Remigius
RegisterNumber   40
DateOfBirth   06 Feb 1862
BaptismDate   02 Mar 1862
Forename   Rosa Rainger
Sex   F
FatherForename   
MotherForename   Sarah Ann
FatherSurname   
MotherSurname   JACKSON
Abode   Hethersett
FatherOccupation   
Notes   Illegitimate - Mother a servant
FileNumber   3743
4 years later in 1866 Harriett Elizabeth was born, again "illegitimate, mother a servant in Norwich."
In 1868 Sarah Ann married Robert Bailey, went on to have 8 more children with him and lived until she was 82.
The mystery lies with her daughters -is Rainger a clue to their father's name? On the 1861 census a Sarah A Jackson, aged 18 was a servant in the household of a Mr Ranger aged 59, Norwich. The birthplace of Sarah A is given as Berwick, Wymondham, Norway! (Sarah Ann was born in Hethersett but the age is right.)

I thought that if I could find out more about Rosa and Harriett there may be a clue but in 1871 they are living with their mother and Robert Bailey and in 1881 both are in service- Harriet in Hethersett and Rosa (called Rose)a kitchen maid in Belgravia. Thereafter they disappear - I haven't found any definite marriage or census or death records for either.
I wonder if anyone can help solve this puzzle?

This is the only documentary evidence I have for Ann Botwright/ Boardwright/ Boatwright
from Freereg
.CountyNorfolk
PlaceYelverton
ChurchSt Mary the Virgin
RegisterNumber124
BurialDate09 Jun 1836
ForenameAnn
Relationshipwife of
Rel1MaleForenameNoah
Rel1FemaleForename
Rel1SurnameUTTERIDGE
SurnameUTTERIDGE
Age75
AbodeYelverton
NotesLate Ann BOTRIGHT. Died June 5
FileNumber6832

Her name is also on the birth records of her 6 children born between 1793 and 1809

I searched for her birth and found Ann born to Richard Boatwright and Hannah Gee in 1773. This led me back for several generations of Gees in North Walsham.
I was just checking again for a birth for Richard before sending my tree to a relative when I found a death for Ann in 1774.
I've just had to go through and delete at least 30 people from my tree!

I can't find any other likely births for Ann, nor have I found a record of her marriage to Noah Edridge/Ettridge/Uttridge (at least 6 different spellings.) which I thought might give a clue to her father's name.
 Following Ann's death Noah remarried the same year to Mary Ann Purdy and I do have that record.

I'm really only seeking sympathy for going so far down the wrong track, but if anyone has any ideas about Ann's birth I'd be delighted!

I have found a reference to my ancestor Thomas Toft in the Norwich mayoralty record of 1632-1635:

 Thomas Toft did this day Informe upon othe that about halfe a yeare since he was in the howse of John Wright in St Clements parishe in this City and did see diverse parishioners and Citizens drinkinge there That is to say John Everard the elder & James Gislynge And before that did see the same persons drinkinge & playinge at slyde groate in the said howse.

It sounds like it might be early shove-halfpenny, but does this refer to an illegal drinking & gambling den? Was my ancestor a killjoy or an upstanding citizen?