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Armed Forces / How do I find out further details about 1847-1869 Army service and punishment?
« on: Sunday 12 May 13 16:37 BST (UK) »
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!)
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!)