Does Pensioner mean army service?

[alchemyst]

Father of Irish bride (1890s) is listed as Pensioner and I am led to believe that this means he may have served in the army or other State service. Would appreciate some guidance in this area.

Alchemyst

[Meliora]

Have you tried to trace this pensioner thro' the various census years ?   This  info may provide you with a few clues as to whether he was an army pensioner or not.

Meliora

[alchemyst]

He is from County Cork - an area I find difficult  to find information.  Is it possible he could have served with the British?
Alchemyst

[neil1821]

Is it possible he could have served with the British?

Of course, he was British. 
Ireland was part of the UK

Pensioner could mean Army (or Navy) service, but I'm sure it's equally possible it means something else without any more clues.

[alchemyst]

I apologise for my lack of knowledge in regard to military history - especially when it comes to Ireland.
Do you have any suggestions??
Alchemyst

[charlotteCH]

Have you tried putting the man's name into A2A?  If he was a Chelsea Pensioner it should come up there.

charlotte

[neil1821]

What age was he in 1891?
Does he have an unusual name, or is it pretty common?

Worth checking the census anyway as Meliora suggested. Just because he was from Co.Cork, doesn't mean he stayed there. And if he did serve in the Army, for the sake of argument, he could easily be in England/Wales/Scotland

[alchemyst]

The only info I have on Michael Russell is that he was married abt 1864.
What is an A2A?

Alchemyst

[km1971]

The records for soldiers in Kew are filed according to date of discharge. The problem is that for the most likely date of discharge of your Michael Russell you need to know his regiment.

I would concentrate on finding the birth certificate of his daughter, and hope that his regiment is mentioned. Failing that Findmypast are putting surviving records for men discharged before 1914 online, but they are not expected until 2011.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/militaryhistory/army/step4.htm

You should also post his daughter's name; approx year of birth and place of birth (if known). Someone with a Findmypast account can check the regimental births for her. These give the regiment in the index. Although not all are listed.

A2A is Access to Archive a scheme for record libraries to share records, particularly those on microfilm.

Ken