Royal Artillery Service Records from the 1870s

[hurley42]

Hi

I recently discovered that a relative had served with the Royal Artillery in Ireland during the 1870s. I have a photo of him in uniform in a Dublin Studio c1868-70 (attached).

Do personnel records still exist for that period ?

I had a quick look at the UK Archives site and it seems they are digitising many military records but I was unable to verify the survival of specific records that probably contain details of my relative. I need to uncover his attestation papers as I have no 'hard' information on his life - definitive Irish BDM records are hard to come by for the 1840s.

Has anyone searched for this period for former Royal Artillery members ? Any tips ? as I live in Sydney Australia I am unable to 'drop in' at Kew !

Cheers

[ShaunJ]

Welcome to Rootschat Hurley42

What an excellent photo.

What's his name ? We can check and see if his papers have been released online yet

[hurley42]

Hi Shaunj

His name is John Nixon.

Possibly born in the late 1840s and his family was living in Rosmead near Delvin, County Westmeath, by late 1850. He is reputed to have migrated to the USA.

How long would he have served with the Royal Artillery ?

His fathers name was John and mothers name was Mary Ann (Nee Robinson). He had a younger brother named Henry who went to NSW in about 1875. Hence my interest 160 years later !

Thats all I know about his early life.

If his military record has survived it may shed some extra light on his background.

Cheers and thanks for your interest.

[ShaunJ]

So far we only have 1883-1900 service records available online and I don't see him there.  1873 to1882  are scheduled to be online by June 2010  so we can check again when they are available.

[hurley42]

ShaunJ

OK thanks ShaunJ. I look fwd to June !

Do you know how long British Army soldiers had to 'sign up' for the 1870s ?

Cheers

[shanew147]

just some info about the photographers and studio in case it assists ...

Lauder brothers (later the business was named Lafayette) started operating in Dublin by the early 1870s, and had several studios in Dublin City. I've been unable so far to locate when they had a studio in Kingstown, County Dublin, which can sometimes help date photos.

Kingstown, now named Dún Laoghaire is a town to the south east of Dublin city and was a major port for traffic to England, and was where the mailboat was based. I've seen a few newspaper reports indicating that often soldiers arrived and departed from here to England.

I'll keep an eye out for detail of their Kingstown studio, and let you know if I find anything


Shane

[josh jones]

Hi:  Hate to butt in onto this discussion but I had googled Royal Artillery Dublin as I have just discovered some info turning up in an obituary regarding my ancestor's brother.  She was living in Australia (my line stayed in England) - it was mentioned that he had joined the Royal Artillery and got a Home Government pension and lived in Dublin.  My question for you is was the relative you are talking about Irish? - my man was from Essex, England so I am a little puzzled why he would be in Ireland....or maybe it was Dublin, Australia.  I saw the pension records are on myfamily but was hesitant to join for a record that might not show up (I have ancestry.com).  Oh dear, long story short, was your man Irish?  Many thanks, josh.

[hurley42]

Hi

Thanks shanew147 for the Studio info. Yes every little fact helps ! Kingstown was a transport hub - thats not surprising ! Are shipping records available for Irish ports for people emigrating  ?

Yes josh jones John was most probably Irish as his brother (Henry - subject to a post on the Irish section of this website) certainly was.

I am yet to track birth details for John - thats why I need to see his military record. I think I have traced a likely marriage entry for the parents in 1839 at a town only 12 kms or so from where Henry was born ..... Rosmead.

If you need to track information in Australia a good place to start is the digitized newspaper record on the National Library site. For births, deaths and marriages in NSW there is an excellent search function on the official site as well - at no charge. Not sure about the other states.

[shanew147]

....Are shipping records available for Irish ports for people emigrating  ?
....

Kingstown would primarily be used just for ships travelling to England, and since Ireland was part of the UK then there are no records of these. I dont know of any specific Irish port records and as far as I know for destinations further afield, these are usually just listed with other UK records.


Shane