Casualties in Egypt Campaign - 1882

[Billk]

I'm trying to find a record of my great grandfather's death while serving as a soldier in Egypt. I suspect that he died in either the bombardment of Alexandria or the Tel-el-Kebir battle, both in 1882. Would casualties of these two events be recorded somewhere?

[km1971]

There are casualty lists in the National Archives and most have been published. However so have the medal rolls for 1882, and it should say in the remarks if a man was a casualty. But without his name and regiment there is nothing anyone can do.

Ken

[Billk]

As yet, all I know is that his last name was Gilchrist. Don't have first name.

[neil1821]

There were no KIAs or DOWs in the Egypt campaign by the name of Gilchrist.
http://www.angelfire.com/mp/memorials/egypt8285.htm
Death from disease would still be a possibility.

If you don't even have a first name though, can I ask how you know he was a soldier? How you know he served in Egypt? How you know he died in Egypt? Or is it speculation?

You seem to me to be tackling this the wrong way round. Follow the mans trail starting with the birth of your grandfather/mother and built a basic picture first, ie full name, date of birth, place of birth. Maybe you'll come across evidence of army service in the course of events and that will then be the launchpad for further checking.

[Billk]

My grandmother was a Home Child. The only information I have at this time comes from her records when she was sent to Canada. The record states that her father was a soldier killed in Egypt. The time frame of his death had to be between mid 1878 and end of 1882,'s  based on my grandmother's age and when she was admitted to an institution (poorhouse?) in Edinburgh. Clearly, he could have been killed in an accident, in  some isolated incident or skirmish or in a battle. Death from an illness is always possible but not supported by the information in her record.  I note that the list of deaths in the Egypt campaign apparently do not include the bombing of Alexandria where there were a few casualties. Is that information available anywhere? 

The info from the Times was apparently transcribed or copied into someone's website. Any info on this? Taken directly from the Times archives?

I have a birth record of an Agnes Gilchrist born in Edinburgh area on the same day (02 Feb 1879) as reported for my grandmother, father Robert Gilchrist, but I cannot confirm that this is, in fact, my grandmother. Robert's occupation was given as what looks like "Ostier". Not aware of what this is. Doesn't appear that it has anything to do with the military. It is possible, however, that he enlisted a year or so later. I have yet to find any census record that would have a Gilchrist in the army.

I am quite aware of the standard way of tracking down one's ancestors, having done so many, many times. This is complicated, however,  by the lack of information for Home Children and, particularly, with regards to my grandmother. I was hoping that there might be information available on the military side that could provide some light on the problem.

 

[Mort29]

Robert's occupation was given as what looks like "Ostier"

Probably 'Ostler' - looked after horses, often in a Inn or similar, or perhaps in a large house using many horses

[Billk]

Thanks for that.

[neil1821]

Ok, so tentatively we may be after a Robert Gilchrist.

The time frame of his death had to be between mid 1878 and end of 1882,'s  based on my grandmother's age and when she was admitted to an institution (poorhouse?) in Edinburgh.

For most of that time frame there was no campaign going on at all. Accidental death doesn't have to occur in war time of course, so check out the Armed Forces Death Indices for the other years.
http://www.findmypast.co.uk/OverseasStartSearchServlet?mode=A&searchType=D

[km1971]

Before WW1 they would destroy the records of a soldier who died in service. Service records are the only way you can do an alphabetical search for a soldier. All other records require you to know his regiment. The 1882 Egypt campaign medal roll is available on DVD. There are over 4000 pages that you will have to go through. Maybe you can order a copy and split it between family members looking for Gilchrists. Some regiments recorded the men’s forename. Most only recorded their initials.

Assuming you get only one hit all you can do then is to research the muster rolls in Kew. If you are lucky it will tell you he was on the married roll. If so it will give you the forename of his wife plus the ages in years and months (but no names) of any children. But he may not have got approval before getting married, so the army will not have a record. The muster roll will tell you where he was for the monthly muster. You can therefore research the church records of the places he passed on the way to Egypt, keeping your fingers crossed that he married after he enlisted.

Again if you are lucky it will tell you his parish of birth, age on enlistment and previous occupation. But there is no guarantee of any of this as they changed the information they recorded every few years.

There are no Gilchrists listed in either of the two military orphanages. There was however a Royal Marine called Robert Gilchrist who served around the time - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=-5601186&CATLN=7&Highlight=%2CROBERT%2CGILCHRIST&accessmethod=0

The Royal Marines were sometimes called sea soldiers, and maybe the person filling in the forms on Agnes did not know the difference. But, again, the RM were not interested in the men’s family either. But you should get his date of birth, parish of birth and maybe his occupation.

Ken