Hello Carole, thanks for your reply. I do have a copy of the 1871 census and was aware of the status of this family at that time. This family has been very problematic to trace I'll try and summarize, if possible, where I am with this family. For William Blackmore - The England census return (H.O. 107. 1628) for 1851 shows that at the time of this census he was serving in the Royal Navy (declared as a "Seaman in the RN" by his wife, Sarah Blackmore). The census shows that the family are living in Minster, Sheerness, Kent. His youngest son, John R Blackmore is declared as being 1 Yr old, birthplace Kent, Sheerness. Records (FreeBMD) show that this birth was registered at Greenwich, Qtr3 in 1850. There is a significant gap in age (some 10 years) between him and his older brother (John C Blackmore). Based on research into Naval Medal Rolls and a later census of 1861 it seems likely that William Blackmore had joined the Royal Navy around 1843- 1844 and possibly earlier than this. Military record searches (ADM 171 / 6 page 239) list him on the ship's company for HMS Vanguard "as cruising off Alexandra and on the coast of Syria" in about 1841 - the date of this action further supports the possibility of him joining the Royal Navy before 1843. A further search of naval medal rolls list him on HMS Albion about 1856 in the Crimea War. The medal roll lists him in the Sea Marine Brigade. The 1861 and 1871 census returns show William Blackmore now back in Presteigne, Radnorshire. He is serving in the Radnorshire Rifles as a "Bugle Major" The Radnorshire Rifles were a Militia group formed in 1763 and named the Radnorshire Militia. During the following 16 years the militia went through a number of changes or mergers (merged with the South Breckonshire Rifles). Further changes or mergers took place which resulted in this Militia group becoming known as the South Wales Borderers. They finally became known as The Royal Regiment of Wales.
The 1881 census does not show William Blackmore - only his wife, Sarah is listed. She declared she is a Widow aged 64 working as a Tailoress. She is living at St David Street, Presteigne. At this stage no official record showing the death of William Blackmore can be found. Further research into the national archives shows that on record W.O. 100 .47 he is listed being engaged in Zulu war 1879 serving with the depot. History records that there was a supply depot supporting the British Army at this time. Further research would be difficult but its not unreasonable to assume that he could have been killed in this conflict.
My reason for interest in this family is that William and Sarah Blackmore were my GtGTGrandparents. Sorry if this summary is quite "lengthy" but I thought it best to offer a full explanation rather than bits of information.
David