50th (Queens Own) Regiment

[MaxD]

Thank you Shaun, I do recall looking for Troth initially on that other thread but deciding quickly that this was not for me, I didn't connect this thread.

Thank you

MaxD

[Ranolki]

Thank you ShaunJ, I had no idea how to link in that previous thread.  As MaxD said, it looks like a needle in haystack but at the moment I just want to work out the places he could have been rather than what he said later.  I think it all depends on whether we can believe anything he said but it does seem he went out to Ceylon, on to New Zealand and then to Australia, where he stayed.  We DO have some DNA clues to help us work out who her really was but I think those will come into play further down the line.  No one saw the medals/ribbons he talked about and the information in the family bible (ie his full name and date and place of birth) is also likely to be false from what we can see.  He gave enough detail to family members to make at least part of his service believable so I think he really was in the 50th Queens Own. It seems his time in the Crimea, India and China may be invention though...
At the moment I think I would be happy if someone could just confirm the info I have pulled together is logical, then we can see what sort of job it would be to go through any existing records.  I was pleased with the person you pulled up from the 1861 census but I traced his family back and excluded him.  His sister had children but there is no DNA link there from what we can see and I don't think he's related.  Also he would not have been in the UK in 1861.

[Ranolki]

Someone has sent me this. I'm not quite sure of its source and whether there are earlier pages (I'm enquiring) but it seems to be all the discharges from the 50th Queens Own once they were in Australia.This might turn out to be something very useful!

[Ranolki]

Another opinion please.  It seems this new list I have is the discharge record for the whole 50th Queens Own as they prepared to leave Australia in 1869. There are 280 entries, each showing the date and point of discharge, Adelaide, Sydney, New Zealand, etc.  Quite a few show England as the discharge point. As we expected, there are no Troths on there...
Could I just ask if the 280 would be likely to be the whole complement of the 50th after a four year campaign?  These are non-commissioned officer and men.  A few are just shown as discharged with no place mentioned and I'm assuming they were just thrown out for some reason and not taken forward to the final destination.
We are going through the whole list, dismissing those who sailed back to the UK, also those with Irish sounding surnames (the Queens Own 50th left for Ceylon from Ireland so would seem to have recruited men there first).  I'm not sure what we are going to discover as the person we are looking for quite obviously gave himself a whole new persona but it will be an interesting quest!  Thank you for the input - it has been helpful.
One more thing, can anyone explain to me the difference between a ribbon and a medal as an award?  Are the ribbons of lower "value" than a medal?

[MaxD]

There are figures in the history (page 288)  for the strength (700) in 1868 which would suggest these are just the discharges.

Once awarded, medal ribbons were usually made available and authorised for wear before the actual medal was struck and issued.  The ribbon and the medal are hence of equal value.

MaxD

[Ranolki]

Thank you for that. I really appreciate the input, it's helpful to have someone who can interpret what information is available.  Do you  happen to know if there was a minimum age for enlisting in the 1850s?

We still can't work out why someone would want to serve in a campaign (apparently with three ribbons and a medal) then invent a whole new identity for himself.  We will probably never know the answer but we will see what we can do!  He did say he served on Cockatoo island for two years.  We're wondering if he was actually a prisoner and invented a new persona when he was released!

I must admit I picture him lapping up the admiration as he talked about all his imagined exploits. He was quite obviously feted in Inverell, where he finally settled.  He supposedly saved Colonel Waddy's life at some point in New Zealand.  I can't see that Waddy was injured at all in New Zealand (he was slightly injured in the Crimea).  The man we are tracing was apparently shot and seriously wounded by a Russian soldier in the Crimea (in through his chest and out through his thigh) but I'm reasonably certain he wasn't even in that campaign. And according to the reminiscences of family who remembered him in his old age he didn't walk with a limp or show any disability at all.

[MaxD]

Generally 14 with some exceptions to 12 or 13. 

I leave the haystack to you!

MaxD

[Ranolki]

Thank you! If we ever get to the bottom of it I will report back. I don't hold out all that much hope but we'll give it a good try. We're attacking it from two angles, me in the UK and another descendant in Australia...