Grenadier Guards 1860s ish?

[sundog1023]

Hi all! This is my first post ever so please forgive me if this is not the right place to post!
How do I find out if my relative was a member of the Grenadier Guards around 1860-65? The family story is the he was a member and was sent to Canada (mid 1860s) to help with the Fenian Raids in the Fort Erie, Ontario area. He has then been rumoured to have paid his way out of the army and stayed in Canada. I am Canadian and live very near where some of the Fenian Raids took place. I have been researching our tree for years and this is the first I heard of this relative being in the British Army. My cousin would love to know about this man who would be his 3x great grandfather. Thank you all so much!

[Andy J2022]

If he was in the Grenadier Guards you have a better chance of finding his record than if he was in a line infantry regiment. This because when a soldier completed less than his commitment (in the middle of the nineteenth century this would have been for 12 years) and he wasn't seriously injured,  he didn't qualify for a pension, so his record would have been destroyed at some point after he had left the service. However the Brigade of Guards (which included the Grenadiers) maintained their own records and these were generally preserved. Not all records have survived, but a much larger proportion still exist than is the case for the rest of the Army.
If you have a subscription to FindMyPast, I would start there, using their Grenadier Guards 1656 - 1874 collection. If you don't, try searching in WO 437 via the [UK] National Archives website: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C17859050
I'm not sure if Ancestry also have this record set. 

[sundog1023]

Andy J2022,
 Thank you very much for the tip! I will search the National Archives as I do not have a Find My Past account. I have searched in Ancestry but to no avail. Thanks again!

[ShaunJ]

If you can give us his name (and if possible birth year and birthplace) we can see what we can find.

[sundog1023]

Ok wow! And thanks!
His name was William Hooper. Born in Somerset, Uk in either 1839 or 1840
This is a fabulous forum!

[ShaunJ]

In the 1861 worldwide British Army index, there's a Wm Hooper in 1st Foot Guards (the Grenadier Guards), number 1135. Can't see any other surviving service records for him.

[sundog1023]

Thank you very much for checking!