Military matters / India.....

[tishgibbons]

Hi,

I've just received a birth certificate I ordered from the Service Departments Register for a William George Leys. It states that his father (William Leys originally from Crathie) was a Sergeant with K Battery, 4th Brigade R.A. and the military station was Meerut. The father's headstone says he was a Naval Volunteer and his daughter's birth certificate says he was a Sergeant Instructor.

I know nothing of military matters and even less about India but if I wasn't so challenged (!) what might all of this tell me?

Tish

[DavidWW]

Hi,

I've just received a birth certificate I ordered from the Service Departments Register for a William George Leys. It states that his father (William Leys originally from Crathie) was a Sergeant with K Battery, 4th Brigade R.A. and the military station was Meerut. The father's headstone says he was a Naval Volunteer and his daughter's birth certificate says he was a Sergeant Instructor.

I know nothing of military matters and even less about India but if I wasn't so challenged (!) what might all of this tell me?

Tish

RA = Royal Artillery, or more correctly, if I've got my dates correct, the Royal Regiment of Artillery, which was formed in 1924 from the amalgamation of the Royal Horse & Royal Field Artillery and the Royal Garrison Artillery. (Although either of these two latter might be incorrectly referred to as the Royal Artillery).

The RRA was divided into a number of batteries, in this case your ancestor at that time was serving with K Battery, 4th Brigade at Meerut, about 30 miles NE of Delhi. He may well have served elsewhere as well.
(4th Brigade could mean the brigade to which K battery was attached, or the 4th Brigade of the RA.)

Cuould he served in one and then the other?, e.g. regular service with the RRA, followed by volunteer war service in the navy, his age having meant that the RRA didn't want him?

David

[tishgibbons]

David,

thanks for that - it's exactly the kind of information I just don't have a clue about. As to his service, I don't know where to look. He was at home with his parents in the 1881 census. I thought it strange that although 20 years of age, he is marked as a farmer's son. I had expected that he would hve had some kind of occupation by then, labourer, shepherd or whatever. I was wondeering if there wasn't something wrong with him but obviously not if he was a Sergeant Instructor a few years later. His parents' headstone says he was a Naval Volunteer but as I have not found a death certificate, I cannot verify that.

Any way, thanks again for your help - invaluable as usual!

Tish

[DavidWW]

David,

thanks for that - it's exactly the kind of information I just don't have a clue about. As to his service, I don't know where to look. He was at home with his parents in the 1881 census. I thought it strange that although 20 years of age, he is marked as a farmer's son. I had expected that he would have had some kind of occupation by then, labourer, shepherd or whatever. I was wondeering if there wasn't something wrong with him but obviously not if he was a Sergeant Instructor a few years later. His parents' headstone says he was a Naval Volunteer but as I have not found a death certificate, I cannot verify that.

Any way, thanks again for your help - invaluable as usual!

Tish

Tish

The plot thickens

My money would be on regular service with the Royal Horse Artillery or Royal Field Artillery in the early/mid/late 1880s/1890s with some time spent in India, followed by naval service in WW1. Research at Kew would soon solve the situation, as long as wasn't with the Indian Army, - no, that wasn't the case as K Battery was a British Army unit.

David

[tishgibbons]

Thanks David,

I'll add it to my list for Kew. Hoping to be in London sometime in November - mind you - living in either London or Edinburgh would make life a lot simpler!

Thanks

Tish