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Hi Janey,

For goodness sake! There's you, working your proverbials off - and me, not realising there was a 2nd page! DOH!

I go to football matches and bellow out insults to the referee, like 'Nah then Ref - Ar thy eyes bloody painted on?' (you have to imagine my wonderful Yorkshire accent!).

I do apologise for missing all of that stuff you've entered! As you rightly say - Q.E.D.!

Thank you ever so much for all your trouble - I owe you a large beer, dear! (By your 'monicker', I'm guessing your in Canada / Canadian?) so you may have a long wait!).

Anyway, Thanks again love!

Best Wishes

Graham

PS

You're right on the 1871 family - Eliza Crooks (nee Abbott) and 2 of her brothers (?) living with them, by the looks.

Hi Somerset Girl / Astra / Janey

Oh Wow!

Look at Benjamin Crook (born circa 1791)'s occupation in the 1851 census ..................

Laborer (Chelsea Pensioner) !!!!!

Ha! Ha! This is very nearly a deja-vu moment - remember the original thread?

Now then ..................... can any of you wonderful women find out about this Benjamin's Army career?

Thanks in advance!

Much Love

Graham

Hi Somerset Girl,

Has to be him!

You're an Angel!

Many, many thanks!

Graham
xxxxx

OH MY GOD!

He might've fought with Wellington at WATERLOO !!!!!

2nd Battalion
In 1809 the 2nd/73rd Foot was raised in Nottingham from local militia companies. It remained in England until 1813 when it was shipped to Sweden , Germany and The Netherlands for a series of minor actions.

In 1814 the battalion found itself in Flanders and in 1815 part of Wellington's Army in Belgium . The regiment was in Major-General Halkett's Brigade in Lieut.General Sir Charles Alten's 3rd Division. The 2nd/73rd Foot fought in the Battle of Quatre Bras two days before Waterloo. They lost 53 men killed and wounded. At the Battle of Waterloo itself, the regiment was charged by French Cavalry no less than 11 times during the battle and bombarded by French artillery. It remained in square without breaking. The 2nd/73rd lost 6 officers and 225 men killed and wounded, the second heaviest casualties suffered by a line infantry regiment, after the 1st 27th (Inniskillings) which lost 450 out of 700 men in holding their square and Wellington's line. After Waterloo the battalion was part of the Army of Occupation in Paris before moving back to England. The 2nd Battalion disbanded in 1817 sending 300 men to the 1st Battalion in Trincomalee .

Hi Somerset Girl

See above post !!!

No love - I think that description and service relates to my original erroneous Benjamin.

Well DUH! (Sorry!).

Oh Damn! So he wasn't at Waterloo then.

Odd that he would enlist at Portsmouth around 200 miles away - rather than In Nottingham, about 30 miles away?

PS

Ironic that both (?) were in the Cutlery trade - I'm guessing the 'Grinder' would probably work in Cutlery which Sheffield is World famous for.

PPS

And both in West Indies!

If I can butt in and create work -- the image is at FMP, SomersetGirl?

I don't subscribe, but I found my grx3 grfather's Chelsea Pensioner record there just last mnth, and got one of my buddies here at GR to save the image and send it to me by email. I'll bet that if Graham PMs you his email address, you'll do the same for him. ;)

Mine was born 1796 so too young for Waterloo. He enlisted on Christmas Eve 1814 at the age of 17 -- imagine what must have driven someone to that. And was discharged in Grenada a little more than 7 years later, suffering from intermittent fever and visceral disease.

Maybe they knew each other. ;)

Hi Janey / Somerset Girl,

"Mine was born 1796 so too young for Waterloo. He enlisted on Christmas Eve 1814 at the age of 17 -- imagine what must have driven someone to that".

(He'd just discovered that there were no presents under the tree with his name on? - lol!)

Seriously, it would be fantastic to get a full copy of his record. (I'll send a cheekily optimistic PM to Somerset Girl with my e-mail addy!).

It would be nice to think that the two men may have known each other and maybe, endured the same hardships.

Many, Many thanks you two.

Graham
xxx

Hi Janey,

I've managed to confirm online that Benjamin served in New South Wales, Australia from 1810, before being shipped to Colombo, Ceylon in 1814 where he remained until 1821. Benjamin too was medically discharged in 1826 due to recurrent bouts of fever if exposed to damp conditions.

I guess that means it's doubtful that our 'relly's' knew each other 0:(

Graham -- I suspect the bigger problem was there was no tree. ;) It might also have been a matter of being given a little too much free drink, and drinking of it too freely, and waking up with a bad case of morning-after regrets, as I understand these things often happened. At least he did survive and had at least one child, my grx2 grmother. Now if I could only figure out whom he married ...

It is a bit of a surprise to discover what world travellers one's probably very impoverished ancestors were 200 years ago, isn't it?