John Below is some material I put together in the late 1980's:- The Royal New South Wales Veteran Company of 1825-1832 was the third such unit to be raised for service in "New South Wales". From the article The Royal Veterans in Australia by R. H. Montague, Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, December 1982, Vol. 68 Pt 3, pp 238-246 it provides the following information on the establishment of the first Veteran Company but does not mention the second time it was established. "The first Veteran Company was established in 1810 when Lachlan Macquarie arrived he quickly turned his attention to matters of defence. The 73rd Regiment, which had sailed with him from England, was greatly under strength and Macquarie hoped that its numbers might be augmented by volunteers from the out-going regiment, the 102nd, formerly the notorious New South Wales Corps. The age limit for transfer into the 73rd was thirty-five and the Governor was well aware that the vast majority of 102nd men were past that age. The solution was to form the older men into an Invalid or Veteran company and the British government readily agreed, especially when it could see a saving in expenditure. A dispatch from Governor Macquarie was worded in the following terms: 'A great number of Old soldiers of the 102nd who had served long in the Country wishing to remain in it on Account of Connexions they have formed with Convict Women, and by whom they have had Children. I have taken the Responsibility upon Myself of forming them into an Invalid or Veteran Company for the Service of the Colony, until His Majesty's Pleasure shall be known: and I trust Your Lordship will be pleased to move the King to be graciously pleased to sanction and approve of the Measure. I have made the Establishment of the Invalid Company One Hundred Rank and File with the usual Proportion of Serjeants and Drummers, to be under the Command and Charge of an Officer of the 73rd Regiment until I shall receive orders from home respecting it. Independent of gratifying these poor Old Soldiers in permitting them to remain with their Families, and in a Country they are much attached to, the Measure will be a very Considerable Saving to the Crown as from their great Length of Service, most of them having served between twenty and thirty Years, they would be entitled to very high Pensions on their arrival at home and being discharged for very few of them would be found fit for Service in a Cold Climate.' "Approval was given on the condition that the Veteran Company was to be attached to the 73rd Regiment or any other regiment which might be doing duty in the Colony. The War Office decreed also that it should be dressed in the same manner as the 73rd except that the dark green collars and cuffs would be replaced by those made of dark blue cloth which distinguishes a Royal Corps." Ron Montague does not say when this company was disbanded, except to say that in 1817 Governor Macquarie urged the War Office to disband the Company because the men were 'generally quite worn out through Long Service, age or infirmities'. But no action was taken. In 1822 Governor Brisbane made a similar appeal but once again no response from London. From this article it is unclear when this first Veterans Company was disbanded. There is no mention of a second Veteran unit being established in the 1820's. It would appear that recruiting for the third Veterans unit for service in New South Wales began in September 1825 (see section 2 (B) below). From the Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP), part 4, War Office, p 17 it provides the following:- "reel no. 417 piece no. 11228 1810-1818 Veteran Company, New South Wales reel no. 418 piece no. 11229 1819-1823 Veteran company, New South Wales reel no. 3917 piece no. 11230 June 1826-June 1832 New South Wales Royal Veterans" This would indicate three different units and the duration of each. However, Ron Montague is of the view that there was only two units established. My GUESS is that you have two people. As you said he arrived as a convict in 1830 and the last Veteran's Company was disbanded in 1832 so even if he had been soldier in England (he would seem to be too young being 27 years old in 1830 to have severed). To be an member of the Veterans Company you had to serve in the British Army. You can see the First Company Muster Roll - which was stationed in Sydney - while the 2nd Company seemed to have served in in the Hunter area but I never found any Muster Rolls for it or the 3rd Company which served in Tasmania. I have not researched Convict records - which I understand are quite good - but you may like to get some advice from your local History Society members. Mike Boyd Brisbane ----- Original Message ----- From: "E.J. Langford" <ejl@centralonline.com.au> To: <AUS-MILITARY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, April 02, 2006 5:42 PM Subject: {Spam?} Re: [AUS-MIL] Veterans Corps > Listers please, > > I need a bit of advice. > > I've found a reference from National Archives Kew that James Ware served > in NSW Veterans Corps "in the generic date range 1760 - 1854". > WO97/1173/239. > > He was one of my ancestors, a convict who arrived Feb 1830 aged about 27 > with sentence of 14 years. He spent most, if not all, of his time in the > Hunter Valley. > > 1. Is it possible the reference is to the same person? > 2. What was the Veterans Corps? > 3. What were the eligibilty criteria for recruits, specially as regards to > age and convict background and prior service? > 4. If it is the same person, how do I find which unit and more a precise > and correct date of service? > 5. Would there have been a unit or detachment in the upper Hunter valley? > > Information gladly accepted, > John > > > > ==== AUS-MILITARY Mailing List ==== > Anzac Research > http://anzacresearch.tripod.com/index.htm >