Although I have been working on my Family History for many years, I am completely new to British military searches. I know that the ancestor I am currently working on served in the British army long before the Boer War, but I hope that someone on this list might be able to start me in the right direction. My ancestor, Thomas NICHOLLS, was living in Birmingham for the 1851 census. He was listed as a "pensioner." His children were born at several different places. 1st child was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1833. 2nd child was born in Birmingham in 1834. 3rd child was born in Birmingham in 1836. 4th child was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire in 1838. 5th child was born in Dover Barracks, Kent in 1840. 6th child's birthplace is unknown (1842). 7th child's birthplace is unknown (1843). 8th child was born in Chatham, Kent in 1845. 9th child was born in Birmingham in 1847. Finally, Thomas was listed as a pensioner in 1851. It is my understanding that (usually) a soldier was entitled to a pension only if he had suffered a disabling injury or was an invalid. My question is the following: With a pattern of movement like the one I have described, how can I find what regiment(s) would have been in the locations where my ancestor was living during the years when his children were born? Are there any locations online where I might find specific locations and times where a regiment might have been. I live in the U.S. Any help you might be able to give me would be much appreciated. This is all new to me. Gordon Booth, -- Gordon D. Booth, [email protected] on 2003-02-23

Hello Gordon, Without knowing his unit your best bet is to try to find his attestation and service papers in series WO 97 at the Public Record Office (PRO) in London. I'm not very familiar with the period you're looking for but I think the survival rate for papers is higher than for the Boer War period. Being in the U.S. you would need to hire a researcher to to do this for you. I believe that the existence of individual discharge papers issued prior to 1854 are checkable on line at www.catalogue.pro.gov.uk and that copies can be ordered direct from the PRO. However, I have never tried to access these myself. Regards, David ----- Original Message ----- From: Gordon D. Booth <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2003 1:12 PM Subject: [BOER-WAR] On Finding a Regiment > Although I have been working on my Family History for many years, I > am completely new to British military searches. I know that the > ancestor I am currently working on served in the British army long > before the Boer War, but I hope that someone on this list might be > able to start me in the right direction. > > My ancestor, Thomas NICHOLLS, was living in Birmingham for the 1851 > census. He was listed as a "pensioner." His children were born at > several different places. > > 1st child was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1833. > 2nd child was born in Birmingham in 1834. > 3rd child was born in Birmingham in 1836. > 4th child was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire in 1838. > 5th child was born in Dover Barracks, Kent in 1840. > 6th child's birthplace is unknown (1842). > 7th child's birthplace is unknown (1843). > 8th child was born in Chatham, Kent in 1845. > 9th child was born in Birmingham in 1847. > > Finally, Thomas was listed as a pensioner in 1851. It is my > understanding that (usually) a soldier was entitled to a pension only > if he had suffered a disabling injury or was an invalid. > > My question is the following: With a pattern of movement like the one > I have described, how can I find what regiment(s) would have been in > the locations where my ancestor was living during the years when his > children were born? > > Are there any locations online where I might find specific locations > and times where a regiment might have been. I live in the U.S. > > Any help you might be able to give me would be much appreciated. This > is all new to me. > > Gordon Booth, > -- > Gordon D. Booth, [email protected] on 2003-02-23