Liz Do you have any information about Walter after his possible appearance in the 1881 census as a soldier at Horfield Barracks? I have been looking at one or two military websites, and if he was a member of The Gloucestershire Regiment, it is quite likely that he was serving overseas at the time of the 1891 and 1901 censuses. You can check information about The Gloucestershire Regiment at http://regiments.org/milhist/uk/inf/028Glos.htm My understanding is that the Regiment was in two batallions. The 1st Batallion was in Ireland in 1891 and in Ceylon in 1901. The 2nd Batallion was in India in 1891 and in South Africa in 1901. Some members of the Regiment served on St Helena, where they guarded prisoners from the Boer War. I have a gt-gt-uncle - Stephen Jospeh Lawrence - who is missing after 1881, when he was 13 years old. However, there is an S.J.Lawrence listed on a memorial in Sherborne Abbey to members of the Dorset, and this is a line of enquiry I hope to follow up. If Walter was a soldier, and died on service, you would have a lot of work to do to sort it out. Bob Lawrence ************************************** R.P.& A.L.Lawrence The Hazels, Sheepwood Road, Bristol, BS10 7BS, U.K. Phone: 0117 9504314 **************************************