Three Fountain brothers, born 1839, 1840 and 1841 in West Barkwith, joined the Royal Marines at Woolwich, Kent in 1860. The eldest, William, was invalided out in 1876, the middle one, George, was invalided out in 1866 and the youngest, Thomas, died in Deal Barracks in 1871 of haematuria (blood in the urine) but the cause of this was not given on his death certificate. I have copies of the attestation papers for William and Thomas. They show that William had a big drink problem and he was discharged as suffering from imbecility. There is nothing in the paperwork about injury or illness. I did not get George's paperwork but I know he married, became a policeman and, I believe, emigrated to Canandaigua, New York with his wife and adult son. So, I think he cannot have been a long term invalid. I am wondering how three young brothers could be either invalids or dead within such a short time. Does anybody know if there were conflicts they could have been injured in during the period between 1860 and 1876? I suppose William's mental problems could have come from a head injury. He received a naval pension according to the 1911 census, so his imbecility is not likely to be alcoholic. I would appreciate any thoughts, as I have tried to Google wars etc without success. With kind regards, Shay

Well, any of us who've been in the service, even in peacetime, can tell you it isn't the safest occupation!  Of course, I was in combat in a "conflict" which the politicians refused to call a war, and I've seen men sent home for alcohol or drug abuse.  I don't know if they thought they were doing him a favor by listing a cause for discharge that wasn't "drunk". My grandfather was in the Royal Army before the Great War and was kicked in the testicles by a  horse.  They discharged him as an invalid, but he went home to marry and have four children.  He was able to re-inlist during the war, probably because they were in need of experienced soldiers.     Lou ________________________________ From: themindlady <themindlady@gmail.com> To: ENG-LINCSGEN@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 12:51 AM Subject: [LIN] Lincolnshire Royal Marines Three Fountain brothers, born 1839, 1840 and 1841 in West Barkwith, joined the Royal Marines at Woolwich, Kent in 1860. The eldest, William, was invalided out in 1876, the middle one, George, was invalided out in 1866 and the youngest, Thomas, died in Deal Barracks in 1871 of haematuria (blood in the urine) but the cause of this was not given on his death certificate. I have copies of the attestation papers for William and Thomas. They show that William had a big drink problem and he was discharged as suffering from imbecility. There is nothing in the paperwork about injury or illness.  I did not get George's paperwork but I know he married, became a policeman and, I believe, emigrated to Canandaigua, New York with his wife and adult son. So, I think he cannot have been a long term invalid. I am wondering how three young brothers could be either invalids or dead within such a short time. Does anybody know if there were conflicts they could have been injured in during the period between 1860 and 1876? I suppose William's mental problems could have come from a head injury. He received a naval pension according to the 1911 census, so his imbecility is not likely to be alcoholic. I would appreciate any thoughts, as I have tried to Google wars etc without success. With kind regards, Shay ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-LINCSGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

George Joined Manchester police 07/07/1870 and had been in the royal marines for 7 yrs 9 months if that is of any help Bev -----Original Message----- From: eng-lincsgen-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:eng-lincsgen-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of themindlady Sent: 20 March 2012 07:52 To: ENG-LINCSGEN@rootsweb.com Subject: [LIN] Lincolnshire Royal Marines Three Fountain brothers, born 1839, 1840 and 1841 in West Barkwith, joined the Royal Marines at Woolwich, Kent in 1860. The eldest, William, was invalided out in 1876, the middle one, George, was invalided out in 1866 and the youngest, Thomas, died in Deal Barracks in 1871 of haematuria (blood in the urine) but the cause of this was not given on his death certificate. I have copies of the attestation papers for William and Thomas. They show that William had a big drink problem and he was discharged as suffering from imbecility. There is nothing in the paperwork about injury or illness. I did not get George's paperwork but I know he married, became a policeman and, I believe, emigrated to Canandaigua, New York with his wife and adult son. So, I think he cannot have been a long term invalid. I am wondering how three young brothers could be either invalids or dead within such a short time. Does anybody know if there were conflicts they could have been injured in during the period between 1860 and 1876? I suppose William's mental problems could have come from a head injury. He received a naval pension according to the 1911 census, so his imbecility is not likely to be alcoholic. I would appreciate any thoughts, as I have tried to Google wars etc without success. With kind regards, Shay ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-LINCSGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message