Hi, CM will be Court Martial. My guess would be that he spent time in gaol for 'Absence without leave' and/or drunkenness. I have an ancestor who served in the army and he was forever in and out of military gaols, and lost pay in doing so. He only calmed down and behaved well once he got married, and then left with a good service record. At one point he was reduced to the ranks, from Lance Corporal, for hitting another soldier! I bet there's a story there! Stephanie

aha! thanks. I'm going to pursue this. we'd another forebear [well forebear's brother to be precise] who managed to get himself into trouble and then transported; his records - precognition papers - were a fantastic source of info - a great glimpse into the family in the 1820s. His actual court papers have come to light so next visit to Edinburgh I'll get a look at them. It's great to find someone in the family who has rocked the boat. They leave a paper trail :-) However, i've not so far tracked down suchlike papers in south England. it's new territory for me as far as that kind of research is concerned. thanks for your time and trouble le durachd fionnghal > CM will be Court Martial. > My guess would be that he spent time in gaol for 'Absence > without leave' and/or drunkenness.

I do wish someone would change the subject line of this thread, 4 Portsmouth goals on Saturday was bad enough for some of us ;-) Jon Baker -----Original Message----- le durachd fionnghal