Dear Suzannah Thanks for all this information! I think I have found George in the 1851 Census, at the Royal Marines Barracks in Chatham, along with his wife and baby son Charles (who I assume died in infancy, as I can find no trace of him later on). There was also a niece - Emma Thompson aged 3, born in Gillingham. The image is pretty grubby though! I have found John Redwood Wright and his wife Jane (Terry), who were, I believe, George's parents. John was born in Littlebourne. I think his parents were Thomas Redwood Wright (b 1760) and Sarah Sandwell and I believe (although I would need to prove this line) that Thomas Redwood Wright's parents were Thomas Wright (b 1735) and Thomazine Skinner. Thomazine's parents were Noble Skinner and Margaret Redwood and I think that this is when the Redwood name came into the Wright family and was used down the years. All of these families were from Thanet. I think that George may have had a drink (and possibly gambling) problem as my mother remembers her grandmother Maria (George's daughter) being very anti-drink and gambling - if that landed them in the workhouse, then I could possibly understand her antipathy. However, I guess that George may just have been discharged from the Royal Marines with no pension to fall back on - does anyone know if there is some way that I could find out how long they were in the workhouse for? Maria married Frederick Tom Porter and I have his navy service record, showing all the ships that he served in - he entered as a boy sailor and had a long career in the Navy. Before he (finally) retired, he was in the Coastguard Service and I have his Good Conduct Medal - seems I have become the custodian of the family history! I am intrigued by Emma, though. I wonder where she met Samuel? He was a Rotherhithe boy and when I've looked him up in the various census returns, he was living with his widowed sister (Harriet Pentreath) the last record was in 1871 when her was living with her in Stratford Le Bow - he married Emma after his sister's death. Thanks for the help, kind regards, Pam.