Hello Stuart, By now I am sure you know that Meerut was famous as the seat of the Sepoy Rebellion against the East India Company in 1857. I visited there briefly but do not know much since I lived mostly in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. I know more of southern India since my children attended a boarding school in Tamil Nadu. The Raj era is fascinating and I hope that as you dig into that rich history that you find a helpful overview and maybe clues about Sgt. Punchard. Were regiments stationed at Shornclife Camp rotating in and out of India at the time? I realize that he is not a direct ancestor but I think most of us get off on these side roads which help fill out the life of our main interest. I cannot begin to count my tangents and they are all worthwhile for many reasons. I don't know much about records of the British Regular and Colonial Armies in India, but at one time I did find confirmation of my father's cousin in India. (Colonial army or civil servant in Lahore in the 1920's) I do not think it is anything more then stumbling on an odd reference rather than an official source. As a probably irrelevant note, my gg grandfather was the librarian for the East India Company in the 1840's and 50's (Offices in London) which got me wondering what kind of records were kept as the British fortunes in India shifted through the years until the1920's and where are these records kept. I suspect you might find all this on Cindi's Lists. :-) Good luck. Nancy Daryl Rickards wrote: > Hi Stuart, > > If you Google - Shorncliffe Camp - there is much information which may be > able to help > > Daryl from Oz > > -----Original Message----- > From: kent-eng-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:kent-eng-bounces@rootsweb.com] > On Behalf Of Stuart Hammond > Sent: Friday, 9 August 2013 6:36 PM > To: kent-eng-l@rootsweb.com > Subject: [KENT-ENG] Kent List - Life changing Visits, Holidays or excursions > our ancestors took > > Hi All, > > I note that it has been strangely quiet on the Kent List, so to promote a > few postings, I am going to suggest that you might post about a visit, > holiday or excursion which an ancestor made, which in some way changed the > course of the family history. > > To start this off : My grandmother, Elizabeth HODGES (born 9th March 1894 > Sellindge, Hythe, Kent), went into domestic service in Surrey in 1911 and at > sometime around 1918/19 met a young soldier Edward James PUNCHARD (born > about 1889 from Norfolk), who at that time was a Corporal in the Machine Gun > Corps based at Shorncliffe. They married on 13th January 1920 at Elham > Registry Office and when he was posted to India, Elizabeth went with him, > along with their son James born on 17th November 1920. > > Initially things went well and Edward was promoted to become a Farrier > Sergeant stationed in Meerut, India but unfortunately whilst there, the > relationship between Elizabeth and Edward broke down, perhaps through his > drinking, and she left him. Shortly afterwards in 1922, he died possibly at > his own hand. Elizabeth stayed on in India for a short time, returning to > England, where she met and married at the Wesleyan Methodist Church on 5th > April 1926, my granddad, Henry Sisley BIRCH (born 29th April 1897) who at > that time lived at Gibbons Brook, Sellindge. > > Many years later my grandmother wrote a moving account of her time in India, > though never discussed the death of her first husband. > > Had she not gone to India, I would never have been born, since my mother > Kathleen Ruth BIRCH was born from the second marriage on 12th January 1927 > at Grange Cottage, Sellindge, Kent. > > So my questions that arise out of this are : > > Can anyone tell me anything about Shorncliffe Camp? > What was it like to be in India in the 1920s? > In the 1911 census my grandmother was working as a general servant in a > girls school Drumgowan, Alexandra School, Surrey. This seems quite a > distance from the family who were based in 2 Oak Cottage, Sellindge, Kent. > Can anyone suggest why? > > > All the best > > D. Stuart Hammond > Kent List Administrator > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > KENT-ENG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to KENT-ENG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > >