Helen Speedy was born in 1801 from a Perthshire family, and is an ancestor of New Zealand relatives; she was an early settler, going out with her husband David Speedy in 1841. Family information tells us that Helen's father was Captain Speedy, who served in the Commissariat in the Peninsular war. I have located him in the Army Lists. 1800 as Quartermaster in the 17th Regiment of Foot (Leicestershire), from 3 Aug 1797. 1804 as James Speedy, Ensign in the 17th Regt of Foot, from 21 Mar 1800. 1805, Ensign in the 10th (North Lincolnshire) Regt of Foot, from 14 May 1804. 1810, Captain in the 10th Regt of Foot, from 14 Feb 1805, and Adjutant. 1811, Lieutenant in the 10th, from 15 Feb 1805, and Adjutant from 29 Dec 1808. Searching for information about quartermasters, I found http://www.georgianindex.net/peninsularWar/troopOrganization.html which says: "The quartermaster corp, or supply personnel were not part of an army and were not directly answerable to the General in charge of an army. Their chain of command followed a chain-of-command back to the Secretary of war and the British Government bypassing the commanding general." Another web page told me that quartermasters had honorary officer ranks, but were not commissioned officers. And another says their reporting went back to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Can anyone confirm this. Does it mean Captain Speedy was employed by the Treasury, rather than the War Office? If so, where I might find details of James Speedy's career, and maybe a pension. I thought an Adjutant was more concerned with personnel, and a Quartermaster with supplies - might the functions be combined? regards, David Hawgood.

In message of 11 May, David Hawgood <david@hawgood.com> wrote: > Helen Speedy was born in 1801 from a Perthshire family, and is an ancestor > of New Zealand relatives; she was an early settler, going out with her > husband David Speedy in 1841. Family information tells us that Helen's > father was Captain Speedy, who served in the Commissariat in the Peninsular > war. I have located him in the Army Lists. 1800 as Quartermaster in the > 17th Regiment of Foot (Leicestershire), from 3 Aug 1797. 1804 as James > Speedy, Ensign in the 17th Regt of Foot, from 21 Mar 1800. 1805, Ensign in > the 10th (North Lincolnshire) Regt of Foot, from 14 May 1804. 1810, Captain > in the 10th Regt of Foot, from 14 Feb 1805, and Adjutant. 1811, Lieutenant > in the 10th, from 15 Feb 1805, and Adjutant from 29 Dec 1808. > > Searching for information about quartermasters, I found > http://www.georgianindex.net/peninsularWar/troopOrganization.html which > says: "The quartermaster corp, or supply personnel were not part of an army > and were not directly answerable to the General in charge of an army. Their > chain of command followed a chain-of-command back to the Secretary of war > and the British Government bypassing the commanding general." Another web > page told me that quartermasters had honorary officer ranks, but were not > commissioned officers. And another says their reporting went back to the > Chancellor of the Exchequer. A distant relation of mine who ended up as a general and died after 1840 also left behind him a set of standing orders, detailing the duties of various people. We still have this book. And yes, it includes some duties of quartermasters. Finally, many years ago I transcribed it and put it on my site: http://www.southfarm.plus.com/Manuscripts/Military.html Apologies for the odd typo. -- Tim Powys-Lybbe                                          tim@powys.org              For a miscellany of bygones: http://powys.org

I asked a question about quartermasters and adjutants in the British Army in the Peninsular war. By looking more at the Army List, and with help from Nick Newington-Irving on available material in the SoG library, I have resolved most of my queries and can now go to Kew to look up regimental records. I though Captain Speedy might have been combining Quartermaster and Adjutant roles, but all the time he was listed in the 10th Regiment of Foot 1805-1811 there were two quartermasters and two adjutants, and for a time he is a lieutenant with neither of those functions (in fact he is never listed as a Captain - that rank comes from family information). Also, J Soc Historical Research vol 23 no 96 Winter 1945 has an article on The Quartermaster Generals Dept in the Peninsula 1809-1814 by S G P Ward, with a staff list, and Speedy is not included. And I found that the Commissariat officers are in the Army List, and looking after 1811 he does not appear. regards, David Hawgood.