Dear Listers There is an excellent and very readable book on this subject. Folowing the Drum, by Annabel Venning Regards, Peter in Armidale, NSW ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nivard Ovington" <[email protected]> To: "Leslea Linnett" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011 8:37 AM Subject: Re: [SXP] Family of soldiers > Hi Leslea > > I have found in my reading of the subject that Regiments had a quota > system of sorts for taking > women abroad, so many per company of men, they were virtually all soldiers > wives as far as I can > tell > > There was no single rule and it varied by Regiment but about 6 women per > Company > > It was a cruel system, they would go down to the quay and draw lots on the > day, those who won went, > the others didn't simple as that (or was it those that lost went :-) > > If they went they would be mentioned in some form if only in the pay, I > can't recall if they were > paid or the men got more but think the men got extra rations for them , > they were more or less > domestic servants to the men while abroad > > I haven't come across any documents that name women that went with them > but thats not to say they > don't exist > > I gather the Regimental orders mention how many went but don't know if > they were named or not > > It must have been a bleak existance at times > > However I do know that many women went under their own steam and so would > not be mentioned, neither > would they get rations > > Any surviving records would be at Kew I believe > > Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) > > > > >> I have a Samuel Verrall born 1787 in Ninfield Sussex, who was a Chelsea >> Pensioner, 1st Battn 5th Regiment Or Foot. He died in Hailsham in 1855. >> From >> what I can gather he lost his arm in 1814. >> If his name was drawn from a ballot to allow him to take family on >> service, >> are there records of who they were or on a particular campaign? There is >> a >> story that 2 sisters went to France. >> >> Can anyone suggest where the documents might be if they exist please. I >> have the 2 pages of his service from Findmypast. >> >> With thanks >> Leslea LINNETT (Verrall) >> Toowoomba. Queensland > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >