RootsChat.Com

So, any suggeston of a strategy for identifying 16 - 18 year old drummers joining the Royal Engineers and who got their photo taken in Bedford appreciated 'cos I can't see one.
Jon

You needed to look up the Territorial Force register of RE units, where you would have found three for Bedford.  All three were in one of the 14 regionally based TF Divisions, in this case the “East Anglian Division”.  The HQ of the 1st Field Company, was one.  The 2nd Field Company in full was also there as the second, plus they had an additional drill station at Luton.  The third was HQ Number 1 Section of the Divisional Signals Company.  All units in Bedford were in the drill hall in Ashburnham Road.  As a drummer your subject could only have been with the Field Company.

You could try contacting Peter directly, he is very helpful even if very slow with his book!  If there's a PM system on this site I'll send it to you there.

P.S.  I've tried but for some reason you're not able to receive PMs?

Many thanks both of you for your help.  I am resting this at the brick wall for now - I seem to be looking for a female birth in Scotland and possibly a sibling in Ireland, neither of which I can find.  I am looking for a marriage - which I think will probably be in Ireland 1805-1810, but find nothing.  If only Mary had lived a few months longer to the 1851 census, I may have had answers.  Just one more question, it occurs to me that Mary and Joseph could have been married by a Military Pastor, or similar - do you know if this is possible and if so are there any records anywhere?
Kath

Yes it’s conceivable that the marriage took place under the auspices of a military ‘chaplain’ (later often called ‘padre’ because of the time spent by Wellington’s armies in Spain and Portugal). If in barracks or cantonment (India) there were records kept.  The former often survive if in Ireland and quite a number have done so in India too.  Each garrison or regimental depot usually had its own church.

From several Registers of 7th Dragoon Guards both Joseph Lambert and Robert Dillon we’re in the same Troop E.  There was only 2 years age difference, although Joseph lost 3 years after discharge - according to census.  Mary had a baby in 1810, so I imagine she was only about 16 yrs old.  Of course Robert could be a brother!

I think that the sibling theory is very likely, Kath.  Perhaps Robert’s father had been in the Army too and if Mary was indeed related then she’d have been raised in barracks and well used to the life.  There was a great deal of family connectivity in the Army.