Pte John HALL (929) 65th Regiment of Foot

[dannywh]

From information gleaned many years ago, my GGrandfather John HALL was born Ballinakil, Loughrea, Ireland c1843 and enlisted the 65th at Birr in 1861. He served until c1891 and died Leeds 1906. I believe that the above facts were gleaned from the Chelsea Pension records at the PRO (and the 1901 UK Census). Despite my personal efforts I have been unable to trace his records in WO97, although those of my Grandfather, John HALL (2449), are in existence.
The family have several individuals serving in the 65th since his time (JH929). I have found no trace of the Hall family in Ballinakill but circumstantial evidence indicates that there may have been earlier connections to the Regiment.
Is there sks who may have info on the 65th (muster rolls/troop ship info) who may be able to cast light on my elusive John HALL? I understand that WO97 is now available to search on FindMyPast but I have no access to that source, nor enough info to make it financially viable. I believe that his attestation records would provide me with sufficient information to "breakdown" this particular brickwall.   

[t mo]

hello dannywh
good job you saved your money 
i,ve looked in FindMyPast and although there are numerous john halls yours isn,t there as fr as i can see if the info you posted is correct ie the 65th of foot and ireland for a birth for starters there are no records at all for the 65th but to be safe i looked at those in 66th -69th - 60th and even 89th ! and nothing , hopefully someone else will be able to help you more with the reg.s movements , if you have any other names you want looking up  i don,t mind looking
trevor

[dannywh]

Hello Trevor,

Thank you so much for your speedy and informative reply.

The information regarding FindMyPast confirmed my worst fears. It is also somewhat puzzling as I physically "found" Grandfather John HALL's (2449) Attestation papers in WO97 some years ago, and before FindMyPast thought they were the best thing since sliced bread. That you were unable to find JH (929) I understand, but that JH(2449) is no longer there - strange. I have a photocopy of the former. One would have thought that if the file had been "misplaced", its existence would have been confirmed through the dilligent auspices of FindMyPast.

The information provided for JH (929) came from the PRO. I do not know the Reference source but it was a "huge ledger" in the Maps room(?) and gave information of the pension granted upon discharge, intended place of residence, actual entitlement for days served, etc. That entry is for John HALL (929) although I have no photocopy.

FindMyPast has two entries in the "free" lookup with "extra" info that may be an alternative lead. One is a John Hall born Ballinasloe c1843, and the other is a John Charles Hall who appears to have enlisted twice in the 65th. Would it be possible to have a closer look at those two to see if they might be JH(929)?

Regards
Danny

 

[t mo]

hi danny
had a look but like i said no j halls for the 65th , but what i didn,t realise cos i con,t read all the bumph below the form to fill in for a search until now is that there are still records dated from 1806 -1915 to be put online but not till sep this year they are in wo96 and amount to 500,000 records with 3.5million images so they may well be in that lot so it means a long wait i,m afraid .
i can,t find where those records are that you asked for a special look up as they dont show in my list the only john charles hall showing is for the york and lancs  reg 1900-1913.
i,m totally confused now 
trevor

[dannywh]

Thanks again Trevor.

Yes, its doing my head in as well!

The 65th became the 1st Batallion Yorks and Lancs Regiment with the Caldwell reform of 1881. Likewise, the 84th became the 2nd Batallion Yorks and Lancs. So John Charles Hall is of interest.

My point with FindMyPast is that they had the chance to re-index the documents at the time of photocopying. The front page gives so much information (name/regiment/service number/enlistment date and place, etc) which could have been recorded during the physical photocopy session. As this "exercise" was/is carried out by non genealogists, or even incompetent administrators, the advantage to us the end user is negligible.

Anyway, I really appreciate your attempts to help here. I guess its wait for  the next batch as you say - but I don't think I'll be holding my breath