British Regiment Service 1804-1828

[gramsearch4family]

My 4th ggf, George Jam?son was born in 1782 in/near Dromore, Down. He enlisted in 1804 as a private in Kells, Westmeath and his final discharge was on the Isle of Jersey in 1828 as a color sergeant (NCO). In between these dates he served in several different units:
97th 4 June 1804 - 23 December 1818 (part of time in Freshford, Kilkenny, achieved rank of sergeant, discharged Dublin)
Out pension 24 December 1818 - 24 November 1819
8th 25 November 1819 - 26 March 1821
Out pension 25 March 1821 - 31 October 1823
3rd 1 November 1823 - 24 October 1825
50th 25 October 1825 - 10 July 1828 (promoted to Color Sergeant in October 1825, discharged due to "long service and worn-out.")

Considering the loss of military records during WWII when the War Office was bombed, I feel fortunate to have found several official documents for his service, through using Fold3 and the National Archives at Kew. I've also consulted: National Army Museum Chelsea, London online collection; Stack, Wayne. Rebellion, Invasion and Occupation: A Military History of Ireland, 1793-1815; and The London Gazette.

I've been trying to fill in the details of his service but so far, have not had much luck in finding online sources of information. George's last regiment was the 50th. I did find Fyler's book, The History of the 50th Or (the Queen's Own) Regiment from the Earliest Date; Chapman and Hall, 1895. https://archive.org/details/historythorquee00fylegoog  It provides some interesting information but nothing specific about George.

Despite googling so much that Google thinks I'm a robot,  I still have questions. I hope that someone has some great sources that I can access online to help answer the following:

It appears from Fyler that he may have fought overseas. Did he see other combat? Was he wounded? Was he awarded any medals? Is there a War Memorial which has his name?

He was promoted to Color Sergeant on 25 October 1825. The regiment received its new colors in Weedon, Isle of Jersey in October 1827. Did he take part in the ceremony? If so, what was his function?

How much were his pensions? Were his 2 re-enlistments due to economic hardship as civilian?

Did his family accompany him on all tours of duty? I know that they were with him in Newry. George was given money to assist in transporting his wife, Elizabeth and their 3 children back to the Dromore area in 1821. I have seen a few references that families accompanied soldiers. What were the barracks like? What was family life like? Did woman give birth while living there? [I know that his daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1810 and his son George, was born in 1813, both in Dromore Parish;  but only guessing on his 3rd child]

Thanks to those who shared the abundance of Resources to check. Is there an easy way to see if they contain records for the above regiments? And, thanks for any leads you can provide!

Beth
George's profile on WikiTree https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Jamison-1231

[ShaunJ]

8th 25 November 1819 - 26 March 1821

It was the 8th Royal Veterans Battalion.

3rd 1 November 1823 - 24 October 1825

This was 3rd Royal Veterans Battalion.

[ShaunJ]

The regiment received its new colors in Weedon, Isle of Jersey in October 1827.

Something not quite right? Fyler and contemporary newspapers say this event took place in August 1827 at Portsmouth (Southsea).  Weedon barracks was in Northamptonshire.

[Andy J2022]

I still have questions. I hope that someone has some great sources that I can access online to help answer the following:

It appears from Fyler that he may have fought overseas. Did he see other combat? Was he wounded? Was he awarded any medals? Is there a War Memorial which has his name?

As he was on the 97th Regiment from 1804  - 1818 and the 1st battalion of the Regiment fought in the Peninsular war between 1808 and 1811, it seems pretty likely that he saw action there. He would probably have been entitled to the Military General Service Medal but as this not issued until 1848, he may have died before receiving it. None of his service records indicate that he was wounded. He would only have been recorded on a war memorial if he had died in battle (or of his wounds shortly afterwards) which obviously wasn't the case.

He was promoted to Color Sergeant on 25 October 1825. The regiment received its new colors in Weedon, Isle of Jersey in October 1827. Did he take part in the ceremony? If so, what was his function?

There was normally one colour sergeant in each company and he would have been the most senior non-commissioned officer in this company - roughly equivalent to a company sergeant major today. The ostensible role of a colour sergeant was to act as a guard or escort to the battalion's Colours in battle and on ceremonial occasions. The Colours would actually be carried  by a junior officer. The day to day role (in barracks and on the battlefield) of the colour sergeant was to be responsible for the company's equipment and for discipline. Whether of not George Jamison actually formed  part of the escort to the Colours at the ceremony where the new Colours were awarded is hard to say, but I think it is highly probable.

How much were his pensions? Were his 2 re-enlistments due to economic hardship as civilian?

Assuming the document below refers to him, his pension was a shilling a day. His re-enlistments appear to have been caused by his previous regiments being disbanded. His service was fairly continuous from 1804 to 1821 and then from 1823 to 1828.

Did his family accompany him on all tours of duty? I know that they were with him in Newry. George was given money to assist in transporting his wife, Elizabeth and their 3 children back to the Dromore area in 1821. I have seen a few references that families accompanied soldiers. What were the barracks like? What was family life like? Did woman give birth while living there?

Only a small percentage of wives and families (around 5%] were allowed to be on the strength of the battalion. Being on the strength meant that the families lived in the barrack rooms with their husbands (and all the other soldiers in that barrack room) and were provided with rations. Being on the strength was more important when proceeding overseas as the on-strength families travelled with the troops on board ship. However while he was stationed in England or Ireland it wouldn't have been so important whether or not his family were on the strength (ie if they lived inside or outside the barracks). In the first half of the nineteenth century, the barracks were very basic and indeed the men often lived in tents where there were no permanent barracks. If George and his wife lived in the barracks, as a Senior NCO he and his family would have to share the accommodation with his fellow sergeants and Elizabeth would have been expected to cook and do the washing for the other men. And yes, as the barrack room was their 'home' that is most likely where she would have given birth, with possibly just a blanket hung up to provide some privacy.

[gramsearch4family]

Wow, so many helpful responses. Thanks! I've so much to learn, and you are all helping so much!

@ShaunJ
+thanks for clarifying the complete name of the battalions
+new colors date/place: thanks for the correction. I had gotten the date and place from Appendix IX of Fylar, which I misinterpreted because George's 1828 discharge paper shows Weeden AND Isle of Jersey which confused me. I now see that his transfer from the 3rd to the 50th occurred at Fort Regent Jersey but his discharge paper was signed and sealed at Weeden; as for the date, my typo and I just discovered that he was promoted to colour sergeant by 1821. See my response to Andy.

@Andy
+thanks for the information about his service between 1808 and 1811, the medal he would have received if he had been alive and that he would not have been included in a War Memorial since he didn't die in service.
+Also thanks for the explanation about his duties as colour sergeant, pension and families accompanying soldiers. As I was reviewing the documents I found, I noticed a note written on the side of his 1821 discharge paper which states that he was colour sergeant then! So, again, I've misinterpreted the document for his service 1825-1828. [what a learning curve!]
+The wonderful document you found and attached does indeed appear to be my George, as the dates match. Thank you! What is the source, please? Are you able to interpret what is written? With my lack of knowledge, I can guess, but I'd like to get it correct.
+This also brings up another question:
Could the length of stay have been for short while? George was married and had 3 children by 1821. From his 1821 discharge in Belfast, "Sergeant Geo Jamison 1 Company; Kilmainham Pensioner; Residence Dromore; wife Elizabeth three children." Also, "Sergeant George Jamison has received eight shillings and three pence ....to enable himself and family proceed to Dromore, 14 miles."

Again, ShaunJ and Andy, thanks so much!

[Andy J2022]

Hi gramsearch4family,

The pension document above comes from the National Archives series WO97/1047/73 The image can be found on FindMyPast.

Turning to what it says:

Comment: the clerk was obviously having problems with his quill pen which kept running out of ink and also causing blotches and smudges! I find it interesting (although entirely irrelevant for your purposes) that the clerk used a pre-printed form for dates in the 1850s for an event dated 1846.

The Regiment he joined was the 97th  (Queen's Own Germans) Regiment of Foot, not to be confused with the later 97th Regiment of Foot which had previously been the 96th until it was renumbered in 1816 following the disbanding of the Queen’s Own Germans regiment. In 1824 a new Regiment, the 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot, was raised in Ireland. As you can see some of these dates coincide with George’s admission and discharge dates. References below to Kilmainham are to the Royal Hospital Kilmainham which was the Irish counterpart of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, and administered the pension of ex soldiers living in Ireland.

Handwritten text:
Coventry Recruiting District [Comment: I assume this in the Coventry in the West Midlands of England, but I can’t see the connection with the 97th  (Queen's Own Germans) Regiment of Foot]
[9]7 Foot A15,735 [a letter reference]
Geo Jamison
originally adm^d [admitted] Kilmainham in 1818 […] re-admitted 28 July 1846 […] letter E34979 which letter will be found with A15,735 Kilmainham his orig^al ad[mission] there being on Discharge from Cov[entry] Rec[ruiting] Dis[trict].
97 Foot
Geo Jamison
re[admitted]
28th July 1846 see Kil[mainham] A15735

[Andy J2022]

Could the length of stay have been for short while?

Following on  with your earlier questions, I'm not clear what you mean by his 'stay'. Do you mean the period during which he was receiving his first pension, from 1818 to 24 November 1819? Obviously this was around 11 months so a comparatively short stint.  I have not been able to find out much about the 8th and 3rd Royal Veterans Battalions. My guess is that they were a form of militia raised for the home defence of Ireland, although following the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, the threat of invasion from France had receded and the Army in general was being run down (hence the disbanding of the 97th Queen's Own German Regiment). It is possible that there was general unrest in Ireland which made it advisable to retain a larger militia.

Finally, the 8/3d he received at the time of his 1821 discharge was known as marching money. I can't off-hand remember the rates, but he would have received several old pennies per mile (possibly about 4d)* and the rate for his wife was half his rate. If the journey had been over 20 miles he would have received an additional amount for a lodging in an inn. I don't think any allowance was made for children.  If they were lucky his wife and children might have got a lift part of the way on a farm cart or similar.

*Added I've just found a source which says that in 1821 the marching money rate was 1s 8d per ten miles, which works out at 2d per mile for George, so there must have been some extra element for the children, since the total amount paid works out at approximately 7d per mile.

[gramsearch4family]

@Andy - thanks ever so much!
I wonder whether the clerk filled it in during the 50s as a copy of records? He did have a heck of time with his pen and ink! My interpretation was fairly close, but much benefited by your work. Thank you and thanks for the source! It would be great to find the letters! I'll see what I can find at National Archives, and elsewhere if needed, for Royal Kilmainham Hospital records. I wonder if George died there and is buried in the associated cemetery?

Great to learn more about the regiments. Yes, I think at least part of his early years of service were in homeland defense as I found a pay roster of him and a likely relative, James Jamison, which occurred in Freshford, Kilkenny. And great to learn more about the travel money he and his family received.

With your assistance I believe I'm ready to do more on my own now.

Again, thanks! May your kindness be repaid a hundredfold!

[gramsearch4family]

@Andy - I may have found why he was listed in the Coventry Recruiting Station records. According to the BBC Feature Transplanting Irish roots in Coventry https://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/features/stories/irish/coventry-irish-history.shtml, during the Great Potato Famine, many Irish came to Coventry, England. AND, I found that he and Elizabeth were living on Cow Lane in St. Michael's District, Coventry in 1841 [census]. His occupation is listed as staff sergeant! So far, I've not found their deaths/burials in Warwickshire, so they likely both moved to Dublin when he was admitted into Kilmainham. Nor have I located his military records for when he was living there. Always more research!