Army leave in 1890s

[mijath]

Hello, the service record of one of my ancestors (South Lancs Regiment) shows him serving abroad for just over six years between 1887 and 1893, in the Straights Settlements, Gibraltar, Malta and Egypt.

Would he have returned home to England at all during that period? I'm trying to understand if he could have fathered a child with his future wife while stationed at Gibraltar. I had assumed it was impossible but want to be sure.

Many thanks

[tonepad]

Have you established the surname of the child when the birth was registered?


British Army during the Victorian Era:
"Only a small portion of soldiers were permitted to marry. Soldiers' wives and children shared their barracks, with only blankets slung over a line for privacy. Wives often performed services such as laundry for their husbands' companies or barracks. A particularly cruel feature of the Army's practices was that fewer soldiers' wives were allowed to accompany a unit overseas (one per eight cavalrymen or twelve infantrymen) than were permitted when serving at home. Those wives not chosen by lot to accompany the unit when it embarked were forcibly separated from their husbands, for years or for life."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Army_during_the_Victorian_Era


Tony