William Caleb Peel Hart born 1st October 1861 Stowupland

[heywood]

Fold3 has a record of a military deserter
Wm Hart, 19 yrs
Birth Place   Stowmarket, Suffolk
Desertion 8th Aug 1881, Colchester

Regimental Number 1743, 3rd Hussars

[CaroleW]

Freebmd has a William Hart b 1862 Stow - just in case he’s the deserter

[heywood]

Freebmd has a William Hart b 1862 Stow - just in case he’s the deserter

I checked that one out- born Haughley,  I think and he is at home in 1881.

I just thought it might be worth checking the deserter record for any other information.

[CaroleW]

If the other William Hart is ruled out - the deserter seems a likely bet. 

[N0BBY]

That's brilliant Heywood - thank you 

I'm hopefully firstly going to find the record on Fold3 myself and then see what it says

I'll also see if anything might come up in the newspapers around that time as they did list deserters back then didnt they

Thanks

[N0BBY]

The Fold3 record does state he was a Carpenter so would fit with a Wheelwright 

Nothing much else to go off though sadly.

Didn't find any reference in the newspapers to his desertion around that time in August/September 1881

Would he not have been included on the 1881 census?

Also surprisingly I couldn't find a service record on FindMyPast who are normally pretty good for Army Service Records around that time.....

The desertion and the Queensland, Australia birth he stated on the 1921 census could work now that he left England around that time to live in Australia but I guess any ships records he could have lied about to protect him from his desertion and likely his time in Australia.  I mean he lied on his return from 1909 onwards so very plausible