Patrick joined the Army on 2nd October 1902. At that time Britain kept a relatively small regular army. The armies of other major European powers were much larger. Britain’s army was entirely made up of volunteers and numbered a quarter of a million. (France, Russia and Germany had well over 1 million each.) Half of…
All posts tagged Manchester Regiment
Middleburg and Middleburg
As covered in “Manchester Regiment – Initial Service” (https://www.roscommonstanley.me.uk/direct-line/manchester-regiment-initial-service/) , Patrick transferred to the Third (Line) Battalion on 7th February 1903. He was one of a party of 157 men sent out to South Africa. Some of them were detached at St Helena. There is no way of knowing whether Patrick was one of these.…
Manchester Regiment – Initial Service
Having signed up for the Manchester Regiment in Pontefract on October 2nd Patrick arrived at the Regimental Depot in Ashton-under-Lyne (near Manchester) on October 4th. The writing is quite faint, but it appears to say that he was posted to the 4th Battalion on October 17th. At that time, they were based at Kinsale, south…
The Manchester Regiment (1)
After six weeks in the militia, Patrick transferred to the Manchester Regiment. As discussed in ‘From Yorkshire to Lancashire’ and ‘Yorkshire and Lancashire History’ there must have been a very good reason for this move. Before addressing that question, there are some things to pick up from the enlistment paperwork. He has put on 8…
From Yorkshire to Lancashire (2)
Patrick signed up for the army in Pontefract, Yorkshire. Once he had joined the army they would have made arrangements for him to travel to Regimental Headquarters in Ashton-under-Lyne. I do not know how Patrick travelled from Yorkshire to Lancashire. The most likely option would have been by rail. Rail travel meant steam locomotives in…
From Yorkshire to Lancashire
Patrick signed up for the army in Pontefract, Yorkshire. At the time (1902) he was living in Dewsbury. The two towns are 16 miles apart. A route planner will tell you to allow 39 minutes for the journey. This assumes that you have access to a modern vehicle. I don’t know what means of transport…
On the right track – at last
In February 2007, the National Archives (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ ) started putting soldiers’ records online. They started with surnames beginning with A and B. The process was complete by the end of 2008. Because I was searching for Patrick Stanley, I had to be patient. The wait was made worse by the knowledge that there might be…