please help

[beckie]

hi everyone
im looking for an army service record for hamlet john clarke service no 7515,
but because he served from 1880 to 1921-22,i cant seem to track it, i ve been to kew and couldnt find it and ive also written to the MOD and they dont have it, this was a couple of years ago, and now i live abroad so can anyone please help.
thank you.
beckie

[neil1821]

Hi Beckie,

Tell us what else you know about him - date of birth, place of birth etc. Do you have him on any census returns, a marriage certificate or children's birth certificates?

where his army service is concerned, do you know his regiment? One of the sources I've already mentioned may mention it, or maybe a photo of him in uniform may help. I'd advise trying to pin down his regiment before trying anything else.

Neil

[beckie]

hi neil,
his full name is hamlet john clarke born st martin in the fields on 13th aug 1866 he joined the 1st grenadier guards in september 1880 from the duke of yorks school.in 1888 he was in the royal scottish and promoted as drum major on december 12th.on febuary 1st 1894 he transferred to the dorset regiment as drum major and he was finally transferred to the territorals of the queens royal west surrey regiment.hamlet father and grandfather were also grenadier guards, including his son who joined the dorsets, all of which were called hamlet john clarke.the service record im looking for is for 7515.i have all the others.
he also spent alot of time in india.
any help would be much appreciated.
beckie

[neil1821]

Beckie,
You beat me to it! Just tried looking him up in the 1881 census - he was at Victoria Barracks in Windsor, a drummer in 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards.

Regimental museums do not usually hold records of service of their men, but one notable exception is the Household Division, including the Guards. The Guards regiments hold records in their own archives. I'd recommend writing to the Grenadier Guards HQ, see here for more details:
https://www.theguardsmuseum.com/family.htm

As to the rest of his service, will see what I can find for you.
Neil

[neil1821]

It's also worth noting that he wouldn't have kept the same service number 7515 (very unlikely anyway) when transferring between regiments. So he maybe had 4 different service numbers through his career.

I think I've found a reference to him in the Dorsetshire Regiment in 1898 with service number 4306, from the rolls of the army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal:
4306 Sergeant Drummer H.J.Clarke.
Date of recommendation for his medal was 1st Oct 1898

The qualifying criterion for the LSGC medal in those days was 18 years exemplary service, so the date fits perfectly with his enlistment in the Guards in Sept 1880.

Neil

[beckie]

hi neil,
ive already written to the guards that how i got the other hamlets,
and ive been to the dorsets,i know they have alot of photos of the family,but i have no way of getting them,i dont think that he is the man you have found, i know by this time he was a drum major,the news paper clipping i have says senior drum major of the british army.i dont know if that means anything?
but thank you for looking.
beckie

[neil1821]

Beckie,
Drum Major was strictly an appointment rather than a rank, he would have ranked as a sergeant-major I believe.

It's entirely your call of course, but you may want to check out this individual from the LSGC roll anyway, for elimination if nothing else.
If he's not Hamlet, then we have to conclude:
- there were 2 different H.J. Clarke's in the Dorsetshire Regt at the same time
- both were senior NCOs
- both were serving in the drum section
- both originally joined the army circa Sept 1880

Just seems to be stretching coincidence to me.
Neil

[neil1821]

Also Beckie, I know you didn't ask particularly about his father but I found him as well on the medal rolls.

First the LSGC roll:
4641 Private Hamlet John Clarke, Grenadier Guards
Date of recommendation of medal was 1st April 1867

Then from the earlier Crimean War roll:
4641 Drummer Hamlet J. Clarke, 3rd Battalion Gren Guards
present during operations at Sevastopol, but not battles of Alma or Inkerman.

Neil

[beckie]

hi neil,
thank you for your help,i have traced his army record,its at kew in pensions,
i just have to get my hands on it now.
and yes there were 2 hamlet john clarke in the dorset regiment father and son and then later on grandson.
i have the records of the other hamlets of the gren guards.
just one other thing im also looking for a sgt robbins and a joseph cooper both i belive dorset regiment, i know coopers daughter was born in cairo,and i belive her mother died there but i dont know her name,jessie cooper married hamlet j clarke,he was killed in 1918 france.as for sgt robbins he appears in some family photos at the keep and thats all i know,
thank you again for your help.
beckie

[bobtie]

Beckie,
Drum Major was strictly an appointment rather than a rank, he would have ranked as a sergeant-major I believe.

It's entirely your call of course, but you may want to check out this individual from the LSGC roll anyway, for elimination if nothing else.
If he's not Hamlet, then we have to conclude:
- there were 2 different H.J. Clarke's in the Dorsetshire Regt at the same time
- both were senior NCOs
- both were serving in the drum section
- both originally joined the army circa Sept 1880

Just seems to be stretching coincidence to me.
Neil

G'day Neil,
I'm wondering whether you can help with tracing my great grandfather's service with the Dorsetshire Regiment? The only evidence I have that he served in the Dorsets is from a notation on his enlistment form in 1914 for the Berkshire Regiment Territorials.
James Nelson Robinson TYGHE was born in 1866 in Portsmouth and in 1881 (age 15) was living with his family in Aldershot. To confuse matters, the name recorded on the '81 census is TYKE. I can't locate him in the 1891 or 1901 census but he married as James Nelson Robinson TYGHE in Reading in 1897.
Regards,
Bob