move from one regiment to another?

[nancyv]

I have George Edward LUCAS in the Foot Regiment 29 in Aldershot in the 1861 census. Then, he is found in Dover in the 2nd Battalion Rifles in 1871. He was a musician - I don't know what that means???

Was it common for a soldier to move from one 'company' - or battalion or whatever the correct military term is - to another like this?

Is there a way to find out what these two 'military groups' were doing around these times? I've poked around on the internet and the information is not very clear... but, as you see, I'm not at all knowledgeable!

I'm trying to clarify the story of this man. I'd like to find out who his father was - siblings, story, etc. and when he married. There is a family story that he was divorced, but as one wife is there from at least 1870 this would have to have been a very early marriage. Then, there is another family story that he was a Chelsea Pensioner...

Thanks for any and all suggestions and help n

[Sue Mackay]

Nothing strange about him being a musician in the army.
See https://www.army.mod.uk/music/music.aspx

If you Google for the regiments concerned you can probably find a timeline to see where they were stationed at a particular date.

[keith9351]

The 29th deployment :-
1859.09 England
1863 Ireland
1865 Malta
1867 Canada

The Rifles could mean a number of Regiments ie Kings Royal Rifles or The Rifle Brigade.

The Kings Royal Rifles 2nd Battalion were in India from 1867 not returning to the UK until 1882 via some time in South Africa.

The Rifle Brigade 2nd Battalion deployment :-

1867 England
1872 Ireland
1873 Gold Coast
1873 Ashanti war
1874 England

Keith

[Kerrywood]

Nancyv's other thread on George LUCAS also relates. That has been closed to avoid duplication.

Please reply on this thread if you can help further.

[stevenpenny]

The term 'The Rifles' that would have applied during the time-frame specified is likely to be The Rifles (Berkshire and Wiltshire). The 2nd Battalion under the Cardwell reforms were the Duke of Edinburgh’s (Wiltshire) Regiment.

Steve

[nancyv]

Very interesting material... opens much room for thought. Is it possible to ever know the names of individual soldiers who did duty in those various theatres from so long ago? One wonders if a 'musician' in the 29th would have been posted abroad? This is really 'raw' genealogy, isn't it... you just have to decide it is worth the digging. Thanks for handing me the shovel!

[Sue Mackay]

you just have to decide it is worth the digging. Thanks for handing me the shovel!

I do like that analogy. That's what B-G is really all about - finding the right shovel for you to do your own digging

[grisel]

Hi Nancy
Sorry not replying to your question on the other thread but I had gone out. Very glad you found them in 1871. FMP is Find My Past a subscription site with census and other records. The index is free to view but you have to pay to see actual records.

Another useful site is Free BMD which lists Births Marriages and Deaths ( though not all) since 1837. I've just looked there to see if I could spot a likely marriage of a George Lucas with an Emma but no luck so far.

Off out again but maybe someone here will track them down.

[keith9351]

Steven
At the time of the 1871 census both the Wiltshire and the Berkshire regiments only had the one battalion.
Keith

[nancyv]

Sorry... when you say 'only one battalion' do you mean they were both the same thing? and/or could that mean that a move from Aldershot to Dover, though possibly under two different regiment names could indicate nothing more than a shift of work (bugling?) from one site to another... nothing more sinister?