Joining the Army in 1870

[Pat370]

Not sure what I mean really - I'm very new to this type of communication. You replied as did almach and I was replying to each of you, and wondering if I needed to do so or if you could each see what I have written. I don't have any other queries running anywhere else - just in my head!

[almach]

Pat, thanks for the clarification. We were all new to forums once upon a time, believe me it's surprising how quickly you get used to them, you'll be fine, but if you do need help - please ask. Oh, and yes everyone looking at your thread can see your posts.

Do you have William and family in 1911? I think he's in Ipswich running a pub. Don't want to post if you already have the details.

[Pat370]

Yes I have details of everything he did after he left the Army. What is missing is his life before he joined up. Now that another name, John, has popped up I could be looking for a needle in a haystack. If family stories are anything to go by (all family long gone now) he was prone to making up stories about his life, some of which have been discredited.
I have looked at census records for the period before his army days but didn't think to look for the period while he was in the army. Do these appear on the regular list that I found in Find My Past or Ancestry - or are they listed separately for Army personnel?
And is this the best place to search? I don't mind signing up for a subscription if I know I'm going to get some quality information.

[almach]

You mention having access to Find My Past (you'll find that many of us refer to it as FMP) FMP as you know has William's service records and within those records he names as next of kin (another acronym frequently used NOK) a niece in Cardiff, I cannot make out her first name and I'm unsure of her surname looks like Walter or Walker, do you know what her name is? We could do with trying to locate her as she could lead us to William before he joined the Army.

I have looked at census records for the period before his army days but didn't think to look for the period while he was in the army. Do these appear on the regular list that I found in Find My Past or Ancestry - or are they listed separately for Army personnel?

All the census records are part of the collection "England, Wales & Scotland Census"

Most of us use Ancestry and FMP online sites as they have comprehensive databases.

[Pam Downes]

Thanks again for your reply. I have his marriage certificate and he calls himself William Algernon Frost. He married on Nov 4th 1979 in East Donyland, Essex and his father is also William, apparently a merchant.
I'm also replying to another thread - are all these visible to everyone?

Hi Pat370,
You don't have to be signed in to do/see this but go to https://www.british-genealogy.com
Click on 'Today's posts' on the left-hand side of the blue banner under the tree, and if you look down the list you'll see a thread called 'Joining the army in 1870' started by someone called Pat370. Click on the title, and then you'll see what all the other BG members see. They then either click 'reply' or 'reply with quote' and post their reply. (It's that simple when you know how, and I still laugh about how nervous I was when I first joined - fourteen years ago!)

Pam

[Pat370]

The "niece" in Cardiff is another mystery. From the Army record the name looks like Lisle Walker or Walter. I've searched the censuses 1861 and 1871 for this name and also just the initial. It seems odd that a niece would be a next of kin unless something tragic happened to most of the family.

[Peter Goodey]

Now that another name, John, has popped up

Don't be misled. That may just be a transcription error

And is this the best place to search? I don't mind signing up for a subscription if I know I'm going to get some quality information.

Both Ancestry and Findmypast are available in Suffolk public libraries.

[seahermit]

Don't be misled. That may just be a transcription error

Both Ancestry and Findmypast are available in Suffolk public libraries.

I have just come across this old thread from 2018. William Algernon Frost is my grandfather too and I and my brother have been researching his history. Any chance that the original poster (Pat 370) will see this new post? Or is there a way of contacting him/her (maybe by private messaging)? I would love to know who is researching our grandfather's pre-miltary history and why!

[Pat370]

I have just come across this old thread from 2018. William Algernon Frost is my grandfather too and I and my brother have been researching his history. Any chance that the original poster (Pat 370) will see this new post? Or is there a way of contacting him/her (maybe by private messaging)? I would love to know who is researching our grandfather's pre-miltary history and why!

Hi there. I'm Pat Smith and my Great grandfather is William Algernon Frost. We only have records for him from the date he joined the army and have been trying for years to find out about his birth and early life as well as his parents. I see someone has mentioned a John - that was in one of the censuses but as the rest of his family checked out I wasn't too concerned. So tell me who you are, where you live and anything at all about William Algernon.

[christanel]

Hi seahermit
If you want to contact a member privately just click on their user name and from the dropdown menu click on Private Message (pm). Private messages are not accessible by anyone else, no one, zilch other than the intended recipient. It is the best way to exchange information you do not want out in public especially if it concerns those who are still living as BG's T and C's do not allow posts with information about living people.
Christina