Manchester Regiment in India during 1880s

[SandiB]

Hi Mack
Really impressed with all the help I'm getting in trying to piece together my family's history in the army. You have raised a great point with regard to Margaret, William Thomas' wife. I too had wondered how she managed to return to India with her boys.
I had thought, without any evidence, that she may well have met Samuel while back in England. William Thomas developed TB while with the RA and died three years after his return to Devon.
Margaret was of Irish descent, her father and grandfather also served in the army in India. They both appear to have died in the same year in Rawalpindi.
It seems the more information I find, the more questions I have !!!
Thanks so much for your help
Sandi

[mack]

hiya sandi
I think ive found the answer about Margaret,she was a army school mistress,it would make sense to return to the place she was raised in and she was probably still on the army strength

mack

[SandiB]

Sorry I didn't reply earlier Mac but your reply went to my spam box for some reason.

I also found information to confirm that she was a teacher. However, would the army have covered the cost of her return to India as a widow?

Not sure whether you're aware, but I live in Ecuador at the moment. We have a very strict lock down here so I have time to work on finding out as much as I can about the family. Hoping to write some sort of creative memoir on William Dart. Just dabbling, nothing too serious.

Thanks so much for your help
Sandi B

[charlie]

I also found information to confirm that she was a teacher. However, would the army have covered the cost of her return to India as a widow?

If she was employed by the army and it had reason to send her back to India, yes the army would have paid her passage.

Charlie

[PhilipG]

SandiB,

I am glad to hear of your success in obtaining the book.    Keep safe.  PhilipG.

[SandiB]

I am hoping you can help with another query.

William Wilton Dart married Lillie Edith Martin in Camberwell, London on 25th December 1888.

When did the 2nd Battalion return from India? Did the Battalion serve in any other countries between leaving India and returning to the UK?

Sorry, that's two questions!

Sandi

[PhilipG]

Sandi,

The battalion left Bombay on the 11th November 1897 for duties in Aden which it reached on the 21st.    It embarked at Aden on the 14th November 1898 arriving at Southampton on the 2nd December.     Proceeded thereafter to Manchester & Lichfield.         PhilipG 

[SandiB]

Thanks for your reply Philip. The information confirms what I have also found.  However, my query therefore is, how did WW Dart marry Lillie Edith on Christmas Day, 1888?

Would his personal army records show why he was back in the Uk before his Battalion?

Sandi B

[charlie]

Sandi,
His marriage certificate shows that he was serving with the 1st Bn and not the 2nd when he married in 1888. The 1st Bn was stationed in England in 1888. The first connection we have to the 2nd Bn is in 1891.

Charlie

[PhilipG]

Sandi,

I quote from the 1st Manchesters' history.  "On the 4th April 1888 the battalion left Aldershot for Portsmouth and embarked for conveyance to Ireland.  It disembarked at Queenstown on the 9th and went by rail to Tipperary, there to be stationed, providing a detachment of one company at Clonmel."     It goes on.   "The stay at Tipperary was an unusually long one, extending to close upon three years, for it was not until the 5th February 1891 that the headquarters moved to Kinsale, sending two companies to Fort Camden."

(A few days ago I noted from the Ambassador's web site that a party of UK citizens left for home, their departure arrangements from Ecuador involving Ministers Raab & Morton.   It would seem, too, that the Ambassador herself will be moving on later this year.)           PhilipG.
 

[themonsstar]

63rd Foot or 1st Battalion

[themonsstar]

96th Foot or 2nd Bn

[SandiB]

Firstly, I hope this finds you all safe and well.

My thanks to themonsstar for the really helpful information on the movements of both 1st and 2nd Battalion. It has answered some more of my queries.

To PhilipG, thank you for your assistance. I had read the short histories for both Battalions and, together with the information provided today, have a much clearer view of where each was.

Life in Ecuador continues to be difficult. We have a lockdown from 2pm through to 5am every day, with cars only allowed on the streets once a week, this monitored by the last digit of the registration. Saturday and Sunday are no go days. Unlike the UK we are not allowed out for exercise, only for essential groceries or medicines. The streets are much quieter and the air quality improved. The plus to these severe restrictions is that the virus has been contained, with only just over 100 deaths in Cuenca to date.

And so to my next request.

With the help you have given, I still have gaps.
WW Dart enlisted on 24th June 1882 with the Manchester Regiment in Sialkot No.417. (see attached - if anyone can decipher the section as to his previous time with the RA I would be very grateful)

The next time I can find him is when he marries Lillie Edith in London on 25th December 1888. The marriage certificate shows him as Sergeant with the 1st Battalion.

He then appears again when his children are born in India. William on 15th January 1890 in Amritsar, Ivy on 20th May 1892 in Sialkot and Lilian on 20th September 1893 in Chakrata.

From the information provided by themonsstar, I can only assume that he was somehow transferred to the 2nd Battalion and joined them in India.

Am I on the right track? Could William have missed life in India and requested a transfer?

Any help as all ways, is very much appreciated.

SandiB