TOPIC:

My G Grandfather was Pvt Charles Nathaniel Clarke, service #3639, with the 6th Dragoon Guards.

I’m wondering if anyone can provide any more information about his career before, during or after the war. I’m curious if there might be a record about when and where he might have enlisted.

Also wondering about home and/or sick leave. I know that he was in South Africa from December 1899 until some time after 24 May 1900 (to have got the Transvaal clasp), he was back in England to marry my g grandmother on 16 September that year and must have returned to South Africa in 1901 and still been there in 1902 to have qualified for the clasps on the KSA medal. So would he have retired home on ordinary leave or was he wounded or sick?

Regards,
Tim

Hello Tim

His service papers are on Findmypast and they can be accessed and downloaded for a fee.

Briefly, he enlisted at London 3/12/1896 and was discharged at Canterbury 27/3/1910. (He should therefore be on the 1911 census). He did indeed have split service in South Africa between 3/11/1899 and 1/8/1900 and again between 11/3/1901 and 15/8/1902 . There is no indication as to why. He had a few ups and downs while in the army, being court martialled twice for desertion in 1897 and imprisoned by his C.O. four times for unspecified offences in 1903 and 1904.

Regards

David

Wow! Thank you very much, David.

So I wonder if he would have retired home on ordinary leave or was he wounded or sick?

Might there be a way to trace shipping movements, although I don’t know if it’s possible to identify the right ship he’d be on.
-Tim

Morning Tim

During the war there was no leave. He would have been invalided to the UK or very possibly returned for some other reason.

You need to check his papers and look at the periods of service which will tell you how long he served in South Africa and in the UK during the years of the war.

I've not seen a shipping list for soldiers.

Regards
Meurig

Meurig, thank you for your reply. I have checked his record, and there appears to be long periods of time when he was home.

I also found his WWI service number (109265), yet in FindMyPast I can only seem to get one hospital admittance/ discharge record. I can’t locate a WWI Record of Service.
-Tim

What was the minimum age a recruit needed to be in order to enlist in the 6th Dragoon Guards?