Our resident expert Stephen Rigden, pictured below, answers your queries.

From Angela Dalby in Gillingham, Kent:

‘My ancestor by marriage, Edward Dalby, was born on 14 June 1839 in St. Mildred’s, Canterbury, Kent and he joined the Metropolitan police in 1873. His police records state that previous to this he was in the 7th Hussars for seven years and 313 days and the Kent County Constabulary for three years and 147 days. I can find a date of 5 January 1868 for him joining the local police constabulary so the seven years army record must be between 1859-1867?

The puzzle is that I can find no army records of service for him in the recently published Chelsea Pensioners records, unlike his father, another Edward Dalby. This Edward was born in Uppingham, Rutland 1766 and was in the army for 28 years. I have the full set of records for him. The family disappear from Canterbury in the 1861 census including Edward’s mother Elizabeth (born in Ireland in 1820), his brother Joseph born in St. Mildred’s in 1846 and also Edward senior.

Were the 7th Hussars based out of this country or am I looking in the wrong index lists? Any help would be much appreciated.’

Stephen says:

‘The 7th (Queen’s Own) Hussars were indeed out of England during the period 1859 to 1867 – they were on active service in British India from 1858 and did not return to England until 1871. The fact that Edward Dalby, your ancestor by marriage, joined the Kent police in January 1868 suggests either that he had enlisted for seven years and that those seven years were completed while in India in or before 1867 (probably in fact a year or two before 1865), or that he had left the regiment in India early due to injury or ill-health.

In any event, the records contained within The National Archives’ series WO97 relate to servicemen who were pensioned out of the army, irrespective of whether they were serving in the British Isles or overseas. We have now completed the publication of these Chelsea Pensioner records, which cover over one million men. This record series contains the majority of surviving records for pensioned soldiers but by no means all.

As you may know, findmypast.co.uk is currently in the process of digitising the WO96 Militia service records but we are also planning to publish in 2011 some other smaller TNA datasets which relate to Chelsea Pensioners or their equivalents. It is, therefore, worth keeping an eye open for the new datasets as they are released and re-checking the website regularly.’

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Our military expert Paul Nixon, pictured below, answers your queries.

From Veronica Scarborough:

‘I am trying to find out where and when my grandfather joined the army. I always believed he joined while in South Africa as he was working there on the railways when WWI started but on his records it says he enlisted in Gravesend, Kent. All I know about him are the following details: his name was James Barrett, born in Highworth, Wiltshire in 1867. He was a corporal in the Wiltshire regiment and died in France in September 1915. I would also like to know where in France he was serving. Where can I find this information please?’

Paul says:

‘7073 Cpl James Barrett of the 2nd Battalion, Wiltshire Regt, died of wounds on 28 September 1915. He was born in Highworth, Wiltshire and was living at Gravesend, Kent when he enlisted. He joined the Wiltshire Regiment at Swindon in the second half of 1904. He arrived in France on 20 October 1914 and is buried in Chocques Military Cemetery in France. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission notes that, ‘Chocques was occupied by Commonwealth forces from the late autumn of 1914 to the end of the war. The village was at one time the headquarters of I Corps and from January 1915 to April 1918, No.1 Casualty Clearing Station was posted there. Most of the burials from this period are of casualties who died at the clearing station from wounds received at the Bethune front.

War diary entries for the 2nd Wiltshires around this time read:

“27th - France, trenches

Early in the morning the Comdg Offr Major CD Forsyth was given to understand that the 1/4th Cameron Highrs needed immediate support, and at once ordered the Battn across the open to reinforce the 1/4th Cameron Highrs. This was done under heavy rifle & machine gun fire, and the Battn again suffered heavy losses. Capt EC Mudge & Capt WM Geddes were killed, also 2/Lt E Schultz, who had got safely into the 1/4th Cameron Highrs trench got out again to give directions to some men coming on behind and was shot in the head. Major CG Forsyth was wounded in the thigh, but remained in command. The morning was misty, and several men of each Coy took the wrong direction. These Major CG Forsyth collected in the trench we had vacated. In these positions the Battn remained until dusk, when it was possible to reorganise. The men collected by Major CG Forsyth in the trench by HULLOCH ROAD were ordered to remain. The men who had succeeded in reaching the trench held by the 1/4th Cameron Highrs were collected together in companies and placed on the Camerons left.

28th - France, trenches

We remained in our positions all day with nothing to report other than fairly heavy artillery duels. The nights became cold and wet.”

It would appear likely that Corporal Barrett died as a result of wounds sustained on the 27th, although the absence of a surviving service record makes this difficult to prove with certainty.’

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