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There is a family story that Henry Crow was in the Boer War but deserted. He then joined another regiment under the name of Henry Brown. Henry was born abt 1825 and died in 1918. His wife's maiden name is thought to be Hickling. Can anyone suggest how I can find any info on his military history. Thanks.

just a first quick question, is it likely that he was in the Boer War if he was born in 1825?

of course I assume the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899)

but even if it was the first (1880) ...


also you know that he died in 1918, was it under the name Crow(e)?


can you give some more information about him, particularly some places?

for instance 4 people named Henry Crow died in 1918

Sheffield aged 45
Louth aged 82
Nottingham aged 86
West Ham aged 69

none is old enough to have been born in 1825 ... so maybe you mistyped that date?

you can use the 'Edit' link on your post to fix it if so :-)

would this be the marriage?

Marriages Jun 1886
? Crow Henry Basford 7b 294
Gough George Basford 7b 294
? HICKLING Emily Basford 7b 294
THOMPSON Naomi Basford 7b 294

hm would this be them in 1911?

Name: Nenry Brow [Henry Crow]
Age in 1911: 82
Estimated birth year: abt 1829
Relation to Head: Head
Gender: Male
Birth Place: Leicester, England
Civil Parish: Nottingham
County/Island: Nottinghamshire
Country: England
Street address: Steel Rlan Jane Old Basford
[Steel Place, Bar Lane, Old Basford, Nottingham]
Marital Status: Married
Occupation: Arny Gensconer [Army Pensioner]
Registration district: Nottingham

Nenry Brow 82
Emily Brow 48 born Bristol
Mariah Brow 22 born Basford
Rose Hickling 28 stepdaughter
Elisie May Briggs 1 boarder


>> an Ancestry user corrected the name in 2013 and also corrected the address and occupation ... 'You'd have to be blind to mis-read this!'

if you don't already know that person it would be very worth making contact


so things are looking like they match up with your family story there to some extent

and it would be a reasonable match for the 1918 death aged 86 (c1832)


it was in fact very common for men to rejoin the military under assumed names in cases where they had been discharged for some offence ... it was next to impossible to find work without a good military conduct record

here they are in 1891 in Basford

Name: Henry Crow
Age: 56
Estimated birth year: abt 1835
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Emily Crow
Gender: Male
Occupation: Watchman
Where born: Leicestershire, England
Civil Parish: Basford

Henry Crow 56
Emily Crow 32
William Crow 9 it says Hickling not Crow
Maria Crow 1


so I wonder whether his military service was in the First Anglo-Boer War in 1880 ... or maybe even just before that in India or Afghanistan ...


at findmypast there are 3 Henry Crow records in the right era, 1861, 1871 and 1874

I don't have a subscription but maybe you or someone else could have a look


but this seems to be him in 1881 with a first wife (for whom his daughter Maria 1889 was named I would guess)

Name: Henry Crow
Age: 48
Estimated birth year: abt 1833
Relationship to Head: Head
Spouse: Maria Crow
Gender: Male
Where born: Leicestershire, England
Civil Parish: Basford
County/Island: Nottinghamshire
Occupation: Gardener
Registration district: Basford

Henry Crow 48
Maria Crow 40
George Boley 28 lodger


Marriages Dec 1866
Allcock Maria Basford 7b 178
CROWE Henry Basford 7b 178

Deaths Mar 1884
CROW Maria 47 Basford 7b 102


I can't see Henry or his first wife in 1871 or second wife in 1901

I guess anything more you can tell would help !

Thanks so much for all this info. I'm sorry I don't know any more than I've already passed on, except that he did have a daughter, Maria, and probably came from Nottingham. There was also someone called Rose mentioned so it seems as though you've hit on the right family. I'm going to go through all this info now - thanks so much.
Sorry I was so long getting back but we went to the movies, saw The Immitation Games, a great movie.
Thanks again.

Could it have been the Crimean war that he served in?

rootgatherer the Crimean War is also possible as that was 1854, and someone not completely familiar with 19th century history might well confuse the names of the two famous campaigns.

Yvonne I would get hold of his marriage certificates to find out his father's name and occupation, and what age and occupation he gave for himself.

I'm not seeing a Henry Crow or Crowe in 1841 or 1851 or 1861 to fit him, and knowing his father's name could help find him in the earliest censuses.

I'm actually wondering whether he might have been Henry Brown and changed his name to Crow(e) rather than the other way around.

found him in 1871!

Name: Henry Crews
Age: 46
Estimated birth year: abt 1825
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Maria Crews
Gender: Male
Where born: Leicestershire, England
Civil Parish: Basford
County/Island: Nottinghamshire
Registration district: Basford
Henry Crews 46
Maria Crews 34 stitcher born Basford

The image does seem to say Crews, but that is them

and his occupation is

F.W.K. (framework knitter, very very common occupation in that area)
>>> [??] 48th Regiment

if anybody can read the [??] -- it looks like
___keeper


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/48th_%28Northamptonshire%29_Regiment_of_Foot
"The 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army. ...
In 1856 the Regiment went to the Crimean War, and saw action at the Siege of Sevastopol."


Good thought rootgatherer :-)

Could it read ----- pens r (something pensioner)?

EDIT - Out Pensioner ? - so a Chelsea Pensioner but living "out"

A Chelsea pensioner is an in-pensioner at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a retirement home and nursing home for former members of the British Army located in Chelsea, London. Historically, however, the phrase applied more widely, referring to both in-pensioners and out-pensioners.

I wonder if this refers to your Henry.

(From The National Archives)

Henry Crow. When admitted to Greenwich Hospital School: Not Stated. Parents' names:...
Ordering and viewing options
This record has not been digitised and cannot be downloaded.
Request a quotation for a copy to be digitised or printed and sent to you.

Order a copy

View free at The National Archives
Reference: ADM 73/206/58
Description:
Henry Crow. When admitted to Greenwich Hospital School: Not Stated.
Parents' names: James and Sarah Crow.
Date: 1728-1870
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Legal status: Public Record
Language: English
Physical description: 1 document(s)

All departments
ADM - Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies
Records of Royal Greenwich Hospital, and the Chatham Chest
ADM 73 - Admiralty: Royal Greenwich Hospital: Pensioners and School Admission Papers, Out Pensions Pay Books and Miscellaneous Registers
School Admission papers
ADM 73/206 - Croo - Cul. (Described at item level)
ADM 73/206/58 - Henry Crow. When admitted to Greenwich Hospital School: Not Stated. Parents' names:...

Thanks again ... certainly lots of food for thought. I've sent off an email to the family member to see if they have any more info and also to see if the info you gave me sparks any more memories. I think I'll also send off for a copy of the hospital record.
Thanks.

JoonieCloonie, how would I find the Ancestry user you mention? I' do have a subscription but I can't eem to find it.

Thanks.

greyghost -- definitely yes

out pens'r

exactly as you say, a Chelsea Pensioner not living in residence at Chelsea Hosp

funny how easy it is to see once someone else has :-)


rootgatherer, without any date or place it's hard to say, but he consistently said he was born in Leicestershire

he would more likely have ended up in the navy himself if he was at that school

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Hospital_School#History

being in the navy would have made him a Greenwich Pensioner rather than a Chelsea Pensioner which is army ... 'out pensioner' could refer to either one, but his miitary service is specified as army in the 1871 census

searching at family search there are numerous records for the name Henry Crow in the merchant navy in the 1850s but none shows as born in Leicestershire

I wouldn't order any military records until you have a marriage certificate to see whether he named his father and gave his occupation

I've been trying to decipher the occupation in the 1871 entry ... do you think it could be ... trouper.

Yvonne, see greyghost's post

it is definitely

out pens'r

Out Pensioner, meaning on a pension from the army

this is what greyghost quoted:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_pensioner

for the Ancestry user, go to the 1911 entry for

Name: Nenry Brow [Henry Crow]

click on the 'Henry Crow'

and you wil see the notes left by the user

click on the user's name in the notes and it will take you to their profile page

in the upper right of that page is a button 'Contact' the user

... for some reason it isn't working right now at ancestry.co.uk

try logging in to ancestry.com and it should work there

I see the problem, Ancestry itself has the URL wrong for the user's profile

here it is, you can just go directly

http://community.ancestry.co.uk/profile.aspx?mba=0190455D-0002-0000-0000-000000000000

and click the contact button to send a message

Thanks ... just had another look and can definitely see that Greyghost is correct. I guess I was looking at the K and thinking it was part of the last word ... I now see the light.

I have FMP membership...1861 was based in New Zealand, 1871 in Chatham,

This is the transcript of the 1874 (only one with an image)

First name(s) Henry
Last name Crow
Birth year -
Birth parish -
Birth town -
Birth county -
Service number -
Rank -
Regiment York and Lancaster Regiment - 65th & 84th Foot
Attestation year 1874
Attestation day 22
Attestation month June
Attestation age years -
Attestation age months -
Attestation corps -
Discharge corps York and Lancaster Regiment - 65th & 84th Foot
Document type Discharge
Series WO121
Box 0226
Box record number -
Dataset title Chelsea Pensioners discharge documents 1760-1887
Record set British Army Service Records 1760-1915
Category Military, armed forces & conflict
Record collection Regimental & service records
Collections from Great Britain

Jude

This certainly looks like him. This man seems to be all over the place, no wonder I can't find him. Thanks so much..

so the 1874 isn't him ... he was in the 48th regiment and was married and settled by 1871 anyhow ...

(Yvonne, look carefully at possible records ... you see why that one isn't him)


it was worth a try !

Aha, here is one you could may be look at ?

using '48th' as a keyword now that we have it


Henry Brown born 1832, event 1857,
British Army Service Records 1760-1915
All Saints, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

??