William Franklin of Helmdon

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William Franklin of Helmdon: a chronology
*"GRO" denotes "General Register Office". William was the father-in-law of George Shirran.

Civilian 1843-1863

DateCommentsSource ##^## ## 18######

Army 1863-1884

DateCommentsSource 21^st July 1863William Franklin begins the enlistment process at 6pm in Chatham.WF Attestation 22^nd July 1863William is examined by an army medic in Chatham prior to enlistment. He is said to be nineteen, a labourer born in Helmdon, Northamptonshire, 5'7"or 5'7½", with a 36" chest, blue eyes, light brown hair and a fresh complexion, good muscular development and no injuries, marks or disabilities.WF Enlistment; WF Medical History form; Wiki 24^th July 1863He enlists at Chatham "for a Bounty of £1.00 and a Free Kit" for a period of ten years as a Private with the 31^st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, a.k.a. the Young Buffs, who were to become 1^st Battalion The East Surrey Regiment in July 1881. He formally attests at Rochester, about two miles from Chatham.WF Enlistment; WF Attestation; WF Record of Service; Wiki 25^th July 1863William is re-examined and passed as fit to serve. His regimental number is 945. He is based at Chatham.WF Attestation; WF Medical History form 27^th July 1863Vaccinated.WF Medical History form 1^st December 1863Arrives at Plymouth.WF Medical History form 1^st October 1864Arrives at Aldershot.WF Medical History form 1^st December 1864Arrives at Plymouth.WF Medical History form 1^st February 1865Promoted to Corporal.WF Record of Service; WF Medical History form 6^th March 1866Arrives in Portsmouth.WF medical history table 24^th July 1866Awarded Good Conduct Pay at 1^d a day.WF Record of Service 1^st August 1866Arrives in the Curragh of Kildare, southern Ireland.WF medical history table 1^st February 1867Arrives in the Templemore area of southern Ireland.WF medical history table 11^th June 1867This is when his Military History summary places him in Malta but it's eleven days out from his medical history table: this must be when he embarked on a ship.WF Military History summary as at 1884; WF medical history table 22^nd June 1867Arrives in Malta.WF medical history table 3^rd June 1868Promoted to Sergeant.WF Record of Service; WF Medical History form 14^th July 1868Admitted to hospital with diarrhoea and treated with astringent and tonic. The cause is said to be climatic exposure.WF medical history table 29^th July 1868Discharged from hospital.WF medical history table 7^th August 1868Admitted to hospital suffering from anaemia, treated with alternating cod liver oil and tonics. Cause said to be "Unknown probably mental"WF medical history table 26^th August 1868"To Sanitorium Citta Vecchia." Citta Vecchia is another name for Mdina, the old capital of Malta.WF medical history table 9^th September 1868Discharged from hospital.WF medical history table 3^rd March 1870"Examined by Surgeon Tucker and Passed fit for re-engagement"WF Medical History form 30^th March 1870Re-engages as a Sergeant with the 31^st Regiment of Foot at Valetta, Malta until he shall have completed twenty-one years of service.WF Record of Service 2^nd June 1870Entitled to Good Conduct Pay @ 2^d per day.WF Record of Service 16^th March 1872This is when his Military History summary places him in Gibraltar but it's five days out from his medical history table: this must be when he embarked on a ship.WF Military History summary as at 1884; WF medical history table 21^st March 1872Arrives in Gibraltar.WF medical history table 5^th March 1873Appointed as Colour Sergeant.WF Record of Service; WF Medical History form 15^th May 1873Admitted to hospital with inflammation followed by something in curly brackets that looks like "C & issue", due to vaccination. Treated with living fomenta.WF medical history table 19^th May 1873Discharged from hospital.WF medical history table 9^th June 1873Marries in Gibraltar to Caroline Ellen Walsh, an Irishwoman born in County Cork.WF Military History summary as at 1884; 1881 census; 1911 census Circa June 1873 - April 1874Birth of William and Caroline's son William J E Franklin - presumably the same boy listed as one of his father's next-of-kin under the name W G Elliott Franklin.1881 census for Hougham, Kent; WF Military History summary as at 1884 Circa April 1875 - April 1876Birth of William and Caroline's daughter Florence Blanche Franklin.1881 census for Hougham, Kent 24^th July 1875Entitled to Good Conduct Pay @ 3^d per day.WF Record of Service 27^th December 1875Admitted to hospital suffering from an ulcer (? probably), treated with cold water. Illness caused by [illegible, looks like "hafnary"].WF medical history table 1^st January 1876Discharged from hospital.WF medical history table 3^rd May 1876Arrives in Portland, off the south coast of England.WF medical history table 24^th July 1877Arrives in Aldershot.WF medical history table Circa July 1877 - April 1878Birth of William and Caroline's daughter Lillian Edith Franklin, after the family arrive in Aldershot.1881 census for Hougham, Kent 29^th June 1878Arrives in Fleetwood.WF medical history table 9^th March 1879Re-vaccinated, result perfect.WF medical history table 4^th April 1879Arrives in Chatham.WF medical history table Circa April 1879 - April 1880Birth of William and Caroline's daughter Ethel Maud Franklin, after the family arrive in Chatham.1881 census for Hougham, Kent 24^th July 1879Entitled to Good Conduct Pay @ 4^d per day.WF Record of Service 30^th October 1880Arrives in Dover.WF medical history table 3^rd April 1881Colour Franklin is at the School of Musketry in Hythe, near Elham, Kent (where his age is wrongly recorded as thirty-nine), while his family are at the Grand Shaft Barracks, Hougham, Kent, on the cliffs above Dover.1881 census 1^st July 1881The 31^st Regiment of Foot become the 1^st East Surrey Regiment, and William Franklin's Record of Service shows him being "reopened" as Colour Sergeant with the new regiment.WF Record of Service Circa 1881At some point after the birth of his son, and probably after 1^st July 1881 when the 31^st Regiment of Foot became the 1^st East Surrey Regiment, William lists his next of kin as "Wife Caroline Ellen, Son W.G. Eliott, 1^st E.S. Regt, father William & mother Jane [???] Birmingham, Warwickshire". His son was much too young to be a soldier, even by Victorian standards, so the reference to the regiment must be because his wife and son live in barracks. The area marked [???] is covered by brown sticky-tape which may or may not conceal the word "Betts".WF Military History summary as at 1884 15^th November 1881Transferred to 2^nd (South) Middlesex Rifle Volunteers (formed 1859, HQ at Fulham).WF Record of Service; Gommecourt commemorative web-page 1^st June 1882Transferred as a Colour Sergeant to 1^st Volunteer Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps. This seems to be the same outfit as Queen Victoria's Rifles, a famous and long-lived volunteer unit of sharpshooters based near Berkeley Square.WF Record of Service; The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum 24^th July 1884Entitled to Good Conduct Pay @ 5^d per day.WF Record of Service 25^th September 1884Date on Record of Service indicating some unspecified discontinuity probably relating to his pay, because there is a Staff Paymaster's stamp and signed confirmation that the records are correct as at that point. His Military History summary also shows a discontinuity on that date, so that he has two lots of Home service, from 3^rd May 1876 to 25^th September 1884 and then from 26^th September 1884 to 14^th October 1884. It looks as if possibly he was going to be discharged on 25^th September 1884 and then changed his mind.WF Record of Service; WF Military History summary as at 1884 26^th September 1884Continued as Colour Sergeant.WF Record of Service 14^th October 1884Discharged at Winchester, the location of the Rifle Depot, the home base of the Rifle Corps since 1858. At some point on or prior to his discharge William is awarded the Good Conduct Medal, and his character and conduct on discharge are said to be "very good" and his habits temperate. His education is described but the layout of the form is ambiguous - it's not clear whether he has a "Hythe Certificate 2^nd Class", or a Hythe Certificate and a 2^nd Class Certificate of Education, although he would probably have to have been at least at 2^nd Class Certificate level to make Sergeant.

At the bottom of his Military History form an address is given on the line where the printed text begins "Died ..." - it's not clear whether this is indeed the address at which he died (which happened long after he left the army), or whether it's his home address when he was discharged, but I would expect the latter - if he had died, you'd expect there to be a date. The handwriting says "Address N° 6 Cassidy Road Fulham R^d London SW." and then a couple of letters one of which is partially torn away - possibly "UK".WF Record of Service; WF Military History summary as at 1884; WF Medical History form; Wiki: King's Royal Rifle Corps

Civilian 1884-19??

DateCommentsSource 10^th February 1892William and Caroline's daughter Florence Blanche Franklin marries George Shirran, a Sergeant in 1^st Battalion The Black Watch, in Gibraltar. They are living at South Barracks, Windmill Hill. On his daughter's registry entry, William Franklin's current occupation is given as "prison warder". Since Florence is obviously living in Gibraltar, her parents may be as well.GROS Statutory Marriages 055/AF 0063; Military History summary as at 1905 Circa April 1897 - April 1898Birth of William and Caroline's son Lancelot T or J Franklin, at which point Caroline (at least) is in County Cork.1911 census for Reading 2^nd April 1911The census shows William Franklin, an army pensioner aged sixty-nine (which is probably wrong) and born in Helmdon, Northamptonshire; Caroline Franklin, aged fifty-five, born in Cork but resident in England; their son Lancelot J or T Franklin, aged thirteen, born in Cork but resident in England; and Caroline's mother Caroline Walsh, a widow and old-age pensioner aged eighty-five, born in Southsea, Portsmouth; all living at 4 St George's Terrace, Reading. The couple are said to have had eleven live-born children, of whom seven are still living at this point.1911 census for Reading