Admiralty Nursing records
On from the nursing connection of last week, and persevering with The National Archives, here is some more exploration of the records and information you might find. I’m taking a bit of time to transcribe the records I’m accessing, with the hope of making them part of a nurse archive for genealogy.
While lockdown persists and the records are accessible online, I will outline some details you could find on your relation.
Before that, an interesting aside, we have a family story about my maternal grandmother in Ireland who continued to work as a nurse at Letterkenny Asylum after her marriage in 1916, the story goes she was ‘grassed up’ by a relation for working after she had married, and then as married women working was frowned upon she had to finish. The expectation was that if married, “…most women stayed at home to look after the children while their husband worked and brought in a weekly wage. The majority of working women were unmarried, and they were limited to roles in teaching, nursing or domestic work. For most, the expectation was that they would get married and have children…”[1]. Any other families have this type of memory passed down?
Back to the details you might find in the records in discovery[2].
ADM 104. Nursing Sisters Service Register[3] usually between about 1890 and 1929 in here will be:
The full name.
Date of birth.
Dates appointed to positions such as Nursing Sister and Head Sister.
Training Qualifications, the place they qualified with the length of time taken.
Date of appointment to specific positions:
Noting the rank (Nursing sister or Head sister)
Hospital (naval hospital) appointed to with date of arrival and date of discharge.
Place (hospital) discharged to.
Reason for discharge if appropriate often naming the nurse they were to replace.
Annual report produced in April or May noting:
Conduct.
Ability.
Tact in dealing with staff and patients.
Zeal.
Sympathy with patients.
Temperament.
General remarks including efficiency in:
Medical nursing
Surgical nursing.
Physical fitness.
Administrative capacity.
Special notations. Such as details of promotions or demotions, transgressions, reports etc.
If appropriate a date of death also (if death in service).
Sometimes a home address with father’s name.
These records which were kept with true imperial precision were, in essence for pension and monitoring purposes, not to give the likes of me a telling insight into the person detailed and the person detailing, but they do.
An extract from the special remarks to illustrate…
Date circa 1915.
Miss B***t “Asks to be removed on account of discomfort in quarters caused by the unreasonable and ungovernable temper of Miss *******e, head sister states that in some instances latter was to blame but Miss B***t shows little tact with reserve sisters and she has no control over a very excitable temper, and it is not helpful. It would add to the efficiency of the hospital if a sister of tact and experience was appointed.”
The same year her report stated. Conduct: satisfactory, Ability: above average, Tact in dealing with staff: average, Zeal: above average, (Tact and) Sympathy with patients: above average, Temperament: Impetuous, quick tempered, very kind to patients. Medical nursing: above average, Surgical nursing: exceptional, Physical fitness: average, Administrative capacity: above average.
There is a lot of reading to be done between the lines, this however is exciting detail for any relative of this lady. Many of these nurses would have no direct descendants as they remained nursing and unmarried until at least late middle age but surely will have nieces, nephews, cousins etc.
Fascinating.
If you need an assistance check my website out.
[1] HistoryLearning.com. Women in 1900. https://historylearning.com/the-role-of-women-1900-1945/women-in-1900/ : accessed 08 April 2021
[2] The National Archives. Discovery. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ : accessed 07 April 2021.
[3] War Office (Great Britain). Admiralty and predecessors: Office of the Director General of the Medical Department of the Navy and predecessors: Service Registers and Registers of Deaths and Injuries. ADM 104. National Archives (Great Britain), Kew, England. Collection: Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/h/C27195 : accessed 07 April 2021.
Mustering a post
Following on from the previous piece on WW1 army officers I will outline over the next few weeks a few more sources you might consider in your UK military ancestor search, I will just widen the time frame, and try to work logically.
First one to mention and the subject of this piece is:
“The Soldier in Medieval England” a database formed out of a project headed by Professor Adrian Bell of the Henley Business School and Professor Anne Curry of the University of Southampton to challenge assumptions about the emergence of professional soldiery between 1369 and 1453. The database has grown with input from ‘citizen historians’ like you and I, among others. The datasets used are:
1.Musters Dataset, held in The National Archive a record of the army ‘mustered’ to leave the country between 1369 and 1450, kept and maintained to account for the money spent on overseas campaigns. A captain raised forces for the crown and had a contract specifying size of force, type of troops, length and location of service. The muster was to check if the captains had kept their side of the contract, if troops had not turned up, they had not ‘passed muster’. The database includes English garrisons in Calais, as well as garrisons in Wales, Scotland and England. There are also musters of ‘standing forces’, these would have been troops serving with the lieutenants of Gascony and Ireland.
2.French Garrisons. Data recorded for the soldiers who served in the English garrisons in Northern France, principally Normandy, at the end of the Hundred Years War from the capture of Harfleur by Henry V in 1415 to the fall of Lancastrian Normandy in 1450. Also holding data on garrison reinforcements, armies operating in the field or undertaking particular sieges in France during this period. These soldiers were regularly mustered and review on a monthly to quarterly basis dependent on the nature of service. The Musters occasionally include information on the geographical origins of the soldiers when the English rulers became concerned about the loyalty of local troops after the successes of Joan of Arc.
3.Protections Dataset, the letters of protection and appointments of attorneys granted and recorded on the Treaty (or French) Rolls , Gascon rolls and Scottish Rolls for the years 1369-1453. They are legal instruments that would be taken out by soldiers prior to undertaking military service outside England, in order to protect their interests whilst they were absent. The letter of protection protected an individual from prosecution or legal action whilst serving overseas; by letters of attorney an individual appointed legal representatives to act on his behalf whilst absent. However, both types of letter only indicate an intention to serve, and do not in themselves prove that service was actually given.
4. The ‘Agincourt roll’, was a part of the Musters dataset and now separate, it contains the names of some retinue leaders and men-at-arms (but no archers) who were with Henry V in the battle of Agincourt in 1415. Unlike the documents in the Muster dataset, created for accounting purposes, this list is a result of heraldic and genealogic interest of the Tudor age.
With many thanks to the project: Information on soldiers has been taken from the AHRC-funded ‘The Soldier in Later Medieval England Online Database’, www.medievalsoldier.org [1].
Given all the above what can you discover?
Raise your hand anyone wouldn’t search on their own name you don’t need to be a narcissist!
I searched for John Colclough with first name variations and there I was not.
Take John out…
I found one Colclough.
Thomas Colclough, Rank: Archer, Service: Garrison of Rouen, Captain: John of Lancaster (1389 – 1435) duke of Bedford, Lieutenant / Sub-Captain: Handford, John, Sir (b. 1391) seigneur de Maisons-sur-Seine. Service date: 15 06 1435, Source type: Muster Roll, Reference: BNF, MS. Fr. 25772, no. 954.
With background research opening up who knows where this might lead.
For further reading try:
Was your ancestor on the Agincourt … – Medieval Soldier
Exploring a medieval muster roll
The Battle of Agincourt – The National Archives
My genealogy services at
Genealogy services, family history, house history, DNA
[1] AHRC. The Soldier in Later Medieval England Online Database. www.medievalsoldier.org : accessed 03March 2021
Army Lists
http://www.genealogy-and-you.com
The Army list or more specifically Army Lists have been kept since at least 1702 a list was published in 1740, annually from 1754 until 1879, then quarterly from 1879 until 1922[1]. As part of The National Archive referenced WO 651754-1879 are printed annual Army Lists. “These official lists give the names of the officers of the several regiments with the dates of their commissions, etc. Lists have been officially posted up with manuscript corrections. For some years the list is in two volumes. In addition to the regular volumes there are special lists of the forces in North America (1783), of British American half-pay officers (1782-1783) and of foreign corps (1794-1802).”[2]
An indication of an officer’s career with some lateral thinking can be readily deduced from an Army List.
With this in mind unable, to suppress the narcissist I looked for a Colclough in 1754 Army list[3], not one there. Scrolling through my eye was caught by a certain Maitland, left out of the “Additions &t. to the Half Pay, to 20th February 1755” section in the said list[4]. Before exploring Maitland, a note on Half-Pay. It was devised as a retaining fee in the early 18th century, an officer not required in active service was granted this Half-Pay status but could be called up at any time in for instance the Jacobean rebellion of 1715 all were recalled. Latterly in the 19th century it became a way of avoiding service by a convoluted means, wealthy young men could buy a commission to get on the promotion ladder, and the next day go to Half-Pay (signed off by the Crown) and made sure they weren’t called up if the service was in an unpleasant place, but now as a captain they could buy a vacant Major commission in a fashionable regiment go on Half-Pay and onwards and upwards. One day’s ‘full’ service had the same value as many years and entitled the new officer Half-pay status with the associated rank[5]. Anyway Mr. Maitland was not retained or allowed to be retained as he had, in the publication capitals not mine. “PAPIST”[6] written next to his name! Must be story in there…
Taking my fruitless search for a namesake in the 1754 Army List(s) and putting it to one side, here is a more fruitful way of looking in the Army Lists. I would expect you have a name, and what you need ideally is the name of the regiment and some dates.
For example: An ancestor named Robert Shean known to have been an army surgeon in the 1830’s, possibly served with served with the Bedfordshire regiment in 1834. I will look in the army list for 1834 in the National Archives. Find that the Bedfordshire Regiment was known as the 16th (Bedfordshire) regiment of Foot. Then scroll through the names and there is the Surgeon, Robert Shean, appointed to position 26th October 1830. These snippets of information can be used to search for him in 1835 and 1833, possibly the 1841 census, marriage records and onwards…
Building your family tree is teasing the last piece of valuable data from snippets and knowing where to look. I can help.
http://www.genealogy-and-you.com
[1] S&N Genealogy Supplies Ltd. Army Lists. https://armylists.org.uk/index.php : accessed 05 March 2021.
[2] National Archives (Great Britain). WO – Records created or inherited by the War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General, and related bodies. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/r/C259: accessed 05 March 2021.
[3] Public Record Office (1982). War Office: printed annual army lists. 1754. The national Archives. Kew, England. Catalogue reference: WO 65/1/1. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ : accessed 05 March 2021.
[4] Ibid. p. 61.
[5] Woodham Smith, Cecil Blanche Fitz Gerald (1958). The reason why : a behind the scenes account of the charge of the Light Brigade. P. 31. Harmondsworth : Penguin. www.thearchive.org : accessed 05 March 2021.
[6] Public Record Office (1982). War Office: printed annual army lists. 1754. The national Archives. Kew, England. Catalogue reference: WO 65/1/1. P. 61. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ : accessed 05 March 2021.
Where there’s a will there’s a Genealogy way.
I’ll have break from the military for this week, I needed some transcribing practice, it’s a bonus the names are interesting to me.
Will of John Colclough alias Rowley, Potter of Burslem, Staffordshire.
Testamentary Records. England. 07 May 1657. COLCLOUGH, John. Will. Prerogative Court of Canterbury: Will Registers. PROB 11/264/200. The National Archives, Kew, England. Will of John Colclough alias Rowley, Potter of Burslem, Staffordshire | The National Archives : accessed 10 March 2021.
My surname originated probably in Staffordshire.
Elsewhere I have noted the Colclough/Wedgwood connection, here is a tangible glimpse, I have transcribed it so any errors or omissions in transcription are mine, but you can get the gist. I needed the transcribing practice. We can tease some genealogy out from it too…
An image of the original referenced from above.
So the transcript is:
In the Name of God Amen The
Seventeeth daie of November in the year of Or Lord God. One
Thousand six hundred Ffifitie Six. I John Colclough als’ Row
Ley of Burslem in the countie of Stafford Potter. being
sick and weak in bodie but of good and perfect memorie bless
& praysed be the Lord therefore do make and ordayne this my last
will and Testament in manner following. Ffirst I commend my Soul
To Almightie God my most merciful Creator, Trusting by shorlie
meritts of Jesus Christ my saviour to have the same recd into Abrahams
Bosome, And my bodie to Christian buriall in the Parish Church or Chann:
Sell of Burslem in such ceremie and decent manner as my Executor
Hereafter herein named shall think fitt. And for such Lands Tenements
howses buildings monies goods debts cattles & chattles as it hath
pleased the Lord in great mercie to bestow upon me. I give devise
bestow and bequeath in manner & forme following. Ffirst I give devise
& bequeath to Thomas Wedgwood of the church yard in Burslem afore
said, his heirs and Assignies for ever. Both these my two Cottages or Pr
emisis in Burslem aforesaid. Th’ one heretofore called Machins howse &
the other Ormes howse now in the possession or occupation of me and
my assignes or under servants withall howses edifices buildings stables
outhouses gardens backsides Lands & appy [fixure] to them and with to
them belonging together with all my right title interest claims &
domains to them and other of them. Also I give to the said Thomas
Wedgwood & his Assignes all my potting Boards, and all other necessarie
implements and materials belonging to the trade of potting (Lead and
Lead saw onlie excepted). Also I give and bequeath unto [indecipherable text] half
Brother William Colclough of Burslem aforesaid and Katherine
Colclough his wife and John Colclough their sonne the summe of [ten]
Ten pounds apiece to everie one of them. ALSO I give to the said John
Colclough six Silver spoones with everie one of them a J. C. upon them
Also I give devise and bequeath to the said John Colclough and his
Assignes. One Tenure or the remainder of a Lease which I have of in
or to one Close field or Croft called Little Elgreave situate in Burslem
aforesaid. Also I give to my reputed half sister Margaret Drakeford
alias Rowley Ffive pounds. Also I give unto Moses Wedgwood of Burslem
aforesaid Potter all such summe or summes of money as he oweth or
anie way handeth indebted unto me upon anie account whatsoever Also I give
unto William Wedgwood his brother All such monies as he oweth or
anie way handeth indebted to me. Also I give devise and bequeath
unto the aforesaid Thomas Wedgwood and his Asignes one Tenure
or remainder of a Lease which I have of, in or to that field Close or
Pastures called the Horse pastures He therefore paying to his
Brother Aaron Wedgwood and Marie and Sarah his sisters as it
is my will and mynd the summe of ffortie shillings apeece to every
one of them within the space of Six mon. this [niyt] after his Entry
upon the same. Also I give unto Margaret Wedgwood of Ashley
widow the summe of ffortie shillings over and besides the monie she
now oweth me. Also I give unto everie one of my servants Two
shillings six pence apiece. Also I give unto Clive Astburie of
Shelton one pound. Also after funerall expenses & Probate dis.
charged I give devise and bequeath All the rest residue remain-
der of all and singular my goods moveable and immoveable debts monies
Cattle & Chattles to the aforesaid Thomas Wedgwood for ever. Onlie it
It is my will and mynd That Gilbert Wedgwood his father shall have
the usage of all the goods of mine now standing in his howse at
Burslem aforesaid, Th’ aforesaid silver spoons onlie excepted. And
of this my last will and Testament I do constitute ordaine nomint.
& appoint my Loveing friend the said Thomas Wedgwood Sole
Executor, hopeing he will execute and perform the same according
to the dutie I repost in him. And I desire my Loving kinsman the
said John Colclough to see the same done accordinglie And I
doe herby utter admit and make voyd all former & other wills
whatsoever. IN WITNESS whereof my last will &
Testament. I the said John Colclough alias Rowley havg. putt my
Hand & seald. Dated the day & time above written. One Thousand &
Six Hundred Ffiftie Six (John Colclough alias Rowley) Sealed
Signed and published in the presence of Gilbert Wegwood John
Colclough John Shawe./
This will was proved at London
The seventh day of May in ye year of Our Lord One Thousand Six
Hundred Ffiftie seven. Before the Judges for Probate of wills &
Granting of administrations lawfullie authorized by th’ oath of
Thomas Wedgwood sole Executor named in the said will To whom
was committed Administration of all and singular the goods chattels
and debts of the said deceased. He being by virtue of a commission
trust Legallie serve well and truelie to Administer the same.
*****************************************************
So to find some genealogy in the will:
William Colclough married (date not apparent from this document, however if John Colclough the son was an adult as seems likely as he appears to have witnessed the will, the marriage could be estimated as around 1630 as a starting point for further research). Katherine (Maiden name not known from this document).
William and Katherine were parents of John Colclough (see above) can be estimated birth as around 1630 as a start for research.
Family lived Burslem Staffordshire.
William Colclough and John Colclough alias Rowley were half brothers so shared a parent it is likely that was their father but again not absolutely clear from the will.
John Colclough alias Rowley had a reputed (his words) half sister Margaret it can be implied her maiden name was Rowley and she married a Mr. Drakeford. Margaret and John Colclough alias Rowley shared a parent, again the implication s that this was a different parent than William Colclough and John Colclough alias Rowley shared.
From this document it appears William Colclough and Margaret Drakeford were not related, but this also needs further research.
Onto the Wedgwood’s. Gilbert Wedgwood is Thomas Wedgwood’s father, Thomas is certainly an adult so born early 17th Century, Gilbert likely late 16th starting point for research, living in Burslem.
Gilbert’s other children Thomas Wedgwood’s siblings are Aaron a brother, Marie and Sarah sisters their ages are not clear but likely to be young adults.
Margaret Wedgwood a widow is mentioned, can be deduced she was the wife of a deceased brother of Gilbert, needs to be checked, she lived Ashley in Staffs.
There are two more Wedgwood’s mentioned Moses and his brother William, to start research a useful deduction would be they are brothers of Gilbert, uncles of Thomas, Aaron, Sarah and Marie, this would have to be checked and verified as cannot be proved from the document.
Finally a Clive Astburie of Shelton is noted, of interest Astbury a potting name of high status, viz. John Astbury born 1688 died 1743 Shelton in Staffordshire, English Potting technology pioneer, earliest of the great Staffordshire potters a precursor of Josiah Wedgwood. John Astbury | English potter | Britannica : accessed 12 March 2021.
Along with the Genealogy there is going to be a wealth of social history of the Potteries hidden in plain sight in the will just from the mention of an Astburie.
After the Will interlude, I’ll make quick return to Army records.
If your ancestor was an enlisted man you will need to have an idea of the regiment they were in, because before about 1873 the records surviving are usually organized by regiment. This is especially pertinent if your ancestor was not pensioned, most weren’t!
You can search the National Archive Discovery catalogue by name for non-commissioned officers and soldiers listed in some of the muster rolls and pay lists from the early 18th century to 1898 as well as description books for 1756 to 1900. The description books give the age, place of birth, trade and service. You might strike lucky!
FindmyPast and FamilySearch host a collection of British Army Service Records 1760-1915, holding about a million pieces, including records of men pensioned out of the Army (1760-1913) or who served in militias (1806-1915). You should discover between four and eight pages for Army or Militia with name, place of birth, regiment/s, year of discharge and dates of service. Sometimes you’ll get a physical description and information on family members.
Back to The National Archives there will be militia regiments records from around the middle of the 18th century, but as I mentioned you will probably need to know the name of the regiment to search for an individual. As well as these sources you might consider the Edinburgh Army Attestation Registers covering 1794-1887, at Edinburgh City Archives. These include men from various parts of Scotland and some from England and Ireland, who enlisted not only in the regular army, but also in the Royal Marines, the East India Company Army and various militia and volunteer regiments.
Ancestry too, holds many records a free index is available to some, for instance Gateshead, Durham, England, War Honours Scrapbook, 1914-1920, “This collection is a scrapbook of newspaper clippings of photos and names of soldiers from the Gateshead area in World War I. Most of the clippings are portrait photographs of individual soldiers with information about their unit, rank and condition, such as wounded, killed or missing. The scrapbook also includes articles about memorial and awards given and there are also a few group photos”[1].
The Genealogist has a database of browsable books including regimental histories.
You might also consider Archive.org https://archive.org/index.php it is a bit more convoluted to search in here but all the same a valuable resource for history.
One lockdown plus has been access to The National Archive online, register, search discovery… https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
Do you want me to find your ancestors?
Visit my website
Contact me at info@genealogy-and-you.com
[1] Ancestry.com. Gateshead, Durham, England, War Honours Scrapbook, 1914-1920. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/categories/mil_lists/ : accessed 26 March 2021.