William McGrath 67th Regiment of Foot

[GarethGrainger]

I'm looking for military information of this Regiment, I know William must have served in India and Burma
as he and his family appear on the 1871 census living at Western Heights Dover.
One child was born in Trichonopoly which I believe is in the Madras area.
Another child is recorded as born in Burma.
Is it possible to get movement records of this regiment during this period
Was the British at war in India between 1861 and 1871, or were they on a pease keeping mission.
Is it possible to obtain birth records of the children born in India.

[MarkCDodd]

It is possible to get the birth records as long a you find them in the GRO index. However, the official documents were sometimes handed to the servicemen and not kept so your only record is the GRO index.

There is an excellent Bulletin Board for finding out about troop movements etc.

http://www.victorianwars.com/

[apowell]

Hi Gareth,

The timeline for the 67th Regiment of Foot:

1865-1879
South Africa
Home Service. Ireland, England
Burma
India
2nd Afghan War (1879)

I noticed on the census entries William was still a soldier on the 1881 census but it doesn't give his Regiment however if he was still serving in the 67th Regiment of Foot it's possible he took part in the 2nd Afghan War of 1879 and saw action at the Battle of Charasiah.

The Timeline of the Regiment confirms the details of the birth of two of his children being born in India and Burma and except for the possibility he was in Afghan all the other postings would have been peacetime duties. The only other possible military engagement he could have been involved in was the Third Anglo-Burmese War 1885-87 2nd Battalion (1st Battalion also served during 1888, qualifying for the later clasp) but it depended when he was discharged between 1881-1891 based on the census information.

He would have been awarded the India General Service Medal 1854-95 for his service in India and depending on his postings maybe the Afghanistan Medal 1878-1880.

The 67th Regiment became the Hampshire Regiment (1st & 2nd Battalions) from 1881.

What you need to find out is information on his military records and I'm sure due to his length of service he would have been awarded a pension and these records should be held at the National Archive
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Check out this site for history on the British in the Raj which also contains a searchable database of records and documents that may help in your research.
http://www.fibis.org

The nation archive also holds these Regiments records:
Record Summary
Title 37th Foot, 67th Foot and Hampshire Regiment
Covering dates 1877-1888
Held by The National Archives, Kew
Context : quick reference
WO Records created or inherited by the War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General, and related bodies
Division within WO Records of other administrative departments of the War Office
WO 16 War Office: Muster Books and Pay Lists
Subseries within WO 16 Infantry

Contact the Regimental Museum because they may hold some individual soldiers' records or they maybe able to help and advice but it depends on the individual museum however it costs nothing to check.
http://www.royalhampshireregimentmuseum.co.uk

The website Mark gave is well worth posting on because you'll usually find someone with a keen interest in the 67th Regiment and may have lots of good resources they're willing to share.

Please don't hesitate in asking for further help and let us know how you get on because if we can confirm the Afghan war then we can get lots of further information.

Good luck
Kind regards
Adrian

[GarethGrainger]

Many thanks for that, I will certainly check out those web sites
William was indeed still a soldier in the 1881 census living in Ambrose St York.
His youngest son Francis (my grandfather) was born 13 Oct 1881 and on hi birth
certificate his father William is registered as Sergeant 4th West Yorkshire Militia
So he (William must have transfered to that regiment between 1871 and 1881.
Was the 4th West Yorks Mititia some kind of home guard.
Were could I find info on this regiment.

[MarkCDodd]

You should be able to find him in the Military Attestations.....

Militia Attestations Index, Royal Garrison Artillery, 1872 - 1915

Surname: Mcgrath
Given Name: William
Birthplace: Carrick, Tipperary
Birth County: Tipperary
Birth Country: Ireland
TN References: Wo96/1444
Sequence Number: 132
Militia: Tipperary

Surname: Mcgrath
Given Name: William
Birthplace: Hacketstown, Co. Wicklow
Birth County: Wicklow
Birth Country: Ireland
TN References: Wo96/1451
Sequence Number: 322
Militia: Wicklow

[MarkCDodd]

Just looked up the GRO and have the indexes...

Regimental Birth MCGRATH MICHAEL 67th 1875 Thayetmyo Vol:1110 Page:15

Regimental Birth MCGRATH AGNES C 67th 1877 Trichinopoly Vol:1110 Page:15

[GarethGrainger]

Tht's brilliant info Mark many thanks for that.
How do I take it further from here
ie request service record etc

[MarkCDodd]

You order them from the GRO like you would a normal Certificate.

If you order online you will see a heading called "For overseas events which were registered with the British authorities".

William Thomas is also listed. He has two entries which probably means one is a Birth and the other a Baptism/Christening.

Regimental Birth MCGRATH WILLIAM T 67th 1870 Vol:1110 Page:4
Regimental Birth MCGRATH WILLIAM T 67th 1870 Vol:1110 Page:15

Martin

Regimental Birth MCGRATH MARTIN 67th 1872 Vol:1110 Page:15

John has three entries!!

Regimental Birth MCGRATH JOHN 67th 1869 Vol:1110 Page:15
Regimental Birth MCGRATH JOHN 67th 1869 Vol:1110 Page:5
Regimental Birth MCGRATH JOHN 67th 1869 Vol:1109 Page:16

No entry for Edward. If his father was in the Militia by then he would only be registered with the normal GRO.

For the Militia records you would have to contact the National Archives.