Tweet
Our expert Stephen Rigden, pictured, answers your questions.
From Barbara Jarvis in Bromley, Greater London:
‘I am trying to find some information about a probable great or great great uncle whose medals I have inherited. They are from South Africa and the first one has a date bar 1878-9. The inscription is ‘1724 Pte J Lipscombe 1/13 Foot’. The second medal is inscribed ‘2100 Pte J Lipscombe. Som L I’.
As far as I know they belonged to the same person, who may have been my paternal grandmother’s brother or uncle. Are you able to tell me where I might get his military history or any other information? I cannot find a J Lipscombe on any census.’
Steve says:
‘Thanks for your question, Barbara.
You are in luck here, as your man is to be found in the Chelsea Pensioner British Army Service records which we have recently been publishing on findmypast.co.uk. The originals of these records are held at The National Archives; we have scanned and indexed them.
They are the surviving army service records of men who were pensioned out from the British Army within the period 1760 to 1913 (although at present only the records up to 1900 have been published online - the period from there to 1913 will follow later this summer). Some of the soldiers were indeed Chelsea Pensioners resident at the Royal Hospital Chelsea; however, the great majority were out-pensioners receiving a home pension at home.
There is an entry in the database for a Private 1724 later 2100 John Lipscombe (sometimes Lipscomb without the e) of the 13th Foot, complete with no fewer than 10 images. These give all sorts of fascinating information - a physical description, his medical history, a complete potted history of his army career including the Sekukuni Campaign in South Africa in 1878 and his related medal entitlement (South African Medal and Clasp 1878/79). You can also see details of his immediate family: mother, brother, sister and wife, with date and place of their marriage.
You can search for Private John Lipscombe in the British Army service records and download the images here.’
If you’d like to send your question to Steve, please register or opt to receive newsletters in My Account.
More...