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  • Military duty terms

    My Royal Engineer joined up in 1855 or early 1856. Initially he was a "Private" or "Sapper" (REs did some changes in there, and which one is used in his muster records actually goes back and forth).

    In 1860, he's listed in the column "Reasons of Absence" which has an explanation "When Men are absent on Duty, the place where, and the nature of the Duty are to be particularized".

    The entry is "Hospital" and then in the remarks section:
    "Entitled to ? G.C. Pay 23 Aug 1860 - just figured out: G.C. = Good Conduct, but why repeat it, and it doesn't appear to be the same number that's in the column

    In the other section of the ledger, he had 92 days of "Ordinary" days, 51 "Good Conduct at 1d"; 37 days "Rations on Shore"; 55 days "In Regimental or General Hospital"

    So, it sounds like he was in hospital for 55 days this quarter? Would he have been given the good conduct pay for some reason in association with the hospitalization, or the reason he was hospitalized (e.g., wounded or injured while on duty)?
    Last edited by PhotoFamily; 10-08-12, 17:56.

  • #2
    Also, he entered the REs with a trade of bricklayer, after the hospitalization there was a remark "Orderly" - might he have been give light duties while he continued to recover from an injury? What would he have been doing? He could read & write - would that have been common among his fellow soldiers?

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    • #3
      He would have neen awarded a Good Conduct Medal at some point in time so there would be so many days pay awarded as ordinary and from the day he received his GC medal he would have been awarded GC pay which was always higher. Where was he in 1860? I have one who was awarded a GC Medal and therefore pay commensurate with that in Seetapore in India in the early 1860's. Was he in the Crimea War 1854 to 1856? Where and why was he hospitalised? Have you found his Army records on FMP?

      Janet

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      • #4
        Don't have his attestation/pension papers - he left after 12 yrs service; I've searched FMP on more than one occasion looking for them. I have musters to guide me, and birth of two children while he was in service.

        His first post after Chatham was Scutari, in 1856, then Malta so he may have seen the tale end of the war, but as mentioned, he was an RE. The musters indicate he was hospitalized in Floriana, Malta, and later in Chatham. As near as I can tell, Chatham hospital records don't exist? Subsequent service in Kildare, Ireland & Bermuda.

        Are there existing records for Good Conduct medals?

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        • #5
          Good Conduct Medals/Badges were awarded for service. My Great Grandfather was awarded 5 GC medals, which I think was the maximum you could be awarded, but apart from finding this out from the musters and his attestation papers I do not think there is much more information to be had.

          The following website gives you some indication as to what they were all about.

          http://yourarchives.nationalarchives...prox_1856-1899)


          The above website, which is the National Archives site may not give you full details when you click on it, though I do not know why not! However, you will find more information by googling Good Conduct Medals/Badges Army and UK or going on TNA site and searching for Good Conduct Medals/Badges.

          Twelve years service should still find his attestation papers. Sounds as though he was in at the end of the Crimea War. Peace was declared March 1856. Many soldiers became ill at Scutari with fever and many other illnesses, and many died there, sadly having had little to do with the battles! Mine also was in Malta April to June 1856 en route to India and the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny.

          If you want to send me a PM with some details I can do a search for you but I may not get around to a search until Saturday.

          Janet
          Last edited by Janet; 10-08-12, 21:19.

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          • #6
            There are registers of GC awards at the National Archives but I don't think they'd tell you much - probably just date, name, regiment and number.

            There are LOTS of discharge papers missing,even for those you'd expect to be there.
            The National Archives, Kew – Research Service Offered
            Contact me via PM on Family Tree Forum or via my personal website - www.militaryandfamilyresearch.co.uk

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            • #7
              And I understood that those who didn't stay in until pension were often missing their attestation papers.

              What about the other questions? What were the duties of an orderly? "Hospital" in the column definitely meant he was hospitalized?

              Also, what would mulet mean in regards to the musters?
              Last edited by PhotoFamily; 11-08-12, 01:30.

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              • #8
                "Orderly" and "hospital" could have been his job description. Ward orderlies were nursing/medical assistants and perhaps the army had them too, to carry out routine tasks in the barrack hospital?

                Jay
                Janet in Yorkshire



                Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

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                • #9
                  Agree with Janet. Have often seen men in Army Musters listed as "Orderly" - just an untrained "helper" in a hospital, I suppose.
                  The National Archives, Kew – Research Service Offered
                  Contact me via PM on Family Tree Forum or via my personal website - www.militaryandfamilyresearch.co.uk

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                  • #10
                    Sarah,

                    Have sent you a PM.

                    Orderly definition appears to be:

                    orderly - a male hospital attendant who has general duties that do not involve the medical treatment of patients.

                    Mullet/Mulet appears to be some sort of star/device which may become the badge of the Regiment.

                    Janet

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                    • #11
                      Mulet relates to pay. Not entirely sure but may be some sort of fine or forfeit.
                      The National Archives, Kew – Research Service Offered
                      Contact me via PM on Family Tree Forum or via my personal website - www.militaryandfamilyresearch.co.uk

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                      • #12
                        Mulet seems to have a few meanings:



                        Janet

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                        • #13
                          In this instance, though, it must relate to pay.
                          The National Archives, Kew – Research Service Offered
                          Contact me via PM on Family Tree Forum or via my personal website - www.militaryandfamilyresearch.co.uk

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                          • #14
                            You may well be right Ann, though I am not aware of the context of the actual word as far as Sarah's Musters are concerned. If it is in connection with the GC Badges then yes it might mean pay, but if in a different context then that would be a different matter.

                            I have to say I have not come across the word in the musters that I have for the same period. My Oxford Dictionary meaning has:

                            "Mulet" a fine imposed for an offence with a second meaning being fine/deprive.

                            Googling the word has been difficult to come up with anything much, as a google search insists on spelling the word as "Mullet" until I came off the UK only site and went world wide.

                            Janet
                            Last edited by Janet; 11-08-12, 18:54.

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                            • #15
                              I got the Musters for Sarah so have copies! I've seen the word in Musters a number of times.
                              The National Archives, Kew – Research Service Offered
                              Contact me via PM on Family Tree Forum or via my personal website - www.militaryandfamilyresearch.co.uk

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                              • #16
                                I agree it seemed to involve pay, which would need to be in the musters, tracking what was paid.

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                                • #17
                                  Originally posted by Janet View Post
                                  Thanks, Janet - when I googled it, the responses were mostly for mullet - i.e., the hair style!

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                                  • #18
                                    Ah well Ann had the edge on me having seen the musters!

                                    One tip I have used quite successfully to make sure you have correct census is to track each one you think might be yours on each census and see where that might take you. It does mean you having to know the siblings and the wife's name and roughly when she married but may be worth a try. I have tried this whilst looking for a death of a Gt G mother who could be any one of 20 people, but by this method I have eliminated about 15 of them as those 15 were married to very different people. So I now only need five death certs instead of 20!! One at a time of course, but what's the betting, mine will be the fifth one I buy!!

                                    Good luck Sarah as you do seem to have a knotty problem.

                                    Janet
                                    Last edited by Janet; 11-08-12, 20:25.

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                                    • #19
                                      Sorry Janet - bit of an unfair advantage!
                                      The National Archives, Kew – Research Service Offered
                                      Contact me via PM on Family Tree Forum or via my personal website - www.militaryandfamilyresearch.co.uk

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                                      • #20
                                        I think you will find the word they use in connection with pay is not mulet but MULCT : definition : á fine or extraction of money from your pay.
                                        Last edited by grumpy; 12-08-12, 01:14.
                                        Whoever said Seek and Ye shall find was not a genealogist.

                                        David

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