754 Colour Sergeant William C. Wagstaff, Royal Engineers

William C. Wagstaff was born on the 11^th of June 1830 in St. Mary’s Parish, near the town of Woolwich, in the County of Kent. No records of William C. Wagstaff appear in the 1851 or the 1881 British Census. The Vital Records Index for the British Isles, with data from 1538 to 1888, was also checked with negative results. Based on his place of birth, it is most likely that William’s father was also a soldier and probably a non-commissioned officer in The Royal Sappers and Miners.

Wagstaff’s service records did not contain his Attestation Papers; therefore, his description on enlistment was not available for this research. A physical description of him was given at the time of his discharge. In 1870 he was described as being 39 years and 9 months of age. He was 5 feet 6-1/2 inches tall. He had a fresh complexion, light grey eyes and grey hair. Wagstaff had no scars or distinctive marks on his body.

William Wagstaff attested at Woolwich as a Bugler in the Royal Sappers and Miners on the 18^th of August 1843. At the time of his enlistment, he was 13 years and 7 months old. It appears that at the time of his attestation he was even under underage for enlistment as a boy soldier. His enlistment as a Boy Soldier is further evidence that his father was serving with the Colours. Many soldiers’ sons joined the Army at a young age, if not to follow in the fathers’ footsteps, then simply to relieve the monetary burden on their parents who may have had many mouths to feed.

Wagstaff attained the age of 18 years on the 11^th of June 1848. He continued to serve as a Bugler until the 1^st of January 1851 when he was posted to the ranks as a Private in the Royal Sappers and Miners. His trade on joining the ranks was listed as carpenter. He probably received some training as a carpenter by serving as an assistant to one of the older men in his unit. His father may have even been a carpenter. At the time he was posted to the ranks he probably had to undergo engineer recruit training at Woolwich or at Chatham.

As a 2^nd Corporal, Wagstaff was posted to Gibraltar where he served for almost six years. At the outbreak of the war with Russia in 1854, his unit received orders to proceed to the seat of the war. From Gibraltar he proceeded to the Crimea where the British and French landed sizable forces to engage the Russian Army. The companies of the Royal Sappers and Miners that took part in the operations in the Crimea by the end of the war included the 1^st through the 5^th Companies, and the 7^th through the 11^th Companies. Of these units, only the 7^th, 8^th, 10^th and 11^th Companies took part in the battles at the Alma River and on the heights at Inkermann, in addition to the siege of the city of Sebastopol.

At the time of the initial British landing on the Crimean Peninsula, the following was the order of battle of the companies of Royal Sappers and Miners:

After the landings to the north of the River Alma, the four divisions proceeded south to their ultimate destination, the city of Sebastopol. The companies of Royal Sappers and Miners took part in hard fought battles before Sebastopol was finally captured.

Wagstaff was one of the men who took part in the battles of the Alma (20 September 1854) and Inkermann (5 November 1854). He was also present at the siege of Sebastopol, which lasted until the 9^th of September 1855. For his services in the Crimean War, Wagstaff was awarded the Crimean Medal 1854-1856 with clasps [ALMA] [INKERMANN] [SEBASTOPOL] and the Turkish Crimea Medal.

Following the war in the Crimea, Wagstaff was posted to Corfu where he served for a period of about 5 years and 2 months before returning to England. Upon his return to England he was posted to Chatham in Kent.

In addition to the medals mentioned above, Colour Sergeant Wagstaff was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in 1869 after completing 18 years of service in the ranks. Along with the medal he also received a gratuity payment.

Promotions: William Wagstaff received the following promotions or changes in rank during his time in the Royal Sappers and Miners and later in The Corps of Royal Engineers:

Date of Promotion	Rank
18 August 1843:	Attested as a Boy Soldier (Bugler)
11 June 1848:	Attained the legal age for service in the ranks
1 January 1851:	Posted to the ranks as a Private
23 February 1854:	Promoted 2^nd Corporal
1 April 1855:	Promoted Corporal
13 January 1856:	Promoted Sergeant
17 October 1856:	Royal Sappers and Miners redesignated Royal Engineers
1 May 1863:	Promoted Colour Sergeant

It is worth noting in the table above that Wagstaff rose from the rank of Private to the rank of Sergeant in just a few days more than five years. These rapid promotions attest to his prowess as a soldier and to his potential as a non-commissioned officer.

Conduct: Colour Sergeant Wagstaff was awarded Good Conduct pay at the rate of 1.d per day. By the 11^th of June 1869 Wagstaff would have been entitled to Good Conduct Pay at 5.d per day had he not been promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1856. At the time of his discharge Colour Sergeant Wagstaff’s conduct was rated as "Very Good." His discharge record indicates that:

Education: Colour Sergeant Wagstaff’s discharge papers give no indication of any military training he received, nor is there any information in his papers about the award of any Certificates of Education.

No Medical History Sheet was included in Colour Sergeant Wagstaff’s discharge documents.

No marriage information was included in Colour Sergeant Wagstaff’s discharge records. The only personal data contained in his papers is his intention to reside in Chatham, Kent after his discharge from the Army.

Colour Sergeant Wagstaff made a request for discharge after completing 21 years of service with the Colours. Based on this request, a Regimental Discharge Board convened on the 7^th of March 1870 to review the service of Colour Sergeant Wagstaff. At the time the board was convened, Wagstaff’s total service was reckoned at 21 years and 270 days. His total service abroad was reckoned as shown in the table below:

Overseas Location	Period of Service
Gibraltar	5 years and 353 days
Crimea	1 year and 262 days
Corfu	5 years and 65 days
Total Overseas Service	12 years and 225 days

After reviewing his record, the Board recommended that Colour Sergeant Wagstaff be discharged from the service. The Board noted that Wagstaff elected not to serve in the Army Reserve after leaving the Regular Army.

Approval of Wagstaff’s discharge was approved by the Assistant Adjutant General, R.E. on the 12^th of March 1870. He was finally discharged from the Army on the 22^nd of March 1870 with a total of 21 years and 285 days.