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8835 Troop Quartermaster Sergeant
GEORGE FLETCHER
Royal Engineers  

by

Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(August 2021)

Figure 1.  Crest of the Corps of Royal Engineers (Victorian Era)
(Image courtesy of Stuart Gase) 

1.  INTRODUCTION  

            This study was initiated after the author acquired the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (VR) awarded to Quartermaster Sergeant Fletcher.  The information provided in this study was obtained from official Army records, medal rolls, family trees, civil documents and The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers.

            George Fletcher’s story is not an exciting one; that is, it is not the heroic story of a man who went to war and won many medals.  In fact, the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is his only entitlement and he never left England to serve in any wars, campaigns or battles.  His story may not be a typical one, but it is the story of a man in the Royal Engineers whose total service amounted to 21 years.  Many non-commissioned officers in the Royal Engineers earned only the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, including many who did serve abroad during their time in service.     

            Every effort has been made to make Quartermaster Sergeant Fletcher’s story as complete and as accurate as possible given the available resources.  The numerous pages of his service record obtained from the National Archives formed the basis for most of the material presented in the following sections.  Volumes of the Corps history also provided a good deal of information, not specifically about Fletcher, but about the units in which he served.   

2.  EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION  

Early Life

            George Fletcher was born in the Parish of St. Martin’s, in the Town of Lincoln, in the County of Lincolnshire in September 1847, although his date of birth appears to be uncertain.  He listed his age as 19 years in September 1866 when he enlisted in the Army.  If indeed he was exactly 19 years old when he enlisted, his date of birth would be in September 1847.  However, the Civil Registration Birth Index for the years 1837-1915 shows a George Fletcher born in Lincoln in the third quarter of 1845.  Most family trees posted on Ancestry.com are using 1845 as his year of birth.  The census returns for 1851 and 1861 (see tables below) seem to indicate that he was born in or about 1846. 

            George was the son of William Fletcher (1804-?) and Charlotte Fletcher, née Smith (1807-1886).  The 1851 Census below shows the composition of the Fletcher family about four or five years after the George’s birth. 

1851 Census of England (30 March 1851)

 NOTES:

(1)   The address at 3 Frances Court does not appear to exist anymore.

(2)   The man and the two women in the table above with the name Broughton are identified in the census as the children of William Fletcher.  Charlotte Fletcher had been married to one James Broughton (1801-1840) before marrying William Fletcher; hence, her three children by James were brought into the Fletcher family. 

Family Information

            During the next ten years George Fletcher and his family continued to live at the 3 Frances Court address and the composition of the family in 1861 is shown in the table below.

1861 Census of England (7 April 1861)

            Charlotte and Edmond Broughton had left the home by 1861.  Mary [Ann] Broughton is shown as the stepdaughter of William Fletcher.  George Fletcher is shown as a Miller and one wonders how much schooling he had if he was working at such a young age.  In fact, George was working while his 16-year old sister was still in school.  The head of the family, William Fletcher, is now listed as a Miller rather than a Labourer.  Some of the ages in the 1861 census do not coincide with those shown in the 1851 census.  Eliza aged 12 years in the 10-year period as did Mary Broughton.  These inaccuracies seem to be common on the census forms. 

3.  PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

            The following descriptions of George Fletcher were obtained from his military service papers.
On Enlistment (1866)

On Discharge (1887)  

 (*) His service papers do not indicate a religion.

4.  ENLISTMENT AND TRAINING  

Enlistment

            George Fletcher enlisted in the Army at Aldershot, Hampshire on 4 September 1866 for his first term of limited engagement of 12 years.  He was recruited by a Sergeant Major W.G. Barnes of the Royal Engineers and enlisted for a Bounty of two pounds (£2) and a Free Kit.  His enlistment was witnessed by one 2^nd Corporal T.J. Wade, R.E.

            As was normal for this period, Fletcher was required to answer the numerous questions put to the Recruit on enlistment.  He claimed to have been a gas engineer by trade.[1]  He indicated that he was not an Apprentice, married or a widower and he said that he was willing to serve in the Royal Engineers for a period of 12 years.  He stated that he was not a member of the Militia or Naval Coast Volunteers, that he was not serving in a regiment or corps of the Army, that he never had served or been previously rejected for service and that he was not a deserter.

            He was given a medical examination on 4 September 1866 and was considered to be fit for service in the Army.  He attested for service on 5 September at Aldershot before a Justice of the Peace by the name of George F. Birch and was issued a Medical Certificate on Approval that same day.  On 26 September 1866 George Fletcher’s enlistment was certified by his Commanding Officer, Colonel B.M. Laffan, R.E.  He was then officially 8835 Sapper George Fletcher, R.E., although he had already been sent off for recruit training at Aldershot prior to this certification.     

Training

            It appears that Fletcher was selected to receiving mounted training and training in telegraphy right from the first day of his enlistment.  However, before he could begin this training he was admitted to hospital at Aldershot for some undisclosed ailment on 6 September 1866 and remained there until 11 September.  On 26 September 1866 he was posted to the Royal Engineers Train (see ADDENDUM NO. 1).  He commenced his recruit training at that time and continued with it until 21 October when he was again admitted to hospital for a period of 24 days, being released on 13 November.    

5.  POSTINGS, ASSIGNMENTS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

Chatham and Aldershot (1867-1869)  

            Upon completing his recruit training at Aldershot in February 1867, Sapper Fletcher was posted to the Telegraph Troops of the Royal Engineers located at Chatham.  The formation of Telegraph Troops was a new innovation for the Corps of Royal Engineers stemming from experience recently gained in the Crimean War and the Abyssinian War.  Technological and communication advances during the Crimean War included the introduction of specialist soldiers – the ‘Signallers’ – who provided communications alongside other battlefield duties, the first use of the electric telegraph in a war environment to transmit Morse Code and the use of telegraph wagons and cable carts.  The electric telegraph used in the Crimean War had a single needle at the centre of the ‘clock’ face which could be switched (by reversing the current) to represent either a dot or dash enabling the transmission of messages in Morse code.  However it was ‘wired’ communications, in the form of copper cables that would truly advance battlefield communications.  Lieutenant G.M. Stopford, R.E.[2] and 25 Sappers were provided with two telegraph wagons, a cable cart, a plough and 24 miles of copper wire and were then tasked to set up a cable-communications system.  By the end of the war 21 miles of cable were laid, connecting eight telegraph offices on a circuit.  Furthermore, an impressive 340 mile submarine cable was laid from Varna to Balaclava.  The Abyssinian War of 1867 brought further active service experience for field telegraphists and signallers.[3]

            In 1869 authority was given for the formation of a Signal Wing at the Royal Engineers’ Depot in Chatham as a result of experiences gained in the Abyssinian War and the Crimean War.  This, then, was the unit to which Sapper George Fletcher was being posted for his first period of service in the Army.  But before joining his new organization he was again hospitalized on 19 March 1867, this time for gonorrhea, and was not released from hospital until 6 May.  He continued his service at Chatham until posted back to Aldershot on 8 November 1867 where he spent the period from 13 to 19 June 1869 in hospital with jaundice.

Figure 2.  Royal Engineers Field Telegraph Troops Unit.
(Image from the author’s collection)  

Aldershot (1869-1873)

            During George Fletcher’s first three years in the Army he obviously had not been in the best of health.  He spent a total of 86 days in hospital, 50 of which for gonorrhea may be considered to have been “self-inflicted.”  Although he lost 86 days his conduct and performance of duty must have been considered to be noteworthy, as he was authorized Good Conduct Pay at 1.d on 5 September 1869.  Apparently hospitalization for a sexually-transmitted disease was not considered to be the result of “poor conduct.”  The following year, on 1 June 1870 he was promoted to the rank of 2^nd Corporal.

            On 1 September 1870 a Royal Engineers telegraph unit known as “C” Telegraph Troop was officially formed.  During this period the Corps of Royal Engineers was constantly seeking opportunities for development and there were those among its members who wanted a closer approach to the admirable organizations of the Engineer Corps in the leading continental armies by a further extension of its capabilities.  Some years previously, as described above, a scheme of field signalling had been introduced in the Army.  This had been created and practiced in the School of Military Engineering at Chatham and was accepted as a most useful adjunct to military operations.  In every regiment a unit of signallers had been formed and whenever an occasion arose their services were called upon to aid in the carrying out of extended field maneuvers.  As good as this system was it by no means furnished a completely adequate method of communication and on many occasions broke down from causes beyond the control of those who were engaged in its establishment and improvement.[4]  

            That an army in the field would be aided by a more reliable, complete and expeditious method of keeping in touch with its various components and with its base was apparent.  Therefore, it was proposed that an electric field telegraph system would be created to supplement the existing code of visual signals and to render facilities for communication in places where the latter was inefficient or impracticable.  The details of the scheme for the addition of a Telegraph Troop to the Royal Engineers Field Train were worked out and a plan was at once put forward for its establishment.  This was sanctioned and the word was given to form “C” or Telegraph Troop.  The following regimental order was issued, dated Horse Guards, August 26^th, 1870:-[5]

C.R.E. Aldershot

With reference to special Army circular, dated 24^th inst., will you have the goodness to inform the Officer Commanding the R.E. Train that the Establishment of the Troops is to be as stated in the accompanying Return.  

The C Troop is to be formed at Chatham from the 1^st proximo, inclusive, and it is intended at present to only raise it to the strength stated in Red Ink on the Return.  

The Officer Commanding R.E. Train is to be directed to submit the necessary promotions and transfers, and before doing so, to place himself in communication with the Commandant S.M.E., Chatham, in order to ascertain the names of N.C.O.’s and men, and the horses that Officer is desirous of having transferred to the C Troop.  

Lieutenant Tindal’s section of B Troop will form the nucleus of C Troop.

Sd. H. Fane Keane

D.A. General

Figure 3.  The Officers of “C” Telegraph Troop, circa 1870.
(Photograph courtesy of the Museum of the Royal Corps of Signals)  

NOTE: In the photograph above, Captain Charles Beresford, “Jimmy” (later Major Beresford) is pictured seated in the centre of this group.

            Captain Montague Lambert was appointed was appointed to take command of the new troop on its formation at Chatham on 1 September 1870.  The establishment at first authorized one Captain, four Lieutenants, 245 Non-commissioned officers and men and 55 horses.  The materials and equipment of the troop consisted of 24 carriages, including:-

4 office wagons

12 wire wagons

3 general service wagons

1 pontoon wagon

1 forge wagon

3 artificer’s wagons  

            The office wagons contained instruments, writing materials and other administrative supplies.  The pontoon wagon carried a bay of superstructure and a pontoon boat, the former for crossing small openings and the latter for putting cable across rivers.  Each wire wagon had six drums and carried three miles of insulated wire.  The troop was designed to constitute a unit of the branch for service with an Army Corps.

Figure 4.  A Telegraph Wagon of “C” Telegraph Troop, circa 1882.[6]
(Photograph courtesy of the Royal Collection Trust)  

            Such was the unit to which 2^nd Corporal George Fletcher was assigned in 1870.  From 4 to 10 October 1870 Fletcher again spent some time in Hospital at Aldershot, this time with influenza.  Despite his lost time due to illness, Fletcher was promoted to the rank of Corporal on 1 March 1871.  This promotion may have come about by the need for non-commissioned officers to form “C” Telegraph Troop, as indicated in the regimental order from Horse Guards quoted above.

            On 24 March 1871 Fletcher arrived at Chatham once again, this time to attend a class in Telegraphy at the S.M.E.  He passed the class with a grade of “Very Superior.”  This course was one of those designed to train men of the Supernumerary Staff in various technical skills.  A component of this Staff was for the Technical Services.  It was composed of all ranks from Corporal upwards and comprised of men with two classes of qualifications, office telegraphists and telegraph lineman.  The duties of this group were the construction and maintenance of military telegraph lines and the operation of telegraph offices in fortresses and garrisons.  They were drawn from the Royal Engineers Telegraph units, mainly from the company employed with the General Post Office, and were on the general list of the Telegraph Service for promotion.  Men for the Telegraph Service, after their training at Chatham, were transferred to the Telegraph Battalion, where they completed their training as Telegraphists.  The distribution of these men between the 1^st Division (Mounted) and the 2^nd Division (Unmounted) was controlled by the Officer Commanding the 2^nd Division.[7]

            Following the course at Chatham Fletcher returned to Aldershot on 10 August 1871 and during the summer his unit took part in maneuvers, giving it the first opportunity to see how the new Telegraph Troop operated in the field.  It also allowed its officers to “shakeout” some problem areas.

            In December 1871 Fletcher had a tooth extracted, which subsequently resulted in an infection (an abscess called a gum boil in those days).  As a result, he was again hospitalized on 16 December and did not return to duty until 8 January 1872.

            Fletcher was appointed a Telegraphist-Corporal on 18 April 1872 and was then posted to the 1^st or Mounted Telegraph Division.  Presumably during his recruit training he had been trained to ride or to drive horse-drawn vehicles in addition to basic instruction in telegraphy. 

            On 5 September 1872 he became eligible for Good Conduct Pay at 2.d.  Fletcher continued his duties in the Telegraph Division at Aldershot until the autumn of 1873.     

Chatham (1871-1875)  

            Fletcher was posted to Chatham again on 17 October 1873.  A portion of his unit was sent to take part in the Ashanti War of 1873, but Fletcher remained at his post in Chatham.  Early in 1875 he passed a class in Army Signalling at the S.M.E. and on 4 April 1875 he was again admitted to hospital with a boil and he remained in hospital until 11 April.  He remained at Chatham until 5 May 1875 when he returned to Aldershot.

Aldershot (1875-1887)  

            On 13 July 1875 Fletcher was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and was posted to “C” Telegraph Troop then under the command of Major A.G. Durnford, R.E. and on 18 November of that year he married Miss Mary Smith.  Following his marriage he was authorized a short leave prior to returning to his duties with the Telegraph Division.

            On 19 January 1876 Fletcher was injured, presumably in a training accident, and was admitted to hospital at Aldershot where he remained until 25 January.  His medical record indicates that his injury was a “wound” without being specific as to the type of injury.  This was his last year of his first enlistment period so on 5 April 1877 he re-engaged to complete 21 years of service with the Colours.  On the following day he received a gratuity of one Pound in lieu of a Furlough Allowance upon his re-engagement.  Despite all of his previous hospitalizations, he was certified as medically fit to continue in the Army.  On 5 September 1878 he became eligible for the award of Good Conduct pay at the rate of 3.d.

            In 1879 “C” Telegraph Troop went to South Africa and saw action during the Zulu War.  Sergeant George Fletcher was not on the roll of the Troop when it went to South Africa.  Like the Ashanti War, Fletcher missed another opportunity for active service.  His position as a Supernumerary Sergeant in the Telegraph Service, and perhaps his poor health, kept him from deploying with the Troop.

            After 14 years of efficient service and good conduct, now married and a Supernumerary Sergeant, George Fletcher had his first disciplinary problem.  On 1 April 1880 he was placed in confinement while awaiting trial for drunkenness.  He forfeited Good Conduct Pay of 1.d or his 3.d while in confinement.  He was tried on 5 April 1880 and reduced to the rank of Corporal, but because of his previous good record the sentence was remitted.  On the day after his sentencing both his rank of Sergeant and his good record were restored to him – but not the additional 1.d in Good Conduct Pay.  He would have to wait for one year, until 6 April 1881, before he was again eligible for Good Conduct Pay at 3.d.

            The year 1881 brought another period of active campaigning for the Royal Engineers Telegraph Troops – The Transvaal or First Boer War in South Africa.  Again, Sergeant Fletcher remained on Home Service and did not accompany the expeditionary force.  This lack of active service did not seem to hamper his chances for advancement in the least.  On 11 July 1882 he was promoted to the rank of Troop Quartermaster Sergeant of “C” Telegraph Troop.

            In 1882 the Royal Engineers Telegraph Troops were again off to war in the campaign in Egypt.  Again, George Fletcher remained at home.  On 15 March 1883 he was again hospitalized at Aldershot, this time with dyspepsia.  He was released from hospital on 24 March.  These constant battles with health problems may provide some insight into Fletcher’s non-deployment for active service.  Perhaps he was kept on Home Service because of his health problems, yet was not discharged as unfit for service because of his significant training and experience as a telegraphist.

            In May of 1884 Fletcher’s old unit – “C” Telegraph Troop – was amalgamated with the 22^nd and 34^th Companies under the title of the “Telegraph Battalion.”  The organization of “C” Troop remained unaltered and the unit formed the first division (mounted) of the new Telegraph Battalion while the other two companies formed the second division (dismounted). 

            On 10 September 1884 George Fletcher became eligible for Good Conduct Pay at the rate of 4.d and on 31 August 1885 he reverted to the rank of Sergeant at his own request, giving up the position of Troop Quartermaster Sergeant, perhaps for health reasons.  Telegraph troops were still on active service in Egypt and the Sudan at this time, but George Fletcher remained at home.

            On 15 November 1885 Sergeant George Fletcher was posted to dismounted duties with the second division of the Telegraph Battalion.  It is possible that his age and state of health after so many illnesses made it increasingly difficult to perform with the more active elements of the telegraph troops; that is, mounted duty with the first division of the battalion.  These circumstances may also account for his voluntary reversion to the rank of Sergeant.  In 1885 Fletcher was awarded the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal with a gratuity of 5 Pounds.

            Sergeant George Fletcher completed his second term of limited engagement at Aldershot.  In 1886 the Aldershot Command contained, among other units, the 1^st and 2^nd Divisional and Wireless Telegraph Companies of the Royal Engineers.  It was at Aldershot on 4 September 1887 that George Fletcher was discharged from the Army after having served exactly 21 years of service.  It is indeed strange to see the following entries in the table of his Military History Sheet:

            Rarely does one see a Regular Army soldier during the Victorian period with no service abroad.

            Fletcher’s discharge documents show that he was a soldier of “regular and temperate” habits and lists his conduct as “very good.”  Upon his discharge he held a Second Class Certificate of Education.  His intended place of residence upon his discharge was listed as Aldershot.

            The following table provides a summary of Quartermaster Sergeant Fletcher’s medical history as cited in the foregoing narrative.  He had a very large number of ailments during his time in the Army and very extensive periods of hospitalization.  His medical history far exceeds that of any other soldier the author has researched.

6. MEDICAL HISTORY

NOTES:

1.      A gum boil is an abscess on the gum.

2.      A treatment period of 50 days for gonorrhea seems like an excessive amount of time.  In the 19th century gonorrhea was treated with the help of silver nitrate. Silver nitrate was discontinued and instead protargol was used.  Protargol was a type of colloidal silver sold by Bayer from the year 1887.  Fletcher probably was treated with silver nitrate in 1867.

3.      Fletcher was in hospital for a total of 143 days during his time in service.  It is interesting to note that during the Victorian era time in hospital due to venereal disease was not considered to be “lost time” for the purpose of discharge and/or pension.  If it had been, Fletcher would have been required to serve an additional 50 days before he could be discharged with 21 years of service.  Also there were five additional days of “lost time” while he was in confinement for courts martial.  These days were not charged against his total service time.

7.  RELEASE FROM SERVICE

            George Fletcher was released from service on the 4 September 1887.  His total service was reckoned as shown in the tables below:

             All of Sergeant Fletcher’s service was at home, with no active service abroad during his 21 years in the Army.

________________________________________________________________________

            The following sections are presented in tabular form to summarize George Fletcher’s promotions, appointments, military training and qualifications and the medals that he was awarded during his time in the Army.  They are provided to give the reader easy access to these aspects of his military career.  The tables are followed by sections dealing with his marriage, personal information and post-service life.

__________________________________________________________________________

8.  PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS

            George Fletcher received the following promotions during his time in service:

 NOTE: His reduction in rank from Sergeant to Corporal for drunkenness lasted for only one day. 

9.      MILITARY TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS  

Military Training: George Fletcher received the following military training during his time in service:

Qualifications:  George Fletcher earned the following qualifications during his time in service.

 10.  MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

              George Fletcher was awarded the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in 1884 upon completing 18 years of service with the Colours.  At the time of this award he was a Troop Quartermaster Sergeant, hence the medal is named to him with that rank

            As indicated in Section 5 of this narrative, elements of “C” Telegraph Troop served in the Ashanti War (1873), the Zulu War (1879), the First Boer War (1881) and the campaigns in Egypt and the Sudan (1882-1885).  Campaign medals were issued to the men of the troop who served in these wars and campaigns, but George Fletcher did not receive any of these medals.  For example, 13379 Corporal William F. Seggie, the tall Corporal on the left with two medals shown in Figure 4, received the South Africa 1879 War Medal, the Egypt Medal 1882, the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Khedive's Star for serving with “C” Telegraph Troop.  He completed his military service as a Quartermaster Sergeant.  In the photograph he is shown wearing the medals for the South African War and the Egypt War.  16743 Sapper C. Tubb also in shown wearing the Egypt 1882 Medal.  He finished his service in the Army as a Sergeant.

Figure 5.  Troop Quartermaster Sergeant George Fletcher’s Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.
(Image from the author's collection)  

Fletcher’s medal is named to him in engraved upper case letters as follows:  

8835. TP: Q.M. SERG^T G.FLETCHER. R.E.  

11.  MARRIAGE, FAMILY AND PERSONAL INFORMATION

            The table below shows the composition of George Fletcher’s family as recorded in 1891 Census of England:

1891 Census of England (5 April 1891)

Figure 6.  The Fletcher Residence at 22 Gordon Road, Aldershot, Hampshire.
(Image courtesy of Google Earth)

Spouse and Children

            George Fletcher, aged 30, a Sergeant in the Royal Engineers, married Mary Smith, aged 29, Spinster, in the Parish Church St. Michael the Archangel in Aldershot on 18 November 1875.  Present at the wedding were William Fletcher, a Sailor, and father of the groom and Edmund Smith the father of the bride.  Mary was a resident of Aldershot at the time of the marriage and George was serving there at the time.[8]  George and Mary had five children; three sons and two daughters.  Mary’s date of death is unknown.

Lucy Fletcher  

            The Fletchers’ first child, Lucy, was born at Aldershot in 1877.  It is not known if she ever married and her date and place of death are not known.

George Fletcher

            The Fletchers’ first son, George, was born in Aldershot in 1878.  George would have been 36 years old in 1914 when the Great War began.  No evidence could be found of his serving in the naval or military forces, it is not known if he ever married, nor are his date and place of death known.

May Fletcher

            The Fletchers’ daughter May was born at Aldershot in 1881.  It is not known if she ever married and her date and place of death are not known.

Frank Fletcher

            Frank was born in Aldershot on 24 December 1882.  He would have been 31 years old when the Great War broke out, but there is no evidence that he ever served in the naval or military forces.  At the age of 28, Frank who was a Bachelor of 28 Old Town, Clapham, Surrey and who listed his occupation as Manager, married one Lilian Kate Brown, a 31-year old Spinster of 18 Honeyhook Road of Clapham.  The couple had one daughter, Margaret Rosamond, born on 8 April 1914.  The 1939 Register of England shows Frank and Lilian living at 269 Leigham Court Road in Lambeth, London.  Frank’s occupation is listed as a Sugar and Tobacco Director.  No record could be found to indicate his place or date of death.

Harry Ross Fletcher

            Harry was born in Aldershot on 22 December 1885.  He would have been 27 years old when the Great War began.  A search of Medal Index Cards for Harry R. Fletcher resulted in too many men by that name having served in the Great War; hence, Harry Ross Fletcher could not been definitively determined to have served in the war.  The 1939 Register of England shows Harry R. Fletcher, a Bachelor and Master Printer, residing in the house of Arthur and Florence Stockley at 112 Reading Road in Farnborough, Berkshire.  No records regarding his place or date of death could be found.  

Parents

            George’s father, William Fletcher, was born on 13 March 1804 at Lincoln, Lincolnshire.  He was a Waterman by Trade.  His date and place of death are not known.

            George’s mother, the former Charlotte Smith (1807-1886) was born on 26 July 1807 at Melton Ross, Lincolnshire.  As previously reported, Charlotte had been married to one James Broughton (1801-1840) before marrying William Fletcher. She died in Lincoln in 1886 at the age of 79 years.

Siblings

            George Fletcher had a sister and a brother; Eliza Fletcher (1847-1932) and William Joseph Fletcher (1851-?). 

            Eliza Fletcher was born in St. Martins Parish, Lincoln, Lincolnshire on 16 March 1847.  On 11 July 1868 she married one Henry Stanley a 22-year old Bachelor Painter in the Catholic Chapel on Silver Street in Lincoln.  The couple had eight children.  Eliza Fletcher died on 19 August 1932 and is buried in the Canwick Road Old Cemetery in Lincoln.  She was 85 years old.

            George Fletcher’s brother, William, is thought to have married one Kate Annie Bend or one Mary O’Connor in Caistor, Lincolnshire during the third quarter of 1897.  Fletcher family trees are uncertain as to which woman he actually married.  

12.  POST SERVICE LIFE  

            By 1891, four years after leaving the Army, ex-Sergeant George Fletcher is listed in the census as an Army Pensioner and General Labourer residing at 22 Gordon Road in Aldershot, Hampshire.  When his son Frank married on 28 September 1911 George simply listed his occupation as Soldier on Frank’s wedding certificate.  His death was registered in Farnham, Surrey during the third quarter of 1896.  He died at the age of 51.  His death at such an early age is not surprising given the number of health problems that he suffered during his 21 years in the Army.

ADDENDUM NO. 1

THE ROYAL ENGINEERS TRAIN

            In April 1855 Captain Siborne RE formed the 23rd or Driver Company, Royal Sappers and Miners with 5 RE officers and 130 Sappers and Miners with 120 horses.  In April 1856 the company was renamed A Troop, RE Train.  A Troop was in transit to the Crimea when peace was declared.  It was sent to Aldershot and employed on ordinary transport duties. 

            Attempts to abolish A Troop because it cost more to run than ordinary transport units failed when the American Civil War revealed the need for a specialist engineers in the field army.  In November 1862 a proposal was made for a RE Field and Pontoon Train to consist of 2 troops with 2 captains, 6 lieutenants, 434 other ranks, 10 officers’ horses and 302 troop horses.  In addition there was to be a depot to support the 2 troops with 2 officers, 5 NCOs and 5 troop horses. 

            In 1863 it was actually formed as the Royal Engineer Train with: 

·         A or Pontoon Troop  1 captain, 3 lieutenants, 207 NCOs, sappers and drivers, 5 officers’ horses, 12 troop riding horses and 80 troop draught horses. 

·         B or Field Equipment Troop  1 captain, 3 lieutenants, 191 NCOs, sappers and drivers, 5 officers’ horses, 16 troop riding horses, 78 troop draught horses and 20 pack horses.

             In the Army Estimates 1863-64 33 NCOs and men augmented the Depot.  The troops of the Royal Engineer Train were expanded to their full provision of horses and drivers. 

·         A Troop 4 officers, 217 other ranks, 5 officers’ horses, 16 troop riding horses and 124 troop draught horses. 

·         B Troop 4 officers, 217 other ranks, 5 officers horses’, 12 troop riding horses, 112 draught horses and 30 packhorses.

C or Telegraph Troop

            In 1870 Parliament authorized the formation of a telegraph troop for the Royal Engineers Train. C Troop had one captain, 3 lieutenants, 245 NCOs and men, plus 55 horses. The total strength of the Train was now 16 officers, 718 other ranks and 362 horses.

            The totals for officers and other ranks in the Depot are the differences between the total establishment and the totals of men in the 3 troops. However, the total of horses in the 3 troops comes to 367.  In 1871 C Troop was expanded to 115 horses.  On 3rd January 1871 command of the Train was transferred to a lieutenant colonel.

The Telegraph Battalion

            The 22nd and 34th Companies became telegraph companies attached to the Post Office in May 1870 and September 1871 respectively.  In 1870 C or Telegraph Troop was formed in the Royal Engineers Train.  These formations formed the Royal Engineers Telegraph Corps of 2 divisions under a General Order of 1 April 1884.  C Troop became the 1st Division and the 2 telegraph companies became the 2nd Division. This was renamed the Telegraph Battalion, RE by a General Order of June 1884.

            The battalion had a War Establishment of 440 men, which was completed by mobilizing 125 men from the Army Reserve.  The battalion was divided into 8 Telegraph Sections of 55 men.  Each telegraph section could erect and maintain 100 miles of telegraph with 8 offices.  The offices were clerked by the NCOs and men of the 2nd Division who in peace were postal-telegraph clerks at home.

REFERENCES:

Books

      1.      PORTER, W.  The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers.  Volume II.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1952, pp. 121 and 122.
2.      WATSON, C.M.  The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers.  Volume III.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1954, p. 27.
3.      BAKER BROWN, W.  The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers.  Volume IV.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1952, pp. 179, 182, 199, 254, 255, 276 and 277.

Census

1. 1851 Census of England (H.O. 107/2105).
2. 1861 Census of England (RG 9/2362).
3. 1871 Census of England (RG 10/918).
4. 1881 Census of England (RG 11/786).
5. 1891 Census of England (RG 12/563).
6. 1939 Register of England.

Documents

1. Marriage Certificate, George and Mary Fletcher, the Parish Church, St. Michael the Archangel, Aldershot, Hampshire.
2. Marriage Certificate, Frank and Lilian Kate Fletcher, the Parish Church, Clapham, Surrey.

Family Trees

George Fletcher (josetaylor)
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/19039/person/-2145130868/facts  

Internet Web Sites

1. The Royal Collection Trust

https://www.rct.uk/collection/2501544/three-soldiers-from-the-royal-engineers-beside-a-telegraph-wagon-during-the-anglo

2. The Royal Corps of Signals Museum.

https://www.royalsignalsmuseum.co.uk/early-communications-pre-corps/

3. Great Britain: Regimental Units of the Corps of Royal Engineers and its predecessors 1772-1889

https://www.orbat.info/history/historical/uk/royalengineers.html  

Soldier’s Service Papers  (W.O.97/2800)  

1.      Enlistment Paper.
2.      Attestation of the Recruit.
3.      Declaration to be made by the Soldier (W.O. Form 619).
4.      Record of Services (1876 and 1887).
5.      Pay List.
6.      Medical Report.
7.      Medical History, Form F (W.O. Form 1143).
8.      Military History Sheet.

ENDNOTES: