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Date	Original Topic
15th March 2005	What Regiment was @ Shorncliffe camp 1901? By Gazza Hi all, new here just trying to find out what regiment was stationed at Shorncliffe camp in 1901? I think I may have found my grandfather listed there in the 1901 census.He fought in the Boer war. I dont know what action ,if any ,he would have fought in. Any ideas on that also would be appreciated. Many thanks
Date	Replies
15th March 2005	Martin Everett Dear Gazza, Nobody is going to do the reserach for you for nothing. Everything you need is in the National Archives at Kew Perhaps if you pay for the full/image/sheet of the census return there may be a reference to a regiment. The Army Lists of the period show which battalions where stationed there. There were some regiments - Royal Garrison Regiment - certainly there. Then you have medal rolls and soldiers discharge papers in WO97. in the library at Kew they have most regimental histories so you can find out what actions/batles they were involved in. It is all up to you. It will be worthwhile, but you cannot find it out on the internet. Just to gvie you an idea - some 35,000 men served in the Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa. Good Luck.
15th March 2005	Paul Cubbin Was your grandfather a Nepalese bloke with muscular calf muscles and a penchant for large knives? If so, I may have cracked it...
16th March 2005	gazza Dear Martin, Thanks for your reply and information. I didn't expect anyone to do my research for me. I was hoping the name of the regiment there may be something someone may hold in their heads by some good fortune to save me a long trip. I belong to a number of forums with genealogy interests. 99% of the folks there are very helpful & will often do census lookups for nothing. I am one of those that have helped out a great many people for nothing,but thats the way I am. It would be nice to be able to post a link on my other forums recommending this site. Paul Cubbin, my sides are aching from your.. erm.. wit.
16th March 2005	Martin Everett Dear Gazza, I have suggested where to look. One of the problems with the Internet is that people expect information to be on-line or easily accessible. This not always the case - particularly with military research. I was giving you sound advice based on doing this type of research every day. The census sheet containing your grandfather's name may give you a clue to the regiment involved. How many copies of the 1901 Army List exist? - I only have around that period 1898, 1904 and 1908. I know there is a full run in the National Army Museum and the National Archives at Kew. There is also files WO25 in Kew - which give units in each station. I am trying to be helpful - however if you require the info then someone has got to get up from their backside and do hard some research through original documents - it is either you or someone else who is going to be very generous towards you. Be aware that National Archive staff charge £1 per MINUTE for this type of research.
20th March 2005	Sarah I too have found a rellie at this camp in 1901 - I use ancestry.com (not cheap!) to view census records, but there is no indication of which regiment was at Shorncliffe....I would dearly love to visit Kew but I don't have a spare 2 days to travel :o) As it is, the information I'd like, and the information Gazza has asked for, isn't rocket science - if you don't know Martin, I'm sure someone else does and would be willing to give us advice without the attitude.
20th March 2005	Sarah I too have found a rellie at this camp in 1901 - I use ancestry.com (not cheap!) to view census records, but there is no indication of which regiment was at Shorncliffe....I would dearly love to visit Kew but I don't have a spare 2 days to travel :o) As it is, the information I'd like, and the information Gazza has asked for, isn't rocket science - if you don't know Martin, I'm sure someone else does and would be willing to give us advice without the attitude.
20th March 2005	Martin Everett Sarah, I am sorry that I was being blunt - I aplogise - but military research is still time consuming business because we are dealing with thousands of pieces paper and not electronic records. Various census/birth records on-line have opened up these records for millions around the world but millions of pounds have been thrown at these projects to achieve this degree of sophistication. The information you and Gazza are seeking is not difficult to find if you are able to go to Kew - and it is very rewarding work. However, if this is impossible then employ a researcher - go to www.nationalarchives.gov.uk and click on 'getting started' and then search for 'military researchers'. As I said you will very lucky if you find someone who will do the research for free - but you never know. Please understand that we are answering some 5,000 queries of this nature each year from the Regimental Archives. I have advised you where to look what more can I do.
29th March 2005	Peter Harman Gazza. I can see shorncliffe camp from where I live. I will do some research for you. And it won't cost you a penny. Keep checking the web site for infoe.
11th June 2005	Tricia Scotcher I too have found a rellie at Shorncliffe in 1901. He is listed on census as soldier/inmate. Does that mean he was serving or was he a convict??? What did they do at shorncliffe in 1901???Any ideas would be gratefully rcvd!
13th June 2005	Peter Ewart The Local Studies room at Folkestone Library in Grace Hill will have the 1901 census for the town (probably the whole of Shepway) on m/film (but phone them to check this point first or look up their website). Be aware that the 1901 online version is, at best, a dog's dinner and at worst a dead loss. Look at (or get looked at for you) the original (m/film) in F'stone or the same at the Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone. I'd be surprised if, at some point in the Shorncliffe Camp census, a number of regiments were not mentioned. Previous censuses do, at least for NCOs, giving a clue to the regiment of the rankers following. Folkestone Library have an name index for all censuses up to 1871 and I would think up to 1891 - whether anyone has bothered with indexing 1901, given that the online version exists, I dont know, but the staff in the LS room will. Perhaps Peter, above, solved the problem? Another option is to consult Kitzmiller's "In Search of the Forlorn Hope." Been on my wants list for years but I still haven't acquired it because other books keep jumping the queue! Goes for quite a few bob, but the two vols purport to contain the location of every regiment (unit?) in the British Army at any time - going back a very long way. I asked here a couple of years ago if anyone had it and used it & what they thought of it, but answer came there none. It seems a rather ambitious claim to me. Local parish registers also provide giveaway clues in the occupation columns of baptisms, marriages and burials, to which regiments were garrisoned locally, although by then Shorncliffe had its own garrison church & fewer ceremonies would have been performed in local civilan churches. I played cricket regularly at Shorncliffe Camp throughout the 1970s and early 80s, the two pitches being named Lequesne and Napier - so there's a similarity with PMB! Tricia, I wonder if your chap was in the cells at the time? Peter