In my attempts to tie down loose ends, I came across a curious page in the register of deaths for 1936. I was interested in Ellen Stanley. She appears on the 1901 census in Ballinlough. She is 60 (born 1841) and living with her brother Patrick (45), his wife Mary Ellen (45), and their three…
All posts by Keith Stanley
McCormack & Stanley
There were already nine (9) different people called John Stanley on this website when I started writing this post. I now introduce number ten! On 30th November 1882 John Stanley married Ellenor McCormack. John was a bachelor from Ballyglass. Ellenor was a spinster, also from Ballyglass. The wedding took place in Cloverhill Church. This church…
Boer War Concentration Camps
It is easy to identify ways in which the British authorities could have done a better job in the Boer War. Well it is with the wisdom of hindsight. Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, military leaders were slow to adapt to new tactics. The Boers knew that they could…
The small print
In October 1902, Patrick signed Army Form B217 for a short service enlistment. It was for a total of 12 years, part on active service and the rest on reserve. Question 1 asks for the recruit’s name. (Starting with the difficult ones!) Question 2 provided the key information about Patrick’s place of birth. Question 18…
2nd Eastern General Hospital
In September 1913, the staff and pupils of Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School took possession of new, purpose built premises on Dyke Road. In August 1914 they were forced to return to their old home. The building had been requisitioned. It became 2nd Eastern General Hospital. The building still exists. It is now a…
And so to France
Patrick reported to the Manchester Regiment’s Headquarters (at Ashton-under-Lyne) on 5th August 1914. Britain had declared war on Germany the day before. He was posted to join the 2nd Battalion in France on 30th August. When the war started the 2nd Battalion was based at the Curragh Camp in Ireland. They arrived in France on…
Sixty days in 1914
Patrick joined the Army on 2nd October 1902. At that time Britain kept a relatively small regular army. The armies of other major European powers were much larger. Britain’s army was entirely made up of volunteers and numbered a quarter of a million. (France, Russia and Germany had well over 1 million each.) Half of…
Middleburg and Middleburg
As covered in “Manchester Regiment – Initial Service” (https://www.roscommonstanley.me.uk/direct-line/manchester-regiment-initial-service/) , Patrick transferred to the Third (Line) Battalion on 7th February 1903. He was one of a party of 157 men sent out to South Africa. Some of them were detached at St Helena. There is no way of knowing whether Patrick was one of these.…
From Roscommon to Liverpool
In addition to finding Roscommon Stanley members in Birmingham (https://www.roscommonstanley.me.uk/possible-relations/from-roscommon-to-birmingham/), I also discovered one in Liverpool. The 1851 census shows John Stanley (yet another one!) in Allerton, West Derby. John was born in 1813 (but 1815 on later census returns). His occupation was garden labourer. He married Jane Griffiths on 15 February 1843 in the…
From Roscommon to Birmingham
I have looked high and low for members of the Stanley family. In the 1851 UK census I came across the following family: Jane Stanley, born 1811 in Roscommon. She is a lodging house keeper in Newhall Street, Birmingham, England. Two children are with her. Both were also born in Roscommon. John, born 1832, is…