josiejo2212 Posted 16 January , 2020 Share Posted 16 January , 2020 Hi, I'm new to all this and struggling to find info out about my Great Grandfather. All we have is a silver cup from an Army Boxing match in his name which says the following: SGT John Boswell 6 Round Contest Sec-Bad India 1919 I have no idea which regiment or anything else. Can anyone help? Who was out in Secunderabad in India in 1919? Can anyone tell me anythign about that period of time or how i could find his regiment? Thanks Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 16 January , 2020 Share Posted 16 January , 2020 Hi Jo Welcome to the Forum What more do you know about him. Have the family any of his medals, where and when was he born, who did he marry To get you started Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josiejo2212 Posted 16 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 16 January , 2020 Dear Corisande Thank you so much for the clipping! We know very little about him. There are no medals in the family that we know of. I think his DOB is 1877 with DOD 1931 (25 December he died but I don't have exact birth date). He was born in Birmingham and died in Kings Norton in Birmingham. He was married to a Laura Deakin 1876-195. He had 4 girls one of which was my Grandmother. He had a lot of brothers and sisters one of which was Albert Boswell (DOB 1896) and we think this is a photo of him. It has (we think) PTE Boswell Rifles on the back of this photo, but again that is all we have. If you can help me with anything else i'd be over the moon If not thank you so much for the cutting about Secunderabad. Thanks Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 16 January , 2020 Share Posted 16 January , 2020 (edited) Thanks for the extra info. To crack this sort of problem one needs lots of clues This is the marriage Name: John Boswell Gender: Male Marital status: Single Age: 23 Birth Date: 1877 Marriage Date: 26 Aug 1900 Marriage Place: Birmingham, Warwick, England Father: John Boswell Spouse: Laura Deakin Edited 16 January , 2020 by corisande Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 16 January , 2020 Share Posted 16 January , 2020 (edited) There is an Ancestry Tree with this photo - click for tree . someone here may be able to expand on this photo I suspect that it is your tree :-( Edited 16 January , 2020 by corisande Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 16 January , 2020 Share Posted 16 January , 2020 There is a Royal Navy Service record of a John Boswell , born 8 Feb 1877 in Birmingham Warwickshire, click for service record - He served Feb 1893 to Jan 1900 This may be him if Dob is correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 16 January , 2020 Share Posted 16 January , 2020 And there is a Pension Card - click on Form 3 - that gives Sgt John Boswell born about 1876 , married, Ox & Bucks LI number 20074. He had Malaria and a Hernis Living at 98 Manilla Rd, Selly Park, Birmingham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 16 January , 2020 Share Posted 16 January , 2020 The service number gives his Regiments in the Medal Rolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josiejo2212 Posted 16 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 16 January , 2020 Oh my goodness, you are clearly very good at this! Yes thats my ancestry records and knew about the marriage doc The first service recrod stats he finished in 1900 but his cup was from 1919 so I don't think that one is him. The second one might be though. Thanks for your help. I just don't know how to be sure it is him? Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberley John Lindsay Posted 16 January , 2020 Share Posted 16 January , 2020 Dear All, Brilliant:- Corisande for President! Kindest regards, Kim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 16 January , 2020 Share Posted 16 January , 2020 26 minutes ago, josiejo2212 said: . I just don't know how to be sure it is him? Get his Birth Cert This chap was in 1st Garrison Battalion Ox & Bucks Light Infantry. That is what his Medal Roll says That battalion were in Secunderabad in 1918. . You need to do a bit more work to establish where they were in 1919 - Garrison Battalions do not fae well in regimental histories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 16 January , 2020 Share Posted 16 January , 2020 (edited) 53 minutes ago, josiejo2212 said: The first service record stats he finished in 1900 but his cup was from 1919 so I don't think that one is him. Oh ye of little faith. I am suggesting that he may have served in the RN from 1893 to 1900. There is a valid birth date given, and you need to check that against your man's birth. It was quite common for a man to enter, say, the Navy as a boy , then leave. Do other things , then volunteer or be conscripted in WW1 and go into the Army It is perfectly consistent that he could have left the RN in Jan 1900 and married in Aug 1900 Edited 16 January , 2020 by corisande Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josiejo2212 Posted 16 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 16 January , 2020 Oh I see!!!! I’m clueless! I will get that BC thank you again 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin kenf48 Posted 16 January , 2020 Admin Share Posted 16 January , 2020 One of a group transferred from the Worcestershire Regiment on or around 28 September 1915 - to India February 1916 where they remained. His Worcestershire number was probably Special Reserve from October 1914, he may or may not be on the 14/14-15 Star Roll. As Corisande says they were on Garrison Duty, Winston Churchill, who was a subaltern in Secunderabad in the 1880s claimed there were 12,000 soldiers there, though not that many in the war. He described service in India as 'Utterly unattractive ...a useless exile', garrison duty in the Great War continued in much the same vein. Boxing and other sports were always a useful diversion. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josiejo2212 Posted 17 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 17 January , 2020 Ken thank you so much. I stumbled across this forum by pure chnace and so glad I did. You've all given me so mcuh information that i didn't know :-) Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josiejo2212 Posted 17 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 17 January , 2020 Hi Corisande and Ken, So i went to Moms and she has his birth certificate which gies DOB as 8/91876 and she has death certificate which states DOD 25 Dec 1931. His profession at that point was silversmith. I guess given the DOB it eans the first record you found in Navy is incorrect or does it just mean DB's were likely wrong??? Can you tell me from the record card 20074 what G.B.O and B.L.I means? Thanks Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 17 January , 2020 Share Posted 17 January , 2020 17 hours ago, corisande said: This chap was in 1st Garrison Battalion Ox & Bucks Light Infantry. That is what his Medal Roll says That is the answer to your question My feeling is that your BC rues out the RN man being related. When they lie about age, they tend to do it in whole years. So I think you can forget about the RN man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josiejo2212 Posted 17 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 17 January , 2020 Thanks :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 17 January , 2020 Share Posted 17 January , 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, josiejo2212 said: Thanks :-) For the other photo that you posted showing a man reclining on a bed, it is clear that he is from the Royal Flying Corps, and the man sitting behind him is Royal Army Medical Corps. Edited 17 January , 2020 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddycher Posted 20 February , 2020 Share Posted 20 February , 2020 (edited) Corisande Would it be possible to get a copy of the full clip from post #2. Information on No.13 CBI / No.8 Reserve Bn really hard to come by. I have almost nothing of the end of the Bn and the return of the men home. What date is this from ? Don't have any other ref placing No.8 Reserve Bn in the Secunderabd Bde but of course it makes sense. Interestingly Frederic Smith features elsewhere in my research with the Indian Army on the Suez Canal. Any further light you can shed on Secunderabad / Trimulgherry would be greatly appreciated. Regards Dave Duhh... just saw your ref embedded in the clip. That thread gave me the 2nd October 1919 report...brilliant. Won't hijack this thread anymore. If anyone interested in exploring further pls ping me. Edited 20 February , 2020 by ddycher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 21 February , 2020 Share Posted 21 February , 2020 11 hours ago, ddycher said: Would it be possible to get a copy of the full clip from post #2. This is the rest of the clip. The source and date is on my post #2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddycher Posted 21 February , 2020 Share Posted 21 February , 2020 Thank you Corisande. Whats your interest here ? Regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 21 February , 2020 Share Posted 21 February , 2020 1 minute ago, ddycher said: Whats your interest here ? None whatsoever I must have been at a loose end that morning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddycher Posted 21 February , 2020 Share Posted 21 February , 2020 Fair enough. Thanks again. Regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberley John Lindsay Posted 22 February , 2020 Share Posted 22 February , 2020 (edited) Dear Dave, Was I able to help you in some way? Kindest regards, Kim. Edited 22 February , 2020 by Kimberley John Lindsay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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