Finding a soldier before the 'Great War'

[noe]

Hi, after doing some research on my Grandad 'harry/Henry James Noe' 17th london regiment 570968(ww1). It just come to light that my great grandad 'Henry William NOE' was also in the same regiment(or so I'm told), before the 'Great War'. So I wondered how I would go about to find out more information on him ?

Many Thanks

Mark

[HarryBettsMCDCM]

Soldiers who left the Army before 1914 may have Attestation or Discharge Papers @ the NA,If He had served overseas,in South Africa or India,for example,then proving you know the Regiment you may be able to locate him on the Medal Rolls{unfortunately there are no"Medal Cards" for pre WW1 Medals}

If serving in The Forces @ the time of the census in 1901,then that would be a good place to start,he may possibly be listed as a Soldier in a Particular Regiment[The London Regiments were effectually TF Units from 1908,prior to that they would have been Volunteer Battalions,though they were always something of an enigma,so if serving with them he would have only been a "Saturday Night" soldier,as it were Sadly trying to ID a Regiment for a pre 1914 Soldier from a Name only {usually we can start from a named,Regimented & numbered Medal},is a hard task,as there are few clues to go on,I wish you luck!

[bernardmcilwaine]

hiya mark,was your g/father from stepney,walthamstow

[noe]

Thank you for your help, certainly theres a few things for me to check out. I'll pop to the NA as soon as I have a chance. Also yes my great grandad and grandad both came from stepney(Old Ford Road).