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Please can anyone help?
I doatloaded my Great great grandads service record -it's fascinating and fills quite a few holes.
He did very well the first 10 years and was promoted to Sergeant quite quickly - he was also a Comissariat.
However 5 Nov 1875 - 23 Jan 1876 he was remanded
24-27th jan he was in confinement awaiting trial
28 Jan 1876 he was Tried and reduced.
from Sergeant back to Private.

On the health /illness section it says Pankhurst underlined and during these dates he was receiving treatment for various ailments including an ear infection (otitis)and something I can't read!

Rheumatic Ch ? and then Rheumatic Ch and then measles.
It looks like wherever this was he was in and out of the hospital lots in 1877 too.
always the same thing.Mum says it may have been Rheum Cough?

(he eventually died of Bronchitis in 1914)

All a bit puzzling
he also had his pay upped and docked 4 times between 1876 and 1878.
He left october 1878 after 21 years service.

(I know he was in Devon,England in March 1876 as his wife had premature twins that both died-and he registered them - as Henry Strong -Army)

It is all definitely the correct family as I have loads of certificates India and England backing everthing up. his wife died in portsea and he was unenlisted out of army in Portsmouth 3 months before her death.)

Nearly all of this service was in India.

I would just love some advice as to if there is any more I can find out? and where?
Thanks you

I have just found out that Parkhurst IOW had Albany Barracks there. and 107th reg. (My one) was there def. there in late 1877 -only just before I need. And they had a specialist Respiratory unit. so my Mum's theory about Rheum Ch - being bronchitis/chest complaint is probably right :)

If you know with regiment/unit he was in, do a google search. You may find a history of where they went and when.

I traced one of my ancesters through the Napolenic wars, He might have been at Waterloo had he not been invalided out in 1810 - he was deaf.

Andy

The most common forms of otitis media (inside the ear) and otitis externa (outside the ear.

I seem to remember that 'pneumatic chest compression' was something which often led to respiratory failure - could this be what is on the records rather that 'rheumatic' ?

Dea x

Ch might also be an abbreviation for Chronic? Ie Chronic rheumatism?


EDIT: have now found the record and images, and note he is described as having Chronic rheumatism at the beginning of his Parkhurst stay, and it's described as constitutional.

I think the following Rheum Ch, refs are probably just an abbreviation for the same thing - presumably he had flare ups. The Rheum Ch notes are also described as 'constitutional'.

Assuming I have the right record:

First name(s): Henry
Last name: STRONG
Calculated year of birth: 1836
Parish of birth: Kennerly
Town of birth: Exeter
County of birth: Devon
Age at attestation: 21 years
Attestation date: 21 October 1857
Attestation corps:
Attestation soldier number:
Discharge rank: Private
Discharge corps: 107th Foot
Discharge soldier number: 308
The National Archives reference: WO97

Thanks everyone! Kucinta -thats impressive! (Never even told you his name!)
Which site did you find a transcription? I printed off doc off Findmypast - but have had to read it myself which is really difficult! Thanks so much for clarifying stuff everybody :)

Would love to know what he did to be Court martialled! and why he was demoted twice back to Private - You've spurred me on now!

Silly you - you 'did' tell us his name !:

In your opening post :

(I know he was in Devon,England in March 1876 as his wife had premature twins that both died-and he registered them - as Henry Strong -Army)

I have looked at them and you are right it is rheumatism !!

Can't see what he was court martialled for though !

Dea x

Ha ha -so i did- am going loopy scrolling up and down!

i wonder how his rheumatism was improved once he left the army. He was working as a Grocers porter in 1879 when his wfie died -on her death certificate thats his given occupation. And by 1881 he has a new wife ,then a third and had lots more children!
Its like he had two lives. 17 years in India with wife 1 and several children -most died
Then his 2nd life back in Devon different with two successive young wives

But he had had,Malaria, Measles ,Dyssentry ,Syphillus, and the good old Rheumatism! I wonder if they ever managed to treat the Syphillus (Before he married)as he had 6 children that all died under 3 and maybe others and two wives that died young.One of an infection after childbirth :( That was his first wife- married in India
6 children -only 2 survived ).

Wonder if he had just had enough the last few years and wanted to leave. he'd lost his twins right before then too,suffered measles that winter, may have even given it to wife? measles can casue prem birth, and perhaps it was just all too much for him. Perhaps he just lost it with someone! What a life!
Guess I won't know .

It was FMP that I used. The transcript I posted above had the images attached, so I took a look at them - the fifth page of the set seemed to have his medical history, so we were working from the same material.

Re syphilis - i think it cropped up in one of the WDYTYA episodes- maybe Martin Freeman's?

If I remember rightly, if it was transmitted to the wife, then miscarriages or short lived and possibly disabled children would result, but after a certain length of time, viable children could be born. I can't remember exactly what caused that pattern to emerge, but I think I'm remembering the gist of it correctly, that syphilis could cause 'gaps' in a couple's output of offspring

Of course there was a high infant mortality rate in India anyway.

You are quite correct Kucinta. It did crop up on WDYTYA.. I remember it as it clear up some events on my own family tree.

Here is some more information

http://sti.bmj.com/content/76/2/73.full