About the Project Stories
More military connections with the Orchard
John Seymour is a very interesting character who, after military service, returned to his birthplace of Chinnor to live with his mother Elizabeth in the Orchard cottages in the late 1870s and early 1880s. He was described on the 1881 census as being of independent means and a pensioner. This made us wonder how he had become a pensioner in his 40’s. The census described him as 44 although we know he was born in 1835 so must have been nearer 46 by then. The results of the search were quite surprising, he was well travelled and quite well documented.
In tracing back his history, he was born to Ephraim Seymour and Elizabeth Marriott on 14th June, 1835 their first child.
On the 1841 census, at the age of just 5 years old, we found John to be in the St Thomas’ workhouse, Thame. He was separated from his mother who was recorded on the census in the separate adult section of the same workhouse. There was also a 1-month-old baby recorded as Harding Seymour on the list next to John, however, what looks like ‘deceased’ is written beside the name. It was quite common for women who thought they may need medical help during a birth to go to the workhouse as mentioned in a 2024 episode of ‘Who Do You Think You Are’. It looks like despite the help, this baby didn’t make it.
John’s father, Ephraim, must have been a bit of a rogue as he was recorded as being in Oxford Castle Jail at the time of the 1841 census. In 1836, the Oxford Castle prison records mention a sentence of one week in January for stealing a mattock from Mr John Coleshill of Crowell. At this point Ephraim must only have been around 16 years old and with a 6-month-old baby. Times would have been hard, perhaps driving him to steal tools in order to provide for his young family. We have yet to find out why he was there again in 1841 and still only 20 years old.
By 1851 the family were back together and living in Chinnor. Ephraim, now 30, Elizabeth 33, John 15. Joseph 5 and William 3. Ephraim and Elizabeth must have been incredibly young when John was born, only 15 and 18. By now they were living in one of a block of six cottages which were described as opposite the Black Boy public house and adjacent to the Primitive Methodist Chapel which originally stood on the other side of the road to the present chapel. They had a frontage to the road of about 30 yards, enclosed by a neat palisade fence which sounds quite idyllic until you remember the lack of sanitation, running water and heating.
These cottages were advertised in the Oxford Times for sale by auction at the Crown Inn on 12th May 1851 with sitting tenants including Ephraim Seymour and Elizabeth Crook.
We believe Elizabeth Crook to be the widow of William Crook mentioned as a sitting tenant in a property owned by Ephraim Seymour senior. His will was made in 1795 but executed on his death in 1828.
His will was very detailed as he included for his grandson Ephraim to inherit his watch and silver buckles on reaching his eighteenth birthday. I wonder if he got them?
In the 1851 census, John, aged 15, was described as an agricultural labourer. He obviously wanted more out of life and later left Chinnor to join the army. He chose the 54th Regiment of Foot, Royal Norfolk Regiment, signing up on 15th of April 1858 aged 23 years old. He became a private with the regimental number 467.
He would have worn the uniform illustrated to the left. Quite smart and colourful for the day but very thick and unsuitable for a hot country. In April, May and June the average temperatures in Lucknow can be over 40 degrees centigrade. No place for heavy, woollen uniform.
There is no evidence of any formal training, and he was soon shipped out to India where he was involved in the ‘Relief of Lucknow’. Lucknow is situated in the north of India very near to the border with Nepal. A long and difficult journey in those days as the initial journey would have been by sea and then overland.
The introduction of 'Western' practices that conflicted with native religious practice led to a mutiny by sections of the British army. Tension turned into rebellion when native troops were tactlessly allocated bullets smeared in cow or pig fat, which was unclean to members of the Hindu and Muslim faiths. On 10 May 1857, troops in Meerut rose in rebellion against their superiors, and were quickly joined by disaffected civilians. The revolt lasted 13 months, during which thousands of native and European civilians were massacred. This marked the end of the East India Company rule in India when the Crown took over.
John arrived towards the end of this period but was still involved with the relief of Lucknow for which he received ‘The Indian Mutiny medal 1857-1859.The Relief of Lucknow clasp was awarded to the second Lucknow relief force under the command of Sir Colin Campbell. John was part of this group and according to records he was awarded this medal. The clasp for 'Lucknow' was given to troops involved in operations leading up to the surrender of Lucknow and subsequent clearing up operations in 1858. John received both clasps. His medal would have looked like the medal in the illustration. These medals were all marked with the soldier’s name, rank and number and were solid silver. You would wonder how many needed to be sold in times of hardship. The current value of this medal (2024) can be anything between £2000 and £5000 depending on the story attached to it. John’s might still be out there somewhere!
John’s service records are quite detailed and tell us a great deal about his time in the army. We know he spent 10 years and 8 months in India beginning at the start of his service in April 1858.
It seems from the records that between September 14th and October 4th 1858 John had been held awaiting trial for embezzlement, he must have been found guilty and imprisoned until 27th December 1858 before returning to active duty. The 21 days awaiting trial were counted towards his army service but the punishment time was not. By the time he was accused he had completed only 152 days of service. He went on to complete another 8 years and 194 days of service in India. Losing pay and pensionable service for his misdemeanour. I wonder what he embezzled?
Accounts of the soldiers’ time in this area of India told of very unpleasant conditions. Regularly under fire, uncomfortable quarters, extreme heat, unfamiliar food and frequent bouts of illness. Not to mention the unsuitable clothing. Accounts of the time describe this as hell on earth and many soldiers died as a result of the conditions. This must have contributed to John’s later health issues.
He was re-engaged to 54th Foot in Manchester 1867 after his time in India. There is nothing to show that he returned to Chinnor at this point to see his family, but it would be wrong to assume that he did not do so. His records show he then spent time serving in Ireland. They tell us that his unit was based at The Curragh Camp in County Kildare which is in The Irish Republic. John was stationed there for the next 7 years as part of the training garrison and peace keeping force until he became unwell. Prior to John arrival, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had visited in 1861 to inspect the troops, one of whom was their son Edward, Prince of Wales. The actual camp is now a military college training camp for the Irish defence force with over 2000 personnel.
The area is the home of a racecourse called simply ‘The Curragh’. This is thought to be the home of Irish flat racing, racehorse breeding and training.
By 1875 John was diagnosed with bronchitis accompanied by ‘muscular rheumatism’ which was the result of climate and service. He was described as having ‘deficient expansion of the lungs’, causing feeble respiration which got worse with exertion. The report was written by Surgeon Major R Waters at Netley Hospital in Netley Park near Southampton, saying that “this disability will be aggravated by the cold season and will not really improve but he will be able to contribute to his own support with light work.”
Netley had become the main centre for treating soldiers injured or sick on active service. It had the advantage of being easy to access as troops returned from war in ships. It was in very sheltered waters making disembarking safer even in bad weather yet there was enough draught for larger ships.
Its proximity to both Southampton and Portsmouth made it an ideal place for military personnel to be moved around quickly by sea and on land, especially with the coming of the rail network. This has continued to be the case throughout subsequent conflicts and is still relevant today although Netley itself is no longer a hospital. In the 1930s, the flying boat facility was established in the waters beside Netley, to make air links with the British Empire, particularly India.
Below is the report on John’s health when he was admitted to the hospital at Netley. It gives a lot of information about him as a person as well as military service, physical appearance and state of health.
It was also stated that this was not caused or aggravated by ‘interference’ or ‘vice’. It is likely that this may have been an issue for soldiers serving at the Curragh Camp because of the ‘Wrens’ living nearby.
‘Wrens of the Curragh’ was the name given to a community of women who lived close to the camp to provide a service for the soldiers. Almost all army camps in Ireland at the time attracted large numbers of prostitutes. It was such a problem that it was mentioned in parliament at the time in the ‘Contagious Disease Act’ which was initially introduced in 1864 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom with the goal of preventing venereal diseases within the armed forces. This allowed police to stop and arrest women in certain ports and army towns if they suspected that they were prostitutes. There were no guidelines for identifying who really were prostitutes. It was left to the discretion of the police officers who did not always get it right. If arrested they were subjected to physical examinations for venereal disease.
The Wrens were not the Women’s Royal Naval Service or even small brown birds but women who lived in the furze covered area around the Curragh camp in holes and ditches which were called nests. They had very few possessions and lived in very basic conditions. The number of men reporting sick with sexually transmitted diseases was huge and so it was not surprising that there was a comment on John’s medical records to say that his illness was not STD related but more likely to be caused by weather and living conditions throughout his army service.
Pensions for soldiers were very carefully calculated as you can see from the document below. They expressed months as fractions of years using 12ths but not reducing them to the lowest common denominator. For instance, one of John’s fractions stayed at 3/12 rather than ¼ and Thomas King above John had 6/12 not ½ of a year. Presumably this was to clearly represent the service accurately and simply. Many of the soldiers were totally uneducated. John’s records say ‘no school certificate’.
The records give us personal details that help to build a picture of the man. It tells us that aged 41 John was 5 feet 41/2 inches tall, with brown hair, hazel eyes and a fair complexion. His character was described as very good, and he had received 4 good conduct badges.
It is also interesting to note the character column. John and another soldier were declared to be ‘very good’ a few soldiers described as ‘good’ and a few as ‘fair’ but Thomas Malloney was declared to be of bad character and consequently his disability pension was refused.
John seemed to have been finally discharged from the army in 1876 so he must have spent some time convalescing at Netley.
This is still a very pleasant place at the waterside on the approach to Southampton from the Solent. The hospital, a Royal commission, is now preserved as a monument surrounded by a very attractive and popular country park. Just what the doctor ordered!
The whole military hospital facility was transferred from Chatham, which historically housed the naval boatyard, training and medical facilities for military personnel, to the new purpose built facility at Netley. The need for new and improved facilities became more necessary during the Crimean war. The directive announcing this was reported on with the laying of the foundation stone by HRH the Prince of Wales.
"On 1 August 1864, his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales laid the foundation stone of a memorial cross to those medical officers of the army who lost their lives during the war in the Crimea. “It is now definitely stated that the principal officers of the Staff at Fort Pitt Hospital, Chatham together with the professors and heads of departments connected with the Army Medical School at that establishment, will leave the garrison and enter on their duties at Netley Hospital during the first week in the ensuing month, after which the entire Invalid Depot at St Mary's Barracks will also move to the same establishment.”
“Under the new system, the vessels arriving from abroad with troops will lie at Southampton Water, near Netley, where the time-expired men and invalids will be landed, when those not requiring medical or surgical treatment will be at once sent inland to their depots or forwarded to their homes, while the sick and wounded only will be detained in the hospital.”
This must have been a vast improvement on previous facilities and seemed to be run very efficiently if their reports are a reflection of this.
After his time of treatment and convalescence at Netley John then returned to live with his mother in the Orchard cottages.
By the time John returned to Chinnor his mother Elizabeth was an old lady and his father Ephraim had died. The 1871 census shows the family living in the Orchard cottages. Son William, now 24, was still living with Ephraim and Elizabeth with his wife Eliza and baby son George. By the 1881 census there was only Elizabeth now aged 76 still a lacemaker and John, home from the army with a disability pension.
We are not sure if John worked immediately after coming home but it would be likely that he was fit enough for very light work. The 1881 census declared him to be a pensioner. His mother died in 1886 and John was living on the Lower Road by 1891. A John Seymour of a similar age was reported in the local paper for winning prizes for his rick building for a local farmer, George North. This may have been him as he worked as an agricultural labourer in earlier life and reverted to be described as a labourer in 1891 only fit for light work in the better weather.
We have not found any record of an earlier marriage for John, but he married in later life to a widow, Ann Rance. Ann, born in 1840, the daughter of Benjamin Little, was one of quite a large family. She had previously married George Rance in 1869.
John and Ann married in early 1895 and lived with Ann’s younger brother Alfred Little who was a woodturner. In the 1891 census Ann and Alfred were living in the same home with Ann noted as of independent means. By 1901, John, then 66, Ann, 60 and Alfred 55 all lived in number 65 High St, Chinnor. Currently where Manor Stores stands now but until the early 60’s was a row of cottages (remembered by Val Wells. Val and her mother Mabel, then Hopkins, lived in one of them). John at this point was described as a general labourer but no mention of his pension. Ann’s brother Alfred was still working as a woodturner and presumably contributing to the household expenses.
John died on 6th May 1904 aged 68. Ann lived on until 1920. When she must have been nearly 80. Twice widowed.
Her brother Alfred died on 18th November 1910 whilst living on the Lower Rd still with Ann, leaving her all his effects totalling £217.
We find Ann living alone in a private house of 4 rooms on the Lower Road in the 1911 census aged 70, her status was OAP. The next record is her death on 15th July 1920 aged 79 followed by her will, published in September of the same year. She left £324-18s to a widow called Emma Ellam, this would have been a substantial sum in those days.
Carol Stewart
September 2024
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