Stephen spent much of his time at what was then the Public Records Office \u2013 now The National Archives at Kew (TNA) \u2013 using civil registration records and census records<\/a> to add to the tree he had mapped out with Daisy\u2019s help.<\/p> \u201cI found George Robert\u2019s marriage certificate<\/a> to Annie Howe dated 17 November 1880, and discovered that his father\u2019s name was also George. I later found George senior\u2019s marriage to Mary Foster on 5 February 1854 in St Luke\u2019s, Chelsea.\u201d He also located birth records<\/a> for their children, and records confirming George Robert\u2019s military service, but could not find George senior\u2019s own birth certificate.<\/p> Stephen rightly surmised that he had been born prior to the start of civil registration in 1837. But before the arrival of family history websites<\/a>, sourcing an individual\u2019s baptism record required you to know their parish of birth, visit the local repository where the parish registers were held and search the microfilmed records.<\/p> Before the arrival of family history websites<\/a>, sourcing an individual\u2019s baptism record required you to search microfilmed records<\/p><\/blockquote> \u201cI knew that George had lived in London for a good part of his life, so I checked at the Greater London Record Office, Middlesex archives and Kent archives, with no success. I was stumped.\u201d<\/p> The breakthrough finally came when he investigated an unfamiliar shelf at the Public Records Office. \u201cOne day I was walking out of the building totally demoralised when something in my head said, \u2018Look to your right.\u2019 There was a big shelf containing the British Army<\/a> births and baptisms indexes, and I thought I\u2019d go and take a look.\u201d<\/p> Stephen selected the relevant volume. \u201cI found \u2018Browness\u2019 and saw all of George Robert\u2019s children\u2019s names, but below this I spotted the entry \u2018George, Maidstone, 36th, vol 13, page 9\u2019.\u2009\u201d He sent off for the certificate, and when it arrived was delighted to find it was indeed his great great grandfather\u2019s birth record.<\/p> George senior was baptised on 29 June 1814, his parents were named John and Margaret, and the rank of the father was \u201cDrummer\u201d. Right from this first encounter, Stephen was fascinated with John Browness.<\/p> Drummers, he discovered, did more than just convey instructions to the soldiers on the battlefield. \u201cThey were also stretcher-bearers, and knew basic first aid. They were orderlies for the officers and would clean out their barracks, and administered discipline using the infamous cat o\u2019 nine tails.\u201d<\/p> Stephen turned to the record office\u2019s military archives to learn more about John\u2019s army career, and found a discharge certificate.<\/p> \u201cIt said, \u2018John Browness, drummer, born in the parish of Amney\u2019. There\u2019s no such place as Amney, but there is an Ampney Crucis (the \u2018p\u2019 is silent) near Cirencester, Gloucestershire.\u201d\u00a0<\/p> John is described as being about 36 years of age, 5 feet 9 inches tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. The certificate allowed him to claim a pension as an outpatient at the Royal Hospital Chelsea<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p> John\u2019s active service ended in 1809 during the Walcheren Campaign in the Netherlands<\/a>. Walcheren is an island in the Scheldt estuary. It was under French control, and protected the sea route to the major port and shipyards at Antwerp. Many British soldiers who served here contracted a terrible disease that became known as Walcheren Fever. \u201cIt either killed you, or laid you low and kept recurring throughout the rest of your life. This is why he was discharged.\u201d\u00a0<\/p> TNA\u2019s muster rolls for John\u2019s regiment showed where he\u2019d served, his pay and the periods he was in hospital, perhaps as a result of the fever (no reason is stated). \u201cJohn was recruited in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, in August 1799. He enlisted as a private then three years later was promoted to drummer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p> To get an inside view of John\u2019s service, Stephen also consulted autobiographies of soldiers who had served in the same regiment or in the same theatres of war. Combined, these documents helped Stephen paint his own picture of John\u2019s army experience. <\/p> To get an inside view of John\u2019s service, Stephen also consulted autobiographies of soldiers<\/p><\/blockquote>![\"An](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2024\/02\/Discharge-certificate.jpg\")