Enlisted at Heston on the 4th of November 1852.

Age: 18.

Height: 5' 10”.

Trade: Butcher.

Features: Fresh complexion. Grey eyes. Dk. brown hair.

Sick at Scutari from the 10th of May - 14th of June 1855.

From Private to Corporal: 7th of February 1856.

Corporal to Sergeant: 1st of May 1858.

Discharged from Chatham Invalid Depot on the 2nd of December 1862, as "Unfit for further service - Labours under lameness - result of a serious sprain of right foot. The injuries were received on the 2nd of December 1861, he at the time being sober, and in the execution of his military duties on a Marching Order parade. It is likely to interfere with his earning a livelihood under his previous trade of a butcher".

Served 9 years 351 days. In Turkey and the Crimea, 2 years.

Conduct: "good". In possession of one G.C. badge when promoted to Sgt. and would now have had two.

Never entered in the Regimental Defaulter's book., Never tried by Court-martial.

Aged 28 years on discharge.

Awarded a pension of 10d. per day for one year "conditional" and again for a further year. He however, kept applying for a further pension, but without success. The final letter in reply, dated the 15th of December 1877, states, "May apply again when 50".

He sent money from the Crimea to a Mrs. Lane, and probably his mother, living at No. 4 Wellington Place, Wellington Road, Hampton, Middlesex.

Documents confirm the award of the Crimean medal with four clasps, and the Turkish medal.

Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman, Sebastopol and the Turkish medal.

A supplementary roll (undated) signed by Major Henry Holden shows him as being issued with the Crimean medal (with clasps for Alma, Balaclava and Inkerman) on the 7th of October 1855.

At some time after his discharge it is believed he went to Canada, where he became one of the earliest members of the North-West Mounted Police. He had enlisted under the name of Joseph Francis, and his enlistment details show the following:

Engaged at Fort Worth on the 4th of July 1874.

Regtl. No. 7.

Age: 41 years.

Civilian occupation. Butcher.

Religion. Protestant.

Next-of-kin. Thomas A. Lane. Living in Isleworth, Middlesex.

After being re-engaged on the 4th of April 1877, he was finally discharged at Wood Mountain on the 3rd of April 1880. His rank was shown as Staff Sgt. and his character as "very good". He gave his intended place of residence as Winnipeg, Manitoba, but the receipt for his discharge certificate and grant of 100 acres of land from the Dept. of the Interior are dated from Waterlooville Province, July the 24th. 1880. Nothing further is known of him although photographs are said to exist of him in R.N.W.M.P. uniform.