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| Name | STAPLES – William |
|---|---|
| Regiment (s) | Royal Artillery 8th Battalion 3rd Company Royal Artillery Invalid Battalion |
| Regiment Number (s) | 965 |
| Date/Age/Place/Trade or Profession at Attestation | 17th January 1838 / 18 years 1 month / Leicester England Framework knitter |
| Description – Height Complexion/Eyes/Hair/Scars | 5 Ft 8 in Fair / Grey /Brown / None |
| Overseas Service/Duration | Malta – 6 years 3 months Served in the Turkish Contingent December 1855 – 4 August 1856 |
| Length of Service | 21 years 58 days |
| Rank/Date/Place of Discharge | Gunner / 15th March 1859 / Woolwich Kent England |
| Campaign Medals | Turkish Crimea Medal |
| Intended Residence at Discharge | Not given but lived at Plumstead Kent in October 1860 |
| Pension Districts | 1859 Woolwich (transferred to Tilbury Fort) 1861-1862 Western Australia 1862-1871 South Australia 1871-1879 Victoria |
| Pension Paid | 1/0d per diem |
| Date of Departure and Place England or Ireland | 10th November 1860 Portland Dorset England |
| Ship and Date of Arrival Western Australia | PALMERSTON 11th February 1861 |
| Date/Place of Birth | 1819 St Martin’s Leicestershire England |
| Date/Place of Baptism | Not yet known |
| Father Date/Place of Birth | STAPLES William Frederick B Not yet known |
| Mother Date/Place of Birth Marriage | Not yet known |
| Siblings | Not yet known |
| 1st Wife Date of Birth or Baptism | DONNELLY Ellen c 1827 Ireland |
| Date/Place of Marriage | Not yet known |
| Children by 1st Wife | Frederick B 1846 Malta Catherine B 1849 Malta M STAPLES Michael 1882 Victoria D 1891 Bendigo Victoria Bur Bendigo Public Cemetery Ellen B 1852 Royal Artillery (no place recorded) |
| Father of 1st wife Date/Place of Birth | DONNELLY Andrew Not yet known |
| Mother of 1st wife Date/Place of Birth Marriage | ROCHE Catherine Not yet known |
| Land Grants Western Australia | None |
| Occupation after Arrival | Convict Establishment: Employed as Assistant Warder from 21st February 1861 – 19th February 1862 |
| Newspaper Articles | Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News Friday 14th March 1862 – page 2 |
| Departure from Western Australia | 8th March 1862 per “Strathallan” to South Australia with wife and 3 children |
| Date/Place of Death/Burial | 1908 age 88 South Melbourne Victoria (tentative) Not yet known |
| Date/Place of Death/Burial Wife | 1904 aged 77 years Arat, (sic) Ararat(?) Victoria Not yet known |
| Will or Probate | None known |
| Further Information | Discharge after 21 years’ service, his conduct had been exemplary. British Army Worldwide index 1841 William Shaw, Gunner & Driver, 8th Battalion RA 3rd Company, remarks at Dunnee, Location Buncrana, Country Great Britain, WO10/18221851 William Shaw, Gunner & Driver, RA 8th Battalion, 3rd Company, Location Woolwich WO10/2055 1851 Census HO107/1588/307/page 44 20 Artillery Place, Woolwich St. Mary, Greenwich, London, Kent William Staples, Head, M, age 31, Army Artillery Gunner, Born Leicester town Ellen Staples, wife, 26, born Ireland Frederick Staples, son, 5, born Malta Cathrine (sic) Staples, daughter, 2, born Malta AJCP reel 773 Piece 116 part 2 page 709On 6th October 1860 prior to embarkation William Staples wrote a petition to ‘The Minister of the Colonial Department’ stating he had served in the royal Regiment of Artillery upwards of 21 years and was discharged from the invalid Artillery in March 1859 with an exemplary character. As he was under orders to proceed to Western Australia as a convict guard he requested an appointment as a convict keeper, in the police or any other appropriate position as he had a wife and three children to support. Accompanying the petition was a copy of a testimonial from Thomas Thompson, Commissary Field Train in charge of the depot. Turkish Contingent, Constantinople 4 August 1856 Sergeant Conductor William Staples has been serving under my orders at this depot since December 1855 and has been during that time in charge of the floating powder magazine medium. He has been very attentive to his duty and correct in his accounts and I consider him a steady, deserving man. He leaves the station owing to the disembodiment of the Turkish Contingent. The petition found favour with the Colonial Office and it was forwarded to the Governor of Western Australia supporting the proposition. Subsequently he was appointed Assistant Warder, Convict Establishment, 21 February 1861. Catherine Staples is buried in the Bendigo Public Cemetery Plot MON 67 Grave 10334, also in the grave is her son Frank Staples who died 2nd June 1887 age 3 months and her daughter Violet Staples who died 5th April 1892 age 8 months. |
