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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 | 22 June 1819 St Martin’s Anglican Church Leicester England (tentative) |
| Father Date/Place of Birth | STAPLES Michael (Tentative) B Not yet known |
| Mother Date/Place of Birth Marriage | UNKNOWN Jane (Tentative) B Not yet known M Not yet known |
| Siblings | Not yet known |
| 1st Wife Date of Birth or Baptism | DONNELLY Ellen 1827 Ireland |
| Date/Place of Marriage | Not yet known |
| Children by 1st Wife | Frederick B 1846 Malta Catherine B 1849 Malta 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 |
| Date/Place of Death/Burial | 1908 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, WO10/1822 1851 William Shaw, Gunner & Driver, RA 8th Battalion, 3rd Company, Location Woolwich WO10/2055 On 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. |