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| Name | VANCE – John |
|---|---|
| Regiment (s) | Royal Artillery 4th & 12th battalions, Royal Artillery Coastal Brigade |
| Regiment Number (s) | 1141 |
| Date/Age/Place/Trade or Profession at Attestation | 3rd August 1841 / 18 years 5 months / Lisburn Antrim Ireland Helper to a Smith |
| Description – Height Complexion/Eyes/Hair/Scars | 5 Ft 7½ in Dark / Grey / Dark / None |
| Overseas Service/Duration | Gibraltar – 6 years 1 month Turkey and Crimea – 1 year 10 months |
| Length of Service | 21 years 16 days |
| Rank/Date/Place of Discharge | Gunner / 19th August 1862 / Woolwich Kent England |
| Campaign Medals | Crimean War Medal with Alma Inkerman Balaklava and Sebastopol clasps French Military War Medal Turkish Crimean War Medal |
| Intended Residence at Discharge | Woolwich Kent England |
| Pension Districts | 1862 1st East London 1864 Woolwich 1865 Tilbury 1865-1891 Western Australia |
| Pension Paid | 1/0d per diem 1887 Increased to 1/2d per diem for service in Enrolled Force |
| Date of Departure and Place England or Ireland | 26th May 1865 Portland England |
| Ship and Date of Arrival Western Australia | RACEHORSE 10th August 1865 |
| Date/Place of Birth | c1823 Belfast Antrim Ireland |
| Date/Place of Baptism | Not yet known |
| Father Date/Place of Birth | Not yet known |
| Mother Date/Place of Birth Marriage | Not yet known |
| Siblings | Not yet known |
| 1st Wife Date of Birth or Baptism | EVERALL Margaret nee FERRIS/FERRES B c1825 Belfast Antrim Ireland |
| Date/Place of Marriage | 25th November 1850 Ireland |
| Children by 1st Wife | None known |
| Father of 1st wife Date/Place of Birth | FERRIS John |
| Mother of 1st wife Date/Place of Birth Marriage | Not yet known |
| Land Grants Western Australia | Cockburn Sound at Willagee Swamp Lot 228 20 acres Assigned 26 November 1880 Title application 19 February 1885 Title 6/13 |
| Occupation after Arrival | Labourer/servant |
| Newspaper Articles | The W.A. Record Thursday 29 January 1891 page 8 Death of John Vance The Inquirer and Commercial News Wednesday 11 January 1893 page 2 Injury to Margaret Vance |
| Departure from Western Australia | Not applicable |
| Date/Place of Death/Burial | 20th January 1891 York Western Australia Not yet known |
| Date/Place of Death/Burial Wife | 17 January 1893 Colonial Hospital Perth WA Bur 18 January 1893 East Perth Cemetery WA |
| Will or Probate | None known |
| Further Information | British Army, Worldwide Index: 1851 John Vance 4th Battalion location Charlemont Ireland 1861 John Vance 1141 Coastal brigade RA location Woolwich; Manchester; Folkestone; Portsmouth; Devonport; Leith Fort; Tower of London; Pigeon House Fort (Dublin); Spike Island Discharge: At his own request having served 21years. In the 1861 Census John and Margaret are living at 2 Sandhills, Worth, Eastry, Kent with his regiment. John is age 38 a gunner with the Royal Artillery born Belfast, Ireland as is his wife Margaret, aged 36. There are no children although there is a visitor a single woman Jane Ferres living with them who was also born Belfast Ireland. Margaret Vance’s 1st husband was James EVERALL they married 16th May 1848 Ireland (no place given) For a man whose conduct was stated at his discharge as being exemplary it is surprising that over the years both John and Margaret Vance were charged with a variety of small misdemeanours as well as fishing illegally off Rottnest, using insulting language and stealing various small objects for which they were usually fined or subjected to short periods of incarceration. When imprisoned on 15th January 1869 for one month for ‘unlawful possession of a hat’ his prison register record shows he was Protestant, and could read and write. In 1882 John was charged with stealing 80 pounds of meal, grapes, 10 pounds of potatoes and three soup plates from his master and sentenced to four months imprisonment with hard labour. After inquiry by the Treasury Solicitor it was decided that during the time of his imprisonment half his pension was forfeited and the remainder paid to his wife. In January 1893 Margaret Vance aged 70 was working as a laundress at York when her knee was fractured by a kick from a horse. She was treated at the York hospital but accidentally suffered serious burns and was transferred to Perth hospital where she subsequently died. On 6th January 1891 the Resident Magistrate, York, requested the admission of John Vance to the Mt Eliza Depot his pension of five pound six shilling and six pence a quarter to pay for the privilege. Approved 9th January 1891, however as he died at York Hospital from cancer of the throat on the 20th January it looks as if he still living there at the time. |