Hi,,,,,the chap in the 1881 census is not your man,for reasons i shall explain,
580 Alfred Broughton was born c 1843 in Gedney Hill,Lincolnshire...he enlisted in 1858 age 15 into the 2nd Battalion the Bedfordshire regiment,,16th foot.
He served till 1883 reaching the rank of Sergeant.
On discharge his intended place of residence was Doddington,Cambridgeshire.
he served
at home 1858-1861
North America 1861-1866
West Indies 1866-1869
at home 1869-1876
India 1876- 1882 so cant be the chap in 1881 census
at home 1882-1883
his medical record states he was in Colchester from 1/4/1871-15/4/1872
next of kin was given as his wife Emma Ground.
16th Foot
1858. The 2nd battalion of the 16th Foot are raised in Ireland. All line regiments up to the 25th are expanded to include a 2nd battalion following reforms resulting in the glaring deficiencies shown up in the Crimean War and the Indian Mutinies.
1859. The 2nd battalion is stationed in Ireland.
1861. The 1st battalion sent to Montreal, later to defend the border with America against Fenian raiders. The 2nd are sent to Halifax in Canada on their first foreign service and spend their time in Nova Scotia. Both battalions remain in Canada in response to tensions between America and the British Empire, following the American Civil War.
1866. The 1st battalion are involved in several small engagements along the borders around Niagara against the attempted invasion by American Fenian's.
1866. 2nd battalion are sent to the West Indies.
1869. 2nd battalion return home and are posted to Curragh in Ireland.
1870. 1st battalion join the 2nd in Curragh. The British Army is reorganised including the abolishment of purchasing commissions and the raising of a Reserve army amongst other things.
1873. Further reforms divide the country into 'Brigade Districts', usually consisting of one or more county, the 16th Foot being allocated the 33rd Brigade District comprised of Bedfordshire. Each dsitrict had a permament depot, with the barracks at Kempston being assigned as the Brigade District base. The depots became the base for paired' battalions, with one being held on home service whilst the other was assigned a post on 'foreign service'.
1876. The Regimental Barracks and Depot are completed on the Kempston Road, about 1 mile west of Bedford town centre. The building cost around £50,000 at the time and stood on a 23 acre site, 13 of which were used for encampments, drill and recreation grounds. The main building was formed into three sides of a quadrangle, housing the entire stores, powder magazines, Officers and men's quarters, including some married person's quarters, canteens, Mess Halls and other such areas. The 1st battalion remained stationed in Ireland whilst the 2nd battalion were sent to Madras in India.
The Bedfordshire Regiment
1881. The 2nd battalion move to Burma. On 1 July, the Regiment is renamed 'The Bedfordshire Regiment' as a part of the Childers reforms, although the title the 16th Foot is still used for many years afterwards, even during the Great War. Bedford becomes the official centre for the regiment. The Bedfordshire Light Infantry Militia and Hertfordshire Militia form the 3rd and 4th Regimental battalions and the Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVC) units from both counties are also folded into the county Regiment. As a result, the 1st and 2nd battalions remain the regular units, the 3rd and 4th battalions become the Militia units, with the three RVC battalions becoming the 1st and 2nd Hertfordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps and the 1st Bedfordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps. The regimental recruiting district is also expanded to incoroprate Hertfordshire. In a strange twist, when Battle Honours are introduced to the new regimental flags that year, the regiment are the only one to have none of the recognised honours, despite having served through many wars and for over 200 years! A committee is formed and several of their past battles are recognised, rectifying the embarrassing situation.
