Whittington families » Bertram Albert HARRISON (1890-????)

Persoonlijke gegevens Bertram Albert HARRISON 

• Hij is geboren in het jaar 1890 in Devon.
• Een kind van Thomas HARRISON en Lizzie Maria CORBETT (HARRISON)(BRYCE OR TIMMINGTON)
• Deze gegevens zijn voor het laatst bijgewerkt op 30 juli 2015.

Gezin van Bertram Albert HARRISON

Notities over Bertram Albert HARRISON

«b»"Whilst the Inscription says little, the Monument speaks a thousand words."«/b»

«b»Sergeant-Major Thomas Harrison«/b» was born in 1860, in the parish of Inkberrow, near Alcester, Warwickshire. He appears on the 1861 census with his parents, two sisters and a brother. A lodger was also living separately within the household at Cookhill, in the parish of Inkberrow. Thomas' father was an agricultural labourer. In 1871, Thomas appears aged ten, with his parents, two sisters and a younger brother.

When Thomas was 21, he enlisted in the 2nd Essex Regiment, 'Pompadours', and after being at Aldershot for six months, his regiment was ordered to go to Gibraltar. He received his first promotion on arrival and after a short stay, the regiment travelled to Malta, en route for Egypt in 1884/85. This campaign proved to be an extremely difficult time for the soldiers. They had to deal with the cataracts (shallow stretches of the River Nile between Aswan and Khartoum where rocks and stones protrude above the bed of the river, in addition to small rocky islets and rapids) in their endeavours to relieve General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum. It is documented that on one occasion, the boat capsized and Thomas narrowly escaped drowning. He received the Egyptian Medal and Clasp for the Nile expedition of 1884-85 and the Khedive Bronze Star, 1884-86. He was invalided back to the United Kingdom because he was struck down with fever.

In the latter part of 1886, Thomas married Lizzie Maria Corbett at Alcester. (Lizzie Maria was born in 1858 at Tipton, inthe parish of Staffordshire).

At some time around 1886/1888, Thomas joined the 1st Essex Regiment and it was when the regiment was based at Whittington, Lichfield, that the daughter of Thomas and Lizzie died aged fifteen months on 14th December 1888. Her name was Florence Louise and she was interred at Whittington Church.

Thomas also obtained a certificate of qualification in the drill and mechanism of the Nordenfelt and Gardner Rifle Calibre Machine Guns on 9th May 1889 – he had«b» «/b»attended the School of Musketry at Hythe. A son«b», Bertram Albert«/b», was born circa 1890 in Devon.

The knowledge Thomas had acquired was without doubt, the reason why he was selected for the position of Sergeant Major in the 2nd West India Regiment which was stationed at Sierra Leone when a vacancy occurred. He served with this regiment in various expeditions against the native chiefs. Sergeant Major Harrison returned to England as a result of ill health in 1894. He received a medal for the Ashanti expedition and retired from the army with grand testimonials and a substantial pension, having served over 14 years.

He took up a position as custodian of the offices of the Dudley Poor Law Union and appears on the 1901 census with his wife and son at 13, King Street, Dudley.

On 16th January 1902, Thomas died at home in the presence of his wife. The Death Certificate gives the cause of death as Neuritis and Syncope. His age was given as thirty nine but he was forty one.

One would have expected a man of such exemplary character and who had served his country well, to have been buried with military honours. However, because of new regulations, the deceased could not have a military funeral unless he was in receipt of full armypay at the time of his death (it had nothing to do with a technical issue regarding his pension as has been reported).

The family appealed to the Secretary of State for War, asking for special permission, but a telegram was received the next day which stated that the Commander-in-Chief "much regretted that the regulations did not admit of the late Sergeant Major Harrison being accorded amilitary funeral." His family and many friends, desperate to pay their last respects resolved that the funeral should be semi-military. An account of the funeral is given below:

The Monumentin the Churchyard of St John, Kate's Hill, Dudley is embellished with detail and has the following inscriptions inscribed upon it..............

In loving memory of/THOMAS HARRISON/Late Sergt- Major 2nd West India Regiment/The beloved husband of/Lizzie Maria Harrison/Who died January 18th 1902/Aged 41 years/Thy to God will be done/

Also/Florence Louise/Their beloved daughter/Whodied December 14th 1888/Aged 15 months/Interred at Whittington Church/

N.B. The date of death on the monument should be the 16th January but was incorrectly shown as the 18th.

Lizzie Harrison remarried in 1909 and appears on the 1911 census with her second husband and son living at the address she had shared with Thomas - 13, King Street, Dudley.

«i»Quote and Research copyright of Black Country Genealogy & Family History. «/i»

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