Military Career of William Traies

There are three documents:-
1. Discharge Certificate of 1797 from 28th Regiment of Infantry
2. Discharge Document of 1802 from Second Royal Regiment Tower Hamlets Militia
3. Chelsea Out Pensioner slip

DISCHARGE CERTIFICATE 1797

Front of certificate

...... 1st lines not transcribed....
His Majesty's 28th Regiment of Infantry
whereof Lieut. General Prescott is Colonel

These are to certify that the Bearer hereof William Traise Serjeant in the aforesaid regiment born in the Parish of Trinity in or near the Market Town of Exeter in the County of Devon aged forty two years and by Trade a Fuller hath served honestly and faithfully in the said Regiment twenty two years but being consumptive and sickly and having contracted his illness at Gibraltar about the first day of January 1797 is hereby discharged and humbly commended as a proper object of His Majesty's Royal Bounty of CHELSEA HOSPITAL. He having first received all just Demands of Pay Cloathing etc from his entry into the said Regiment to the date of his discharge as appears on the back hereof

Given under hand and the Seal of the Regiment at this 17 day of Nov 1797
...signed....
Inspector General of the
Record and Service ... Chataham Barracks

N.B. When a solier is discharged his wounds and disorder must be particularly mentioned, where, when and how they were contracted and the surgeon must sign the Certificates as well as the field officer.
I certify the above mentioned man to be unfit for serving for the reason assigned
A Mitchell (?)
Garrn Surg'n

Back of Certificate

I William Traise do acknowledge that I have received all my cloathing, pay, arrears of pay and all demands whatsoever, from the time of my inlisting in the Regiment and Company, mentioned on the other side to this day of Discharge
As witness my hand this 17 Day of Nov 1797

Wm Traies

Summary Index on Certificate

Wm Traies
Aged 42
Served 22
Consumptive and
Sickly from illness at Gibr
Born Exeter Devon

Transcriber Notes

NOTES: This document is at the National Archives Kew under reference WO 121/30/320. Transcription was from a micofilm copy.
Words shown in italics have been handwritten on the certificate.

DISCHARGE DOCUMENT 1802

Front of Document

SECOND ROYAL REGIMENT

TOWER HAMLETS MILITIA

WHEREOF

Matthew SMITH is COLONEL.

THIS IS TO CERTIFY,

That the Bearer hereof Serj.m Wm. Trais in Capn Merceron's
Company was Enrolled to serve as a substitute in the
said Militia on the 20th Day of December 1797
and whose time expires on the Nineteenth Day of
December 1802 Which said Req't being
Disembodied he is
regularly dismissed
Whom it ) Given under my hand, at Mile End,
may concern. ) this 24th day of April 1802
N. Mason
Cap L ...[see Note 8]


Back of Document

28 Foot

Wm Traies
Serj't.
A/P = [see note 3]

He is
living [see note 3]

Chelsea

Transcriber Notes

  1. Transcription was from a scanned image copy of an enrolment certificate held at the National Archives under reference W0121/154/81. National Archives Class 121 is described 'Discharge documents for Pensioners'
  2. The description of this item reference given by the National Archives is shown as
    'WILLIAM TRACES alias WILLIAM TRAIS Born [Not Known] Served in Tower Hamlets Militia; 28th Foot Regiment Discharged aged [Not Known] Residence or place where pension paid stated in document. See film image 184.'
  3. The document appears to have been folded when originally filed and notes written on the back. It appears that a card with the tab "he was living" had been inserted into the file to save the need to write these words on the back of every document. It appears that this tab is intended to align with the words "Chelsea" written on the back. It therefore appears that William was at Chelsea (Hospital?) when he was discharged. Different interpretatins are conceivable. A copy of the appropriate section is shown here.
  4. Following an Act of 1757 every county was obliged to provide a number of men to serve in a local militia regiment serving within Britain but not abroad. Ballots were held and any man drawn was obliged to serve for a number of years but he could find or pay a substitute to serve in his stead or a volunteer might offer to stand in his stead. It appears that the pay for any man drawn would come out of the parish rates.
  5. The militia was "embodied" several times during the Napoleonic Wars and served at vulnerable locations such as South Coast (Brighton) and Ireland so William may have seen more service than would normally be expected. With the signing of the Treaty of Amiens on 27th March 1802 it appears that the militia was disbanded (disembodied). It seems that William's service came to an end with the disbandment of the militia.
  6. Further investigation may be beneficial. It may be useful to know for whom William became the substitute - this may appear in Parish Records for the area if they still exist. It would also be beneficial to understand the arrangement whereby he was discharged to Chelsea Hospital but almost simultaneously enlisted in the Militia (who admittedly were never sent overseas so may have been less fit).
  7. Although of later date the following are almost certainly connected with 'Captain Merceron" in the certificate
    1. The late Ann Merceron's house used for storage of militia equipment
    2. This British History on line link. Scroll down or search the document for 'Henry Maceron' - (to do this on Windows, press contol and F simultaneously and enter search words). In summary this link states;-
    'The parish was required to raise 12 men for the navy in 1795 and men for the militia in 1796. The Bethnal Green volunteers were portrayed by Rowlandson in 1798 and the parish joined with its neighbours in seeking relief from the burden of the militia in 1799. A rate of 18d. in the £ to pay the volunteers was imposed in 1803 and details of the militia men were recorded in 1807. In the late 1820s and early 1830s several Bethnal Green men served in the 1st and 2nd Royal Regiments of Tower Hamlets militia in place of people in Whitechapel. In 1853 Henry Merceron leased no. 21 Victoria Park Square as a depot for the Queen's Own Light Infantry Regiment of Tower Hamlets militia.'
    There is a wealth of additional absolutely fascinating background information about the notorious Merceron alehouses etc. on this link.
  8. This word has not been transcribed. Unlike the words on the back it is not deemed significant enough to reproduce.

OUT PENSIONER SLIP 1819

Front of slip

Chelsea College 25th Sept 1819

28th REGIMENT William Traies Sergt

Out Pensioner from this Date

Secretary's Office ....... Signed

Back of slip

28 Foot

William Traies Sergt.

25 Sept 1819

R806

Chelsea

Transcriber Notes

  1. Transcription was from a microfilm copy of an enrolment certificate held at the National Archives under reference W0121/184/496. National Archives Class 121 is described 'Discharge documents for Pensioners'
  2. The document transcribed was a small preprinted slip giving only Name, Rank, Regiment and date of becoming an out-pensioner. It may have served as an index card.
  3. The National Archives Index provides the following information: -
    WILLIAM FRAIES Born [Not Known] Served in 28th Foot Regiment Discharged aged [Not Known] Original certificate of discharge missing. Residence or place where pension paid stated in document. See film image (Part 2) 200
    There may be another document held separately that gives William Traies's address but it was not sought at the time of the transcription.

RETURN TO

SAMUEL and ELIZABETH CHUBB, or ... Family of WILLIAM TRAIES