Click on the image to view in full size 1840 – 1912

Click on the image to view in full size 1855 – 1920

Patrick Wyer

Birth date and place

To put it mildly, there is some doubt as to where and when Patrick was born. Indeed, that is a rather large understatement!

My father had evidently tried to find out some information as, amongst his papers, my brother and I found a letter from the Superintendent of Records of the Commonwealth Relations Office regarding Patrick’s army service. It gave Patrick’s birth as 11 February 1840, in Birmingham, Warwickshire. However, I can find no record of his birth on any of the English birth or baptism indexes available on the internet.

On the 1851 census, Patrick was staying with Francis and Sarah Wyer in Birmingham and was noted as Francis’ nephew. Taken on 31 March 1851, the census gave his place of birth as Ireland but did not indicate where in Ireland. [Note: As Ireland had not yet obtained home rule, the place of birth would not affect his decision to join the British Army when he was 18.]

The census gave his age as 10. If Patrick had been born in February 1840 he would actually have been 11 at the time of the census but, depending on who supplied the information, the censuses were not always totally correct, especially when it came to the ages and even places of birth.

Click on the image to view in full size

There is a baptismal record for a Patrick Henry Wyer, born on 26th December 1843 in Birmingham but I was able to establish that this was the son of Francis and Sarah Wyer so was ‘our’ Patrick’s cousin.

Despite many hours spent searching the online records I have not yet found a baptism record for Patrick Wyer (with any spelling) born or baptised in early 1840. However, there is a record for a Patrick Wier baptised 1 March 1841, in Edenderry, County Offaly, Ireland. There is no date of birth given but his parents were Patrick Wier and Anne Kelly.

The discovery of the baptism in Edenderry was initially quite exciting as Edenderry is important to our story. Many years ago, Owen, one of Patrick’s sons, took his family to the area on holiday and told them that this was where the family came from.

However, I think that baptism was for a Patrick Wier who, on 1st June 1857, found himself committed to jail on suspicion of being an army deserter. He was aged 17, a factory boy in Edenderry. His physical description could fit our Patrick apart from the colour of his eyes: blue not grey. On 16 June he was discharged having been found not to be a deserter.

This was possibly the Pat Wier who married in a parish near Edenderry in 1861, when our Patrick was already in the army.

Not all baptism registers have survived or have yet been made available online so I will continue to search periodically for a baptism for Patrick Wyer.
 

Patrick’s Parents

Patrick and his parents were born before civil registration began in Ireland. Until we can trace Patrick’s birth place and find his baptismal record we will have no idea of his parents’ names.

My original assumption, before hearing of the legend, was that the unmarried 46 year old female, A Wyer, staying with her brother Francis and his family in 1851 was Patrick’s mother. He is shown staying there as Francis’ nephew, aged 10. So I looked for further details for this A Wyer.

There is a record on the 1841 census for an Ann Wyer, aged 35 and Mary Wyer aged 20, both born in Ireland and living as servants at the same address in Birmingham. We know that Francis’ brother James was with Francis in Birmingham in 1841 and that both of them were born in Ireland, so it is quite conceivable that Ann and Mary were their sisters.

Adult ages in the 1841 census should have been, but were not always, rounded down to the nearest five years so they are merely an indication and are not as helpful as the later censuses. As Ann Wyer was noted as 35 in 1841, she could have been anywhere between 35 and 39, so an age of 46 in 1851 fits.

The 1841 census was taken on 7 June, when Patrick would have been nearly 1 year 4 months old. If Ann was Patrick’s mother, where was Patrick? He is not shown as being at his uncle’s house and there is no Patrick Wyer of that age recorded anywhere on the English 1841 census. However, if he was in hospital or any other institution he would probably only show as an unnamed patient or resident.

Although there were some enlightened employers who did help their servants in such cases, it would have been unlikely for his mother to still be in service if she had an illegitimate son with her. So, with no sign of Patrick in England in 1841, either this A or Ann Wyer was not his mother and Patrick and his mother were both still in Ireland following his birth or she was his mother and Patrick was in hospital or in Ireland being cared for by his grandparents or other relatives.

Since Patrick’s eldest daughter was named Aileen, the Irish spelling of Eileen, it is quite possible that she was named after his mother. And that Ann and Mary were his aunts. Although I have not yet found a baptism record for Ann, I have found one for Mary Anne, baptised in 1820, the youngest of the children of Patrick Wyer and Catherine Healy and therefore, the sister of Francis.

The Ann Wyer and A Wyer of the 1841 and 1851 censuses would have 56 by 1861. I can find no likely candidate in the 1861 census. Of course, it is possible that she had married between 1851 and 1861 and therefore changed her name, had returned to Ireland or had died (though I haven‘t been able to find a likely death record in England). As A Wyer is definitely noted as Francis’ unmarried sister in 1851 I have chosen to show her on the family tree.

In 2009 I wrote: “Unfortunately, at this stage in proceedings, we are no further forward in establishing Patrick’s parents.” But then my cousin Cecilia, granddaughter of Owen, and great granddaughter of Patrick, told me of the story told within her branch of the family regarding Patrick’s birth.

Family Legend

At the time that Patrick was born, his father was home on leave from the army. The women assisting at the birth wanted him out of the way and he went out, presumably for a walk. He was not wearing his uniform and when he came upon a bad event a mob, thinking that he was one of the culprits, lynched him. Sadly, whether as a result of childbirth trauma or of the shock of her husband being killed, his mother died. And thus Patrick was orphaned at the time of his birth.

The story is not as far fetched as it may seem as, in those days, lynchings were a frequent occurrence in Ireland.

On Patrick’s death record, his father’s name was given as Captain Wyer, thus confirming that his father was in the army.

If the story is true, having been orphaned at birth, it makes Patrick’s career in the army all the more remarkable.

Given that Patrick’s place of birth, according to the 1851 census, was Ireland I assumed the event happened in Ireland but without knowing where his father was stationed it is difficult to track down the story. I have checked countless newspapers around that date but have not been able to verify the story.

And so we have no proof that Patrick was an orphan and must still look for his parents.
 

Army Service

Patrick’s service papers are available at the British Library Asia and African Studies department. They are not available online but a colleague working with me on my mother’s family history was kind enough to go and photograph them and I now have 29 pages. Together with the letter from the Commonwealth Relations Office which my father obtained, we know that Patrick’s service number was 254 and that his career progressed in the following manner:

Notes:

Patrick enlisted in Edinburgh on 9 February and his papers were signed two days later, on his 18th birthday. On enlistment Patrick received a bounty of “three pounds & full kit”.

Patrick was a labourer but, unlike many enlisting as privates in the army at that time, Patrick was able to sign his name rather than make his ‘mark’. He signed as Pat Wyer.

His description at enlistment was given as: age: 18, height: 5 feet 4 1/2 inches, eyes: Grey, complexion: Fresh. By November 1859, when he was again examined, Patrick had grown to 66 inches and had a chest measurement of 34 inches. He had no small pox marks. He had been vaccinated in infancy and in service and had a vaccination mark on his right arm. He had brown hair, his regular pulse was 75 beats and respiration 18 inspirations. Patrick’s muscular development was good.

Unfortunately, his Attestation Paper (enlistment) whilst stating that he was born in Birmingham, gives no home address or next of kin, which doesn’t surprise me as it wasn’t until some years later that the army began noting such details.

However, the papers show that he had joined the 1st Staffordshire Regiment of Militia on 24 October 1857 and that he was being released from the militia on condition of him joining the 96th Foot.

Birmingham straddled three counties, including Staffordshire, so the fact that Patrick joined the Staffordshire Militia appears to indicate that, in 1857, Patrick was still living in Birmingham.

But we are no wiser as to why Patrick chose to enlist in the 96th foot in Edinburgh rather than at a recruitment centre for another regiment much closer to home.
 
 
Private Patrick Wyer’s conduct in his early days in the army was not unblemished. He appeared in the defaulters book from May 1858 to 1862 for such misdemeanours as: absence from school, quitting the ranks without leave, not having his hair cut when ordered (3 times!), insolence and inattention at drills. His punishments varied from admonishment to 3 days confined to barracks and to 48 hours in the cells. For being drunk in the street he was punished by 14 days drill.

He was reprimanded for discharging his rifle in the Barrack Square, being absent from Parade, absent from Watch from 4 am to 4.30 am and using improper language to the Colour Sergeant.

I can’t help but wonder how many times as a sergeant he ordered privates to get their hair cut or was on the receiving end of insolence or improper language. Did he remember his conduct in his early days and perhaps inwardly cringe at the memory?

Evidently his misdemeanours were not enough to prevent him being promoted to corporal in February 1863.
 
 
The Curragh camp had been established in 1855 as a training ground for the British Army, at the same time as a training camp was established in Aldershot, Hampshire.
 
 
Patrick’s service in the Staffordshire Militia counted towards his original ten year period and so, having enrolled in the militia in October 1857, the time came when Patrick had to decide on his future. Time-expired men had to wait for the next troopship returning to England but Patrick decided to stay in the army.

He was duly examined and the opinion of the surgeons was that “he does not suffer from any disability or ailment likely to interfere with the efficient performance of his duties either at Home or Abroad”.

The pre-printed form states that the soldier ‘wishes’ to re-enage. On 11 September 1867, Patrick, then a sergeant, re-engaged for a further term of 11 years, 153 days. He signed the papers at Poona as Pat Wyer, aged 27 and 7 months.

Patrick received payment for re-engaging in the form of bounty, gratuity, allowance and commutation in lieu of free kit (as he already had full kit). The four payments totalled 118 Rupees, 7 Annas and 3 Paise.

The picture is of the 96th Regiment of Foot’s uniform in 1875. Although Patrick had transferred to the Unattached List in 1873, the picture shows us what he would have worn and no doubt went on to wear something similar as he continued his army career in India.
 
 
According to the regimental history, in August 1873 it was announced that the regiment would shortly be returning to England and called for volunteers to remain in India. 3 sergeants, 5 corporals, 3 drummers and 174 privates were transferred to 24 different regiments. The 96th Regiment of Foot began its journey home in November 1873, leaving Dinapore by rail before sailing home from Bombay.

Patrick would have known that the regiment was due to return home soon and that the army operated a quota system for regiments travelling abroad. At different times, only around 16% of eligible wives might travel with their spouses. https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/blog/2018/03/16/service-in-the-british-army.

So, by the time the regiment called for volunteers to stay in India, Patrick had already transferred to the Unattached List in June 1873, thus ensuring that he and his new young wife, whom he married that same year, could remain together in India when his British Army regiment moved on.

The British Library notes that, after 1859, NCOs (Non Commissioned Officers) on the Unattached List were recruited solely from NCOs of the British Army regiments stationed in India and served extra-regimentally in the Indian Army, employed mainly in the Ordnance, Commissariat and Public Works Departments. They could be remanded to their parent regiments in case of incompetence and/or misconduct.

My interpretation is that, with the 96th Foot Regiment returning home, Patrick was transferred to the King’s Regiment and then the Royal Irish Regiment so that he had a ‘parent’ regiment to be remanded to if necessary.

A soldier on the Unattached List only became fully part of the Indian Army if and when subsequently promoted to the warrant officer rank of Sub-conductor. Patrick was promoted to sub conductor in 1879 and to Conductor in 1881.

Cousin Peggy said that Patrick gained his promotion for gallantry at the Battle of Kandahar. It was the last major conflict of the second Anglo-Afghan war and took place on the 1 September 1880.

The rank of Sub-conductor is the equivalent of warrant officer 2nd class, and a conductor was a warrant officer 1st Class, which was above the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major. These ranks were and still are unique to the ordnance corps and the rank of conductor is still one of the most senior appointments that can be held by a warrant officer in the British Army.

Patrick was stationed at the arsenals at Rawal Pindi, Ferozepore and Fort William.
 
 
Patrick’s medical records show that he was hospitalised for 21 days in 1859 in Manchester with diarrhea.

The next entry is in September 1865. Patrick was in Beaufort, Cape Colony [South Africa] and hospitalised for 8 days suffering from fever.

Patrick arrived at Poona in January 1866, by ship and then rail. The climate in India took a toll on army personnel and Patrick was twice hospitalised in his first year in India due to the effects of the climate.

Further periods in hospital followed over the years, culminating in October 1883 when he was in Ferozepore. Patrick spent 17 days in hospital suffering from what I think reads as ‘general debility’ due to the climate and was treated with quinine. He was brought before the invaliding board and “recommended for leave to England for one year”.

In 1886 Patrick was hospitalised three times, for ague and once for dysentry, all due to the climate.

In 1889 Patrick passed an Invaliding Board at Ferozepore though no medical cause is given. The board recommended a years leave to Australia and it was during that year that Patrick’s son, Patrick Gerald, was born. His birth was registered in Auckland, New Zealand in 1890.
 
 
Patrick was promoted to Honorary Lieutenant in 1892. My brother says that, given his length of service, it was quite likely that Patrick was promoted straight to 2nd Lieutenant.

On promotion Patrick became the deputy assistant in the Commissary [Commissariat] Ordnance dept, and is noted as such in the 1895 Thacker’s Indian Directory. In December 1894 he became the Asst of the Commissary.

Evidently Patrick’s service had been unblemished since his early days and he was rewarded with promotion to Honorary Lieutenant and then Honorary Captain in time for his retirement, which probably meant that he received a better pension.

Patrick retired on 11 February 1895, on his 55th birthday, having served 37 years in the British and Indian Armies.

I am amazed that such comprehensive service records from 1857 to 1894 remain but I am not a military historian and, frustratingly, there are some words or expressions in the service records which I cannot read or understand. I can only hope that my interpretation does justice to my great grandfather Patrick Wyer’s long and distinguished army career.
 
 

Ellen Shannahan

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Patrick married Ellen Shannahan in Lhunar, Bengal on 7 January in 1873.

Patrick was noted as 33, a bachelor and Colour Sergeant in H.M. 96th Regiment. Ellen was only 16. Patrick’s father was given as P Wyer and Ellen’s father as J Shannahan.

Ellen was born in India c1856. Her year of birth is confirmed by a note in my grandmother, Aileen Annie’s writing which her daughter Barbara Joan had. And her first name was confirmed by Ellen’s name on Aileen Annie’s baptismal certificate.

At first, I found the age difference between Patrick and Ellen surprising, particularly as he was a bachelor, not a widower. However, research shows that not only did Patrick need permission from his Commanding Officer to marry but that only a small number of soldiers were permitted to do so. There was a ‘married roll’ and, in most regiments the limit was set around 6% of the strength. So it is quite likely that Patrick had to wait for a ‘vacancy’ on the married roll before he could marry.

There were at least five soldiers in India with the name J Shannahan so it is quite possible that Ellen had grown up within the army and was therefore familiar with what would be expected of her. Perhaps Patrick chose Ellen as being young, healthy and strong enough to cope with all that married life in the army entailed.

The regiment was a community and, to ensure its successful functioning, the army wives had their place in it.

There was a hierarchy for wives within the army. As the wife of a colour sergeant, a non-Commissioned officer, Ellen would have been a step up from the wives of the privates, corporals and sergeants but below the wives of the commissioned officers.

The 1859 Standing Orders of the 13th (Somerset) Light Infantry stated that “The wives of non-Commissioned Officers must set an example of neatness and cleanliness, both in their own person and those of their children, and in their rooms or lodgings. They will all, as well as the wives of private soldiers, curtsey whenever they meet the Commanding officer or the Captains of their husbands’ companies, and teach their girls to do the same, and their boys to salute.”

Whilst those Standing Orders pertained to the 13th Light Infantry, it is to be expected that the same or similar applied to the wives of the 96th Regiment of Foot.

Unlike the soldiers, we have no records for the army wives but it is clear from various sources that army wives would often accompany their husbands when they were transferred from garrison to garrison. Each time they were transferred, Ellen would have needed to set up a home for Patrick, the children and herself, just as army wives continue to do today though the accommodation and conditions which Ellen experienced were a far cry from those of modern army wives.

By the time Ellen married Patrick, the railway was in India but if it didn’t reach the garrison, the men, women and children would still have been required to march from the nearest station to the garrison. It could be quite a distance and take several days. They would have camped along the way.

In earlier years wives would have accompanied their husbands on campaigns but by the 1870s, I think they stayed in the garrison. However, whether out in the field or in the garrison, the stifling heat and the risk of dysentry and cholera would always have been present.

That Ellen survived and only one of her nine children died is truly remarkable for the times and conditions. And is a testament, I think, to her strength and abilities.

Ellen died in Bombay on 24 December 1920 and was buried the next day at the Church of the Holy Name. Her age was noted as 65 indicating that she was born c1855/56.

I have not found a baptism or birth record for Ellen and so we don’t have the names of her parents or the profession/rank/unit of her father but we have the name of her father as J. Shannahan from her marriage record. Unfortunately, marriage records in British India did not give the profession or occupation of the fathers of the groom and bride.

FindMyPast has the British India Office records and FamilySearch has India Births and Baptisms 1786-1947. Together they provide the following records of births and baptisms for children with the father’s name of John Shannahan:

1860: Catherine, born in Poona, Bombay, parents John and Margareth, father Bomdr. Bombay H. Arty.

1862: Agnes Jane, born in Chunar, Bengal, parents John and Martha (Shannahay)

1864: Agnes, born in Chunar, Bengal, parents John and Martha, father Sargent W…… Company.

1867: Mary Ann, born in Neemuch, Bengal, parents John and Margaret, father Gunner, F/18 R.

1868: William David, born c1868 according to age on marriage certificate, father J. Shannahan

1868: Ann Margaret, born in Neemuch, Bengal, parents John and Margaret, father’s profession Gr.7/18th, ?. A.

1870: Frederick, born in Chunar, Bengal, parents John and Martha.

1871: Amy Edith, born in Chunar, Bengal, parents John and Martha.

1874: Edward Martin, born in Chunar, Bengal, parents John and Martha, Sergeant Major, F. B.

At first I thought that this was simply the mother’s name being incorrectly noted as either Margareth, Margaret or Martha but now I think that there were two families, John and Margaret, John and Martha.

There was also a John Shannon and his wife Mary, who had children between 1852 and 1861. As we have seen with the Irish connection and the Wyers, there is always the possibility that the surname had been mis spelt. However, as there was an overlap between the dates of birth of the Shannon children and the Shannahan children in the other families, I think there is a good chance that the Shannon name was correctly spelt. Plus, from the details on the baptism records, John Shannon appear to have been a private, corporal and sergeant in the 1st Madras Fusiliers and I think that ‘our’ Shannahans were in Bengal.

Ellen married Patrick Wyer in 1873. The place on the marriage record appears to be Lhunar but I think that this is the mis reading of a peculiarly written C and that the place was actually Chunar, in the presidency of Bengal. [Now in the State of Uttar Pradesh].

As Amy Edith was born in 1871 and Edward Martin in 1874, both in Chunar, and Agnes Jane married in Chunar in 1879 aged 17, I am pretty certain that Ellen’s parents were John and Martha Shannahan.

This now gives us:

1862: Agnes Jane, born in Chunar, Bengal, parents John and Martha (Shannahay).

1864: Agnes, born in Chunar, Bengal, parents John and Martha, father Sargent …… Company.

1868: William David, born c1868 according to age on marriage certificate, father J. Shannahan, no further details of John.

1870: Frederick, born in Chunar, Bengal, parents John and Martha.

1871: Amy Edith, born in Chunar, Bengal, parents John and Martha.

1874: Edward Martin, born in Chunar, Bengal, parents John and Martha, Sergeant Major, T. B (or possibly F.B.) Could this be Training Battalion or First Battalion?

Was it feasible that Ellen could have been born in 1856 and had a brother born in 1874?

Martha Shannahan died in 1901 at Jhansi, Bengal, aged 66, described as the widow of the late Sergeant Major Shannahan. She would have been born c1835 and so it’s quite feasible that she had a daughter in 1855 and, several children later, had a son in 1874 when she would have been aged 39. Quite possibly, she was several years younger than her husband, just as her daughter Ellen was when she married Patrick Wyer. Ellen’s last child, Terence, was born when she was 42 and Patrick was 58.

In 1884 William Shannahan was named on the baptismal certificate of Patrick and Ellen’s daughter Aileen Annie as one of her sponsors (godparents).

John Shannahan army service

Clearly John Shannahan was in the army but, unlike Patrick Wyer, there were several John Shannahans in the British Army during the time that we’re interested in so finding his service record isn’t going to be easy.

The 1864 baptism record of Agnes gives her father’s profession as ‘Sargent W…. Company’. Unfortunately I can’t read the middle word.

The baptism record of Edward Martin in 1874 notes John Shannahan as Sergeant Major, T. B. (or possibly F. B.) neither of which means anything to me.

The only service record which I’ve found is a Bengal pension record:

Shannahan J., Sergeant Major, Unattached List. Date of birth 18 August 1812.

Service in India 49 years, 7 months, 9 days.

Service out of India 1 year, 6 months 1 day.

Date when pensioned 20 September 1883. Rate of pension: 4s 6d per diem [per day].

It seems that John Shannahan had joined the unattached list, as Patrick Wyer had done, so that he could stay in India when his regiment moved on.

In total John Shannahan served 51 years, 1 month, 10 days in the British Army before being pensioned at the age of 71 in September 1883. So he must have enlisted in 1832 when he was 20.

Was his service out of India before he went to India or was it during his service in India, perhaps in Burma or Afghanistan? The second Anglo-Burmese War was in 1852-53. The first Anglo-Afghan War was in 1839-42, the second was in 1878-80.

If John enlisted in Britain he may have spent 18 months training in England or Ireland before being sent to India when he was 21 in 1833. Indeed, it is possible that he started his army career with the East India Company. At that time soldiers were expected to stay in India for some time and so the EIC sent their wives with them.

Sadly, with no record of his service number on the pension record and no clue as to his regiment (at least, none that I can read or interpret) and having spent days pursuing various lines of enquiry, I am none the wiser regarding John Shannahan.

I thought that Patrick Wyer’s record of 37 years in the British and Indian Armies, 30 of them in India, was pretty amazing but John Shannahan’s record of 51 years, 49 of them in India, must surely rank as incredible, especially given the hard conditions, heat and disease which claimed the lives of so many British soldiers in India.

Martha’s death record giving her age as 66 in 1901, so born c1835, and John’s pension record giving his birth as 1812, indicate that there was an age difference of some 23 years. This confirms my original thought that Martha may have been several years younger than her husband.

Indeed, it also suggests that John may have been a widower with other children when he married Martha and so, without the baptism record for Ellen or the marriage record for John and Martha, we have no way of confirming whether Martha was Ellen’s mother or step mother.

Patrick and Ellen’s Children

Dermot Lawrence 1881 – 1938
Born October 1881 at Fort William, Bengal, India.
Married Grace Gibbs, four children.
Died in Calcutta, India.

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Aileen Annie 1883 – 1961
Baptised in Ferozepore, India, per the baptism certificate.
Married Frank Haines Jefferys in 1912 in Colombo, Ceylon, three children.
Died in England.

Kathleen Mauri c1884 – 1970
No birth record found.
Married R (Jum) Harrison, three children plus one adopted.
Died in Harrow, England.

Catherine Mary 1886 – ?
Born 5 October 1886, baptised 27 October 1886, in Rawalpindi, West Bengal, India.
Unknown within family and presumed died in infancy.

Honora Mary Gertrude 1888 – ?
Born 2 July 1888, in Muree, West Bengal, India.
Married Arthur Edwards, one daughter.
This is presumably the full name of the person we knew as Aunt Nora.

Patrick Gerald Egan 1890 – 1967
Birth registered in Auckland, New Zealand, registration number 1890/16721, parents noted as Ellen Margaret and Patrick Wyer.
Married Agnes Conroy in Glebe, New South Wales, Australia. One natural child, one adopted.
Died in 1967 in Australia.

Mary 1891 – 1978
Born on 14 May 1891, baptised 10 June 1891 at Fort William, Calcutta, West Bengal, India.
She remained unmarried and died in England.
Known as Ga (or Gar) by one of her nieces and the name stuck as a family nickname.

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Owen Joseph Egan 1893 – 1973
Born 22 July 1893, baptised 8 August 1893, in Muree, India.
Married Eileen Ball 29 June 1918 at Bangalore, Madras, India, three children.
Died in Bexhill on Sea, England.

Terence Michael 1898 – 1978
Known as Terence Michael, he was baptised at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Bangalore as Michael Terence on 19 February 1898 with his birth date given as 24 January 1898. His father was noted as Retired Captain.
Married Maria Teresa Marroquin Guenther of Guatemala, five children.
Died Guatemala, Central America.

I had found the baptism records but most of the birth and death dates and places were supplied by George Egan-Wyer, son of Terence. I have since confirmed them with FindMyPast publication of the British India Office Births and Baptisms. It was George who found Patrick Gerald’s birth record in Auckland when I had given up.

Given the harsh conditions in India, I am surprised that Patrick and Ellen lost only one of their nine children. However, as they married in 1873 and Dermot wasn’t born until 1881, and even allowing for Patrick’s service the second Afghan War1878 – 1880, I wonder if there were any earlier babies who died.

Patrick’s one year furlough in Europe was granted in November/December 1883, so presumably Patrick and Ellen and their children Dermot and Aileen were away during 1884.

Despite extensive searching, I have not been able to find a birth or baptism for Kathleen Mauri. However, the age on her death record in 1970 indicates that she was born c1884 and so I think that is quite likely that she was born during Patrick’s furlough, either on board ship or somewhere in Europe.

I was surprised to find the baptism record of Catherine Mary as I had not heard of her before. I assume that she died in infancy or childhood. Sadly, when this happened it was not unknown for the baby never to be spoken of again.

Until recently little has been known about Patrick Gerald Wyer and it was thought that he had died at Gallipoli in WWI.

It took some time to find his birth record as his birth was registered in Auckland, New Zealand, during one of the family’s voyages. His parents are shown as Ellen Margaret and Patrick Wyer.

Cousin Cecilia told me that a family legend says that the young Patrick was thrown out of the family by his father following his attempt to smack one of his sisters and that this happened in Australia, during the family’s travels after Patrick (Snr) retired. Hence the family not knowing anything more about him.

We know that the family was listed on a shipping passenger list leaving Sydney, Australia for Colombo, Ceylon, in 1907. Patrick would have been 17. Was that when the incident happened? Indeed, my note written when talking with Peggy indicates that the family were on board the ship and that it had already set sail, though it was still in the harbour, when the incident happened. Patrick must have arranged for his son to be taken ashore.

This sad tale appears to be born out by Patrick Gerald’s enlistment in the Australian Imperial Forces on 13 September 1915, aged 25 years, 4 months. His enlistment papers give his place of birth as New Zealand. He was discharged on 17th May 1920.

Cecilia also told me that her Aunt Peggy, daughter of Owen, believed that Patrick (Jnr) was the eldest son. It was usual for the father’s name to be given to first born son though it was not unknown for the name to be re-used for a younger son if the first one died in infancy.

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However, my aunt, Barbara Joan, always believed that Dermot was the oldest son. Indeed, she had a note written by her mother Aileen Annie to that effect.

Now, with the finding of Patrick Gerald’s birth record in New Zealand, the argument has been settled.

The photo was taken in 1884, of Aileen Annie aged one and her brother Dermot aged three, with their parents Patrick and Ellen. Patrick would have been 44 and Ellen 28. Patrick was not wearing uniform and presumably the photo was taken whilst Patrick was on furlough.
 

Wanderlust

Patrick was only 55 when he retired in 1895 and, whether he had a thirst for travel or simply the inability to settle after 37 years in the army, he proceeded to take his family on a series of travels, first to Woolwich in England, then to Auckland in New Zealand, then to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia. I seem to remember my father mentioning that Patrick lost a significant sum of money on a fruit farming enterprise in Tasmania which didn’t work out.

I know that my grandmother, Aileen Annie, who was born in 1883, was at a convent school in Woolwich, in England, for a while. My aunt said that her mother complained about all the moving around as it meant that her education was interrupted. As someone who went to several schools in different parts of this country I must admit to having some sympathy with my grandmother on this.

However, Aileen Annie was also proud of the fact that she was the only one of the family who didn’t get sea sick on all the voyages.

There are at least three shipping records available on line showing the movement of the family.

In May 1901, Patrick, Ellen and all eight children were on board the Weimar, leaving Melborune, Victoria, Australia. One record says that the ship left Melbourne bound for Colombo but another says the ship was bound for Bremen, Germany, calling at various ports along the way. I am trying to discover which report is correct. The family was noted as Irish.

In August 1905, the family sailed for Sydney, Australia, from Colombo, Ceylon. On board the Oruba were Mr and Mrs Wyer, three Miss Wyer (presumably Aileen, Kathleen and Norah) plus Owen, Terence and Mary. They were described as British. Dermot wasn’t with them; he would have been 27 so was presumably at work in Ceylon.

In 1907, the family left Sydney for Colombo. All the children except Dermot were listed, with ages from 29 (Aileen Annie) to 9 (Terence). Was it at the begining of this voyage that Patrick senior dismissed Patrick Gerald from the family for attempting to smack his sister. Presumably the ship had not left harbour and Patrick arranged for his son to be put ashore.

Whilst many of Patrick and Ellen’s children and grandchildren returned to England to settle, others spread around the world. I wonder how many members of the Egan-Wyer family inherited the travelling genes?

My brother, John Jefferys has definitely inherited Patrick’s ‘itchy feet’. John actually looks like Patrick, complete with bushy eyebrows, moustache and beard. He refuses to let hairdressers trim his eyebrows, on the basis that they are a ‘family heirloom’.
 

Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka)

Eventually, Patrick and his family settled in Colombo in Ceylon [Sri Lanka]. The shipping records for 1905 and 1907 both mention Colombo and the family photograph, which I think was taken in 1910 was taken in Colombo.

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My grandparents, Aileen Annie were married early in June 1912 and Patrick died on 23 June 1912, aged 72.

The local Catholic church was St Mary’s Church, Bambalapitiya. It was a new church and only opened in 1912.

My brother John visited the church in 2012 and found the front courtyard festooned with bunting which, alas, was not in honour of his visit but of the centenary of the church.
 

Change of Surname to Egan-Wyer

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to view in full size

In the army, Patrick was using the surname Wyer and the military records show that he retired as Patrick Wyer.

And the copy of Patrick’s death certificate, which my brother was able to obtain when he visited the church above, shows that Patrick remained Patrick Wyer until he died.

Baptismal and birth records for Patrick and Ellen’s children (excluding Kathleen whose birth hasn’t been traced) show that they were given the surname Wyer.

According to my aunt Barbara Joan, who presumably was given the explanation by her mother, Aileen Annie, at some stage, Patrick decided that the name Egan would be added to Wyer for the male children of the marriage and they would be called Egan-Wyer. This would add some gravitas, make it more dignified or socially distinct.

We don’t know when the sons’ names were changed to Egan-Wyer but it must have been after Patrick Gerald was dismissed from the family as he remained plain Wyer.

At that time, sons were considered more important than daughters and it was not thought necessary for the female children to be given the same name and therefore they remained Wyer.

All but one of the four daughters married. Family folklore has it that Mary, who remained unmarried, was not very happy about the situation, especially when one of her sisters in-law introduced her thus: “I am Mrs Egan-Wyer and this is Miss Wyer”.

Having a family with a unique surname, one which was specially created, means that any time we find the name Egan-Wyer on the internet, we know it is a relation somewhere along the line.
 

The Egan Connection

Nobody seemed to know why the name Egan was chosen and so a story developed that, following the circumstances of the death of his father by the lynching mob, Patrick was advised not to sign up under his proper name when he enlisted because the scandal was still remembered in the army. This doesn’t ring true to me because, if his father was an innocent bystander, then it was a tragedy, not a scandal.

So, the story goes, the later inclusion of the name Egan as a double barrelled name for his sons was a way of rectifying the situation.

However, the facts that Patrick’s uncle was Francis Egan Wyer and his cousin was James Egan Wyer, both without hyphens, and that none of James’ siblings had the name Egan, plus the fact that Patrick was on the 1851 census aged 10 as P Wyer would seem to contradict the myth.

Patrick had given the name Egan as a third name to his sons Owen Joseph and Patrick Gerald long before he decided to make the surname Egan-Wyer.

So it is clear that the name Egan was important within the Wyer family but we have no way of knowing how many generations used the name as a middle name but at least three: Patrick for his sons and his uncle Francis plus his son James, Patrick’s cousin.

In the 1800s and earlier, there was a tradition for at least one of the children to be given their mother or even grandmother’s surname as a middle name. Such names are often passed down through the families for generations, long after the person who brought the name into the family is forgotten.

But there was another way of acquiring a surname as a middle name.

If a child was born illegitimate it took its mother’s surname and the father’s surname was often included as a middle name, thus making a link to the father.

And, indeed, my father told me that there was a suggestion that the name Egan was acquired that way, that a Wyer servant had become pregnant by a member of the local Egan family from the ‘big house’. I think that my father thought this might have been the case with Patrick but evidently, with Francis and James both having the name Egan, that can’t have been the case.

If Francis was the illegitimate child and so acquired Egan as a middle name, it’s clear why he might pass it on to his son James. But there would have been no reason for his nephew Patrick to include the name Egan for his sons. So I am inclined to think that the name Egan came into the family at least a generation before Francis, two generations before Patrick. Of course, it may be so far back in the mists of time that we’ll never find the reason for it.

One thing is very clear. Our Patrick clearly identified his family connection with Francis when he chose to give his sons the name Egan-Wyer. Was it recognition and appreciation that his uncle Francis had given him a home and brought him up?
 

The Family Photographs

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The first photograph shows Patrick looking very dignified, very much the Edwardian or Georgian patriarch, with his wife and seven of his children. The family members have been carefully positioned with a studio background and it is a lovely photograph.

My aunt’s original version is mounted on a card which is embossed with the name of a photographer in Ceylon but unfortunately there is no date and it is difficult to date it precisely.

We know that Patrick died in June 1912 in Colombo, Ceylon.

Patrick would have been 70 and Ellen 54 in 1910. They look pretty good for their ages. Could the photograph have been taken in celebration of Patrick’s birthday?

In 1910 the youngest son, Terence, would have been 12, Owen would have been 17 and Dermot 29. The two younger boys in the photo could be 12 and 17. The mix of style of collar and ties of the men reflects the changing fashion of the period. Terence was young enough to be wearing short trousers.

Mary would have been 19, Honora 22, Kathleen 26 and Aileen would have been 27. The young lady on the left looks as though she could be 19. The clothes which they are wearing are representative of those worn in the 1900s and the upswept hairstyles with the central partings were fashionable for a few years from 1907. Just look at those small waists!

Patrick (Jnr) is absent. It appears unlikely that such a photograph would have been taken when he was away from home so it lends credence to the idea that he had already been dismissed from the family.

My aunt confirmed that the daughter standing behind Patrick is Aileen Annie (Cissie). She is wearing a ring on her engagement finger. Aileen and Frank married on 3 June 1912 in Columbo, Ceylon, when Aileen was twenty nine. It is unlikely that there was any reason for them to have had a long engagement, other than waiting for Frank’s employment prospects to prosper, through promotion perhaps.

It seems to me that the photograph was taken between say January 1910 and June 1912.

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My grandparents, Aileen Annie Wyer and Frank Haines Jefferys married on 3 June 1912 in Colombo, Ceylon [Sri Lanka].

Seated in the centre, it is noticeable that Frank and all the other men have white strips across their foreheads. Normally that part of their face would be covered by their hats, a form of light weight pith or sun helmet. Two of the helmets can be seen on the rug in the front.

Comparing the first photograph with that of my grandparent’s wedding, the family members do look older at the wedding, particularly Owen and Terence. Patrick was not present. He died on 23 June 1912 and presumably was not well enough to be at the wedding three weeks earlier.

So, based on some flimsy evidence and a lot of supposition, I think that the photo of Patrick, Ellen and their family was taken in 1910 in Ceylon to celebrate Patrick’s 70th birthday.
 

Patrick and Ellen’s Descendants

The “Wyers and Egan-Wyers Family Tree” gives the names of Patrick and Ellen’s children and those of Patrick’s cousins in Birmingham.

I have a separate family tree which also contains the names of the grandchildren and great grandchildren. Although most of Patrick and Ellen’s grandchildren are now deceased, some may still be living and, as it is usual with family histories to protect the privacy of those who are living I am not publishing it here. However, if you are a cousin and would like a copy please request one using the contact button on the website.

In compiling this history I have searched many sources available on the internet including The Public Records Office ‘Registers of Shipping’ which lists the names and descriptions of British passengers arriving in England.

In the 1940s and 50s, many members of the family returned to England from India or Ceylon. I’m not sure how many records are available or how many of them I’ve found but they make interesting reading which, again for privacy reasons, I don’t intend to detail here.

However, this particular aspect of my research left me with two queries:

September 1950 – from Colombo to Tilbury: Mrs Edith Egan-Wyer, aged 51.

Her age surely meant that she was the daughter in-law of Patrick and Ellen. However, when I originally wrote this in 2009, I thought that:

Dermot Lawrence was married to Grace Gibbs,
Owen Joseph, as far as I knew and remembered, was married to Eileen……..,
Patrick jnr had disappeared.
Terence Michael was married to Maria Teresa Marroquin.

However, Cousin Peggy later confirmed that Edith was her mother, Edith Eileen, wife of Owen, travelling back to England alone, to be at the birth of her first grandchild, Cecilia.

February 1951 – from Bombay to Tilbury: Owen Egan-Wyer, aged 57 and Amy Egan-Wyer aged 23.

I’d only known Owen’s daughters as Kitty and Peggy so who was Amy? Was she a niece taking the opportunity to return with an uncle? But if so, who were her parents? Or, was Uncle Owen travelling in suspicious circumstances, with a young lady masquerading as a relative?

Again, Cousin Peggy supplied the answer. Though known to us as Peggy, her actual name is Amy Margaret and therefore no scandal attaches to her father. In fact, Peggy thought it immensely funny that I might have harboured any such suspicions.
 

Family Tradition of Military Service

It could be said that Patrick started a tradition of military service. In fact, not only does the family legend say that Patrick’s father was in the army, so does Patrick’s certificate of death which gives his father as Captain Wyer so Patrick was continuing the tradition.

Evidently, service during the two World Wars was not by choice but several of Patrick’s descendants signed up for the armed forces following the second war. We found references to family members war time service in the London Gazette supplements and on the military records section of FindMyPast.

The Sons

Dermot Lawrence
23 April 1915: to be Second Lieutenant, Infantry Branch.
23 April 1916: the heading for the section of the London Gazette supplement is evidently on a previous page, so there is no indication to what event the list is referring.
26 May 1917: Resignation of Second Lieutenant of the Indian Army Reserve of Officers.

Patrick Gerald
13 September 1915: enlisted in the army in the Australian Imperial Force: Divisional Ammunition Column 2, Reinforcement 2, as a gunner.
1914-16: Eqypt
1917-18: Western Front
March 1919: Returned to Australia

Owen Joseph
5 Nov 1917: Second Lieutenant, Indian Army Reserve of Officers.
5 Nov 1918: Indian Army Reserve of Officers: 2nd Lieut to be Lieut.
14 Oct 1919: 2nd Lieut. (acting Capt) relinquishes his acting rank with pay and allces, as such on ceasing to command a Coy, and to retain acting rank of Capt. (with pay and allces. as for a Lieut) while holding the appt. of Adjt.
10 May 1941: Welch Regiment, Regular Army Emergency Commissions: 2nd Lt

Terence Michael
25 Oct 1918: Infantry Branch of the Indian Army Reserve of Officers: 2nd Lieut.

The Grandsons

Bernard Owen
4 June 1938: Royal Air Force List, General Duties Branch – Acting Pilot Officer.
18 June 1938: No. 9 Flying Training School.
14 Jan 1939: Acting Pilot Officer under instruction at the School of Army Co-operation.
4 April 1939: Pilot Officer.
3 Sept 1940: General duties Branch – Flying Officer
3 Sept 1941: General Duties Branch – Flight Lieutenant
28 Oct 1941: Flg Offs to be Flt. Lts. (war subs)
4 April 1942: Flt Lts [unclear what the page is telling us]
1 July 1944: Flt Lt to Sqn Ldr (temp)
1944: General Duties Branch – Squadron Leader

Bernard Owen, no 40811, Squadron Leader, 77 Sqdn, disappeared on active service on 6 December 1944. His name is engraved on Panel 200 of the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede.*

J B Egan-Wyer
1942: Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (A & S D Branch): Section Officer.
I think this was Jean Bennett Egan-Wyer, wife of Bernard Owen.

John Jefferys (snr)
July 1941: Enlisted in the RAF Regiment
May 1942: Commissioned, posted 2828 squadron.

George
1957 – 1979: Royal Air Force – Mechanical Transport Driver

Dermot Gerald
1959 – 1971: Retired List – Royal Air Force: ACCS.
Commd 9/11/59 Sqn Ldr 1/7/68 Retd. SUP 8/1/71.

The GreatGrandsons

John Jefferys (jnr)
1972 – 1975 Royal Army Ordnance Corps **

Paul (son of George)
Royal Air Force

Relationship unknown:

C. F. Egan-Wyer
11 Aug 1945 War Subs. Relinquishes his commn, granted the hon. rank of Capt.

I was having a nice peaceful day when an email arrived from George with copies of the pages from the London Gazette attached. I read through them. Then, assuming that I’d made a mistake, I re-read one of them. Nope. No mistake. It quite clearly refers to C.F. Egan-Wyer.

C.F.? Who was he? From where has he suddenly appeared?

As I said before, any one with the name Egan-Wyer has to be related. But I’d never heard of C.F. Egan-Wyer. There is nothing to indicate his age so we have no way of knowing whether he was a son recalled for service in WWII, like Owen, or whether he was a grandson.

His service number was given so I hoped that we might find his service record and thus discover who he was. However, although much more is available on the internet now, ten years after I originally compiled the history, the records for WWII personnel are kept private and only a direct descendant can make a request for them to be released.

If you know who C F Egan-Wyer was, I would really love to hear from you, via the contact button on the website.
 
* The Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede

Bernard was born in February 1920 and my father, John Jefferys, in September 1922. They were together at Mount St Mary’s College, a Jesuit establishment at Spinkhill, near Sheffield. (At least one other of the generation which followed also went to the school.)

My father was very close to Bernard and, whilst proud of his service record, felt his loss deeply. He took my brother and me to the Memorial at Runnymede, where we found Bernard’s name engraved on one of the panels. It is an incredible and awe inspiring place.

The Memorial commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen and women who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known graves. They served in Bomber, Fighter, Coastal, Transport, Flying Training and Maintenance Commands, and came from all parts of the Commonwealth. Some were from countries in continental Europe which had been overrun but whose airmen continued to fight in the ranks of the Royal Air Force.

The memorial sits on a hill overlooking an historic part of the Thames Valley where Magna Carta, enshrining basic freedoms in English law, was signed in 1215.
 
** My brother, John Jefferys jnr, says that for three years the government paid for his travel, to the Caribbean, Northern Ireland and Canada. Since leaving the army he has been paying for his own travel and has been to 37 countries. Perhaps this is what happened to great grandfather Patrick as well, wanderlust triggered by army service.

I think my father was a little disappointed that John had joined the army, appearing to follow our mother’s father and brothers tradition, rather than following him into the RAF. However, it would appear that John, by joining the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, was actually following the footsteps of great grandfather. Patrick held the rank of sub conductor and conductor, which are unique to the Ordnance Corps.

Next: Three Patricks, three generations