No.1983, Sergeant Drummer, George Lewis ORBELL
Aged 34
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My thanks to Elizabeth Orbell and her cousins who supplied several details here from their research George Lewis ORBELL was born in Bury St Edmunds on 7th April 1867 (2nd qtr 1867 Bury St.Edmunds 4a:502) son of George and Sarah Ann ORBELL (née EARL) 1871 census...Aged 4, he was at 13 St Andrews Buildings, St.Andrews Street, Bury St.Edmunds with this father George ORBELL [37] unemployed engine driver born Risby; his mother Sarah Ann [37] seamstress; brothers James [12], Charles [10] and Arthur [1]. All except his father were born in Bury St Edmunds. There had been a sister, Elizabeth (1857-1863) 1881 census...Aged 14, he was a boy in the 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment at Fort Regent Barracks, St.Helier, Jersey. He appears on the Suffolk Reg musters as a boy soldier, with a birth date of 7/4/1866. having knocked 1 year of his d.o.b. when he enlisted. As a result he went on to "man's pay" of 1/- per day on 7th April 1881 when the Btn was stationed in Jersey at Fort Regent. His parents and brother Arthur were at 10 Bishop's Road, Bury St.Edmunds 1891 census...He was with the 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment in India. His parents had moved to Exning Waterworks where father was manager of the waterworks and brother Arthur was engine driver at the waterworks. 1901 census...He was in South Africa with the 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. The administrator of his will was brother James |
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An errand boy, he enlisted on 7th September 1880. On 7th Dec. 1881 he embarked for India. (no musters until 1883) when he is still in India, now with the 1st Btn. In 1881 the 1st Btn had just completed their involvement with the 2nd Afghan War. During the next few years Lewis was stationed in Naini in the Outer Himalayas, Roorkee, Nr Delhi, Rawlpindi, which was the GHQ of the British Army at the time and in 1886 was connected to Lahore by rail. That was where he was awarded the India General Service Medal with clasp for Hazara 1888. His Long Service and Good Conduct medal sold for £175 in 2018) His Queen's South Africa medal has clasps for Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal and South Africa 1901 ( this is in the Suffolk Regiment Museum) He died of pthysis in Pretoria. |