Military: Henry Lowe (1821-1892) — Victorian Era

Henry Lowe was born in 1821 in the county of Nottinghamshire in England and joined the British army at the city of Nottingham on 3 January 1842. His service record showed that he was 20 years and 6 months old when he enlisted in the 3rd Dragoon Guards, a horse guard light cavalry regiment. (For information on Henry's life before and after his military service, please see the post under Biographies. This only covers his career in the army.)

Henry's military service record*

The only record found for Henry before he enlisted is his baptism, so we can’t be sure of his circumstances or background, but he may have come from a poor family and was looking for a way to make money. The army would have given him a steady income and offered adventure and travel — any of which could have been reasons for him to join up. 

Another possibility is that serving in the military was a family legacy. Henry may have followed the footsteps of his father or another family member into the army. If that were the case, Henry may have chosen the 3rd Dragoon Guards specifically because it was the family regiment. Again, no records have been found that would provide evidence of that, so this is supposition.

But there is one more possibility, which is that Henry was targeted because of his height. During that period, British army recruiters often set up in pubs looking for men who fit their regiment's requirements. The requirement for the 3rd Dragoon Guards was tall men with long legs who could ride big horses. Henry’s service record shows that he had a fair complexion, grey eyes, and sandy hair and that he stood 5 ft. 9-3/4 inches tall. That is not considered tall by today’s standards, but the average height of an Englishman in the 1800s was 5 ft. 5-1/2 inches. So at nearly 5 ft. 10 inches, Henry was certainly tall for the time and would have stood out to 3rd Dragoon Guards recruiters as a good candidate for their regiment. 

Description of Henry Lowe from service record*

Henry’s attestation shows that he was a gardener at the time he enlisted, and he became a private with the regimental number 647. As noted, the 3rd Dragoon Guards was a horse guard light cavalry regiment and was similar to a national mounted police force (think RCMP in Canada in the 1800s). The regiment’s units moved around the British empire 'keeping the peace.' 

Painting of a 3rd Dragoon Guards officer circa 1850***

After the Napoleonic Wars, units of the 3rd Dragoon Guards undertook general policing and helped customs and excise authorities enforce smuggling laws. When Henry joined up, Queen Victoria had only been on the throne for four years. This was the beginning of what we now refer to as the Victorian Era. The 3rd Dragoon Guards were often called upon to act as Royal Escort, so Henry may have been in the presence of the Queen at some point during this military career. 

Units of the regiment were moving throughout England, Scotland and Ireland in the early 1840s. As a result, we don't know exactly where Henry spent his first couple of years in the army. But in 1843, the 3rd Dragoon Guards was sent to Ireland and was there when the Irish Famine brought hardship throughout the island. 

Troop stations were published in newspapers throughout the UK. (Star of Freedom newspaper, Leeds, Yorkshire, England, 21 October 1843)** 

Henry's unit, and many other units of the British army, were deployed to Ireland before, during and after the famine. Historians disagree on the intent of the British in using the army in Ireland during the Great Famine. Some say it was to help the suffering country. Others insist it was to subjugate the population while the government took their remaining food for England, leaving the Irish starving. Whatever the intent, history has shown that the British did little to assist the island, and in the end, one million people died. 

A newspaper recounts how Irish residents (who were starving at the time) set about attacking the army (in this case a troop of the 3rd Dragoon Guards) that was escorting a merchant shipment after having taken 69 pigs the week before. (Hampshire Advertiser, Southampton, 25 April 1846)** 

Units of Henry's regiment were dispersed across Ireland with a regimental headquarters in Dublin. Henry must have been stationed in Dublin at some point, because he married an Irish lass named Bridget Fox in the city on 23 November 1846. The different army regiments were rotated throughout the British empire, and Henry's troops were being moved out of Ireland at the end of 1846. So if the couple were courting, they may have chosen to marry before that happened. For Henry to take Bridget with him, they'd need to be legally married. 

Henry and Bridget left for Scotland shortly after they wed at the end of 1846, which was the year the potato crop failed nearly completely in Ireland. But Scotland was suffering from its own potato famine, although not as severe, and also experiencing unrest. The 3rd Dragoon Guards left Ireland shortly after Henry and Bridget wed. Newspapers reported that the regiment travelled from Ballincollig Ireland to Edinburgh Scotland in 1846.

We know that Bridget went with Henry to Scotland, because she gave birth to a child in Edinburgh in 1848. Women, both wives of soldiers and 'camp followers' (prostitutes), were a common part of army life before the mid-1800s. Wives often performed unofficial work such as cooking and laundry and were paid by both individual soldiers and the regiment for these services. So Bridget may have been making a small living by carrying out domestic tasks. Each regiment had its own rules about living arrangements for both married and unmarried women, but in the first half of the 1800s, wives and children were typically permitted in barracks. Allowing women to travel with a regiment fell out of favour in the second half of the nineteenth century and was gradually phased out.

This photo shows the wife of a non-commissioned officer feeding soldiers of the 4th Dragoon Guards in camp during the Crimean War, 1855.
Bridget would have worn similar clothing, although probably not as high quality.
(From the National Army Museum Victorian Soldiering Wives.)

The regimental history shows that units of the 3rd Dragoon Guards were dispersed throughout England from 1848 to 1852. Bridget gave birth to another child in Nottingham in 1849, and we know from newspapers that a unit of the 3rd Dragoon Guards was stationed in the town that year. Nottingham is where Henry was born, so he may have still had relatives or friends there and that would have been a homecoming for him. 

The Nottingham Guardian 18 October 1849 shows that the 3rd Dragoon Guards were stationed in Nottingham, confirming their location at the time of Henry & Bridge's daughter's birth there.**

Then in 1851, Bridget gave birth to a child in Bury, Lancashire at the army barracks there.

This is the barracks where Henry & Bridget lived during their time in Bury, Lancashire, and is where their son Henry Joseph was born. There may have been an infirmary, but if not, she'd have given birth in the general living quarters with the help of other wives but potentially with the assistance of regimental medical personnel. ***

Transfers from one location to another were common as army units were moved frequently to prevent soldiers from becoming attached to any one area or to the locals. Those attachments could make it difficult for soldiers to carry out orders that involved controlling or oppressing the population.

Hampshire Telegraph and Naval Chronicle dated Saturday 21 September 1844.**

Notice from the Sheffield and Rotherham Independent newspaper dated Saturday 6 April 1850.**

Bridget may have left England for Ireland after her son Henry’s birth since she does not appear in the 1851 English census that was taken a few weeks later. In that census, Henry is shown to be living alone in the army barracks at Bury. Bridget had (at least) three small children by then and may have found it difficult to care for them without the help of her family. 

Henry’s regiment was sent back to Ireland in 1852, which may have been anticipated. If the orders had been given for his unit to transfer to Ireland by early 1851, Bridget may have gone on ahead of him and lived with her family. As the Irish census records did not survive, we cannot be sure where Bridget and the children were, but they do not appear to be at the barracks in Bury. 

Wherever she was during the 1851 census, Bridget and Henry were reunited in Ireland, and they had another child in the town of Ballincollig, Ireland in 1854. Ballingcollig is in the south of the country in the county of Cork.

Postcard showing the canteen at the army camp at Ballincollig (undated).***

Another child was born to Henry and Bridget in 1856 in Dublin. We don't know if Henry's unit had been sent back to Dublin from Ballincollig or if Bridget had gone home to her family to give birth.

Then in 1857, the 3rd Dragoon Guards was sent to India. With several young children, Bridget likely stayed in Dublin rather than following her husband overseas. And as noted, women were being discouraged from travelling with the army by then, although wives of officers continued to accompany their husbands.

The regiment went to India to deal with the Indian Mutiny, and Henry went with them. Also referred to as the Sepoy Mutiny or the First War of Independence, this was an unsuccessful rebellion against British rule that took place from 1857 to 1859. The mutiny began in May 1857, and Henry's regiment sailed from England that August arriving in India in November.

British soldiers during the Indian Mutiny resting on the roof of the Alumbagh, 

a large walled enclosure situated on the outskirts of Lucknow.***

Painting of the 3rd Dragoon Guards in India during the 1860s.***

Henry’s pension record shows that he served in India until 1860 and then returned to Ireland and left the army in 1861. There is no information on his specific movements or activities, but his regiment stayed on in India until 1868, so he returned home early. 

Henry's service record does not indicate a reason for him to leave the 3rd Dragoon Guards at that time. There is no notation of an injury or illness, so he may have just decided he'd had enough and wanted to go home. The rest of the his military career had been spent in the British Isles, so India would have been the first time he went overseas. He had not been very far away from his wife and children for most of his time in the army, and he might have missed his family. By the time he was discharged, Henry had been in the army for 18 years and 146 days. 

Henry was reunited with Bridget in Dublin, and their address was 31 Barracks Street. The couple had their next, and probably last, child in Dublin in 1862. 

Henry and Bridget settled in Dublin, and he took up the occupation of tailor, which he carried out for many years. He probably learned this trade in the army. Making and repairing uniforms, tents and other textiles was important, and soldiers in each unit would have been assigned to that task. In an 1881 city directory, Henry Lowe, tailor, is shown to be doing business at 61 Manor Street.

At least two of Henry's sons joined the army. One served in the 3rd Dragoon Guards like his father, and the other served in the Royal Lancaster Regiment. 

In 1871, Henry registered for deferred pension when he turned 50. The pension record showed that he was in the army reserve force in Dublin, but instead of completing his time in the reserve, he wished to get the deferred pension at once. The pension commenced 3 July 1871, but this probably was not much. The number of active service years needed for a full pension in the British Army was 21, so he left about a year and half short of that. Henry died on Christmas day 1892 in the workhouse. 

Top image depicts a 3rd Dragoon Guards cavalry officer circa 1830

*     Henry Lowe's service record from FindMyPast.co.uk 

**   Clippings from Newspapers.com 

*** Images from Wikimedia Commons: commons.wikimedia.org

(Click on images for larger versions.)

Prepared with information available as of 4 August 2021.