Tim Silver's Ancestry and extended family

No idea where the 'Pop' came from but that's what the [my] family called him and he was 'granddad Pop' to my sister and I. (I'm now 'Pop' to two of my grandsons).

In 1815, Wilfred lied about his age in order to sign-up at the age of 16 - he said his birthday was 27 Nov 1896 whereas it was actually 27 Nov 1898. A part of the evidence for this, is that he was 5'4" tall on enlistment and 5'9" tall on discharge. Rather than enlisting for 'Duration of War' he signed-up for '7 + 5' (7 years with the Colours and 5 years in the Reserve - they must have seen him coming) with the Royal Fusiliers. He was Attested in Sunbury on 05 Aug 1815. Later that day he was in Hounslow barracks for his 'medical' with regimental no. 16822. Two days later he was posted to the Royal Fusiliers. On 01 Jan 1916 Wilfred was transferred to the Machine Gun Training Centre in Grantham and then to 2/Bn Machine Gun Corps and a change to his regimental no. - now 29678. Later that year, on 05 Jul 191 6, 2/Bn embarked Devonport for Salonika as part of the BSF (British Salonika Force) where they joined 22nd Division on 14 Jul 1916. However, Wilfred didn't embark for Salonika until 26 Oct 1916, where he joined 66th Machine Gun Company 'in the field' on 12 Nov 1916 (I suppose he was a replacement). There he was to remain for just over two years. During this time, Wilfred contracted Malaria (apparently it was rife along with dysentery). He was admitted into hospital 04 Sep 1917 and didn't rejoin his company until 30 Mar 1918. It is likely that Wilfred took part in the 'Battles of Doiran' (24-25 Apr & 8-9 May 1917). 27 Jan 1919, 66 Coy embark Salonika bound for England and on 15 Feb 1919, Wilfred is given 1 months leave (his first 'home' leave since his 'sign-up' 3 1/2 years earlier!). 01 Apr 1919, 66 Coy is assigned to 8/Bn and on 12 May 1919, 8/Bn embarks Newcastle-on-Tyne bound for Archangel as part of the Russian Relief Force - the short-lived Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. A mere 4 months later, on 27 Oct1919, he's heading back to the UK in the 'final evacuation'. A few months later on 27 Feb 1920, 8/Bn is now embarking Devonport bound for Bombay, where they arrive 24 Mar 1920. Six months (to the day) later, 27 Aug 1920, 8/Bn embarks Bombay for Basra (reinforcements for the British Mandate of Mesopotamia) whence they arrive 02 Sep 1920. 8/Bn stays in Iraq until end of 1921. It's during this time in Iraq that Wilfred was transferred to the emerging Tank Corps, where he was assigned to 6th Armoured Car Coy in Baghdad on 14 Mar 1921. His regimental no. is now 7808691. On 24 Dec 1921, 8/Bn (certainly 6th AC Coy) embarked Basrah for Bombay. They were deployed to Bareilly, where he stayed until the 'expiration of his period of Army Service', on 02 Oct 1922. On 24 Nov 1922, he was transferred to 'Sec "B" Army Reserve to serve his '5'. Wilfred must have enjoyed his time in the army as he served a further 4 years in the reserve (now the Royal Tank Corps), and was finally 'DISCHARGED ON TERMINATION of ENGAGEMENT', 04 Aug 1931. Whilst I'm sure that he did enjoy the army, it's interesting to note that when he left Grantham in 1916, his qualification was 1st Class (Vickers) - so he was a gunner. However, in India, he took his 'driving test' - certified Driver IC IIIrd Class. Had he had enough of killing, or was he trying to create opportunities for his future? He never was a chauffeur, he worked on the railway. Anyway, I like to think that he didn't like killing people.