Alfred George INGRAM

• Born: 26 Apr 1879, Rochford, Sub-District of Prittlewell, Essex England ³
• Marriage: Ellen Millicent BULLOCK on 21 Jul 1903 in St John's Church, Bangalore, Karnataka, India ^{1 2}
• Died: 1 Apr 1940, Madras, (Chennai) Tamil Nadu, India aged 60 ⁴
• Buried: 2 Apr 1940, Pallavaram, Tamil Nadu, India

  Notes:

Alfred George INGRAM was born in June 1879 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, (Rochford GRO Ref: 4a 318). His father is shown as Edward John Ingram and his mother as Mary Ann Ingram formerly Ward. The family was living at Cromwell Place, Southend at the time. He first appears in the census returns for 1881 at the age of 1 year living with his parents and siblings at 6 Alexander Terrace, Prittlewell and again at the same address in 1891, aged 11 years.
Alfred was descended from a long line of Thames "Bargemen" or "Watermen" working out of Southend-on-Sea, Essex and would have been expected to follow in the footsteps of his fathers before him. However, like many youngsters of his day, he chose to 'join the Army and see the world'. So at the age of 16 or 17, it is thought, he left the family home and enlisted in the 1st Battalion Essex Regiment. The 1st Bn Essex Regt had recently been formed from the amalgation of 44th and 56th Regiments of Foot, (see below). Shortly after formation the battalion was deployed to South Africa where Alfred George saw his first action in the Boer War. After returning to England, the battalion was eventually despatched to India to join the 3rd Quetta Division at Fort Sandeman in Baluchistan.

In about 1901, the battalion was relieved from frontier service and assigned to garrison duties in Madras, (Chenai). It was here as a Lance Corporal that he met and married Ellen Millicent Bullock in Bangalore, (1903).

His battalion returned to north west India for further frontier service with the 4th Division some time before 1909. He was subsequently joined by his wife and first three children who were quartered in Quetta cantonment. He is known to have been a Sergeant when his daughter Dorothy May was born in Quetta (1910). It was also while serving here that he was awarded the Durbar Gold Medal for best Man-at-Arms (Dismounted) in India, by the GOC 4th (Quetta) Division in 1912.

He is believed to have transferred to the Indian Army and was commissioned Lieutenant (QM) in the 40th Simla Rifles. He and his family lived in Simla, Himachal Pradesh for some years. (No dates). They eventually moved back to Tamil Nadu some time before 1930 - presumably on retirement(?) The family home was first at "Melrose" in Madras (Chenai). They subsequently moved to "Maggie Lodge". It is not yet known how he was employed after he left the service.

His children were all schooled at the Lawrence College, Lovedale near Ootacamund in the Nilgiri Hills. ⁵

The Essex Regiment
The story of the 44th & 56th Regiments of Foot. The 44th first served in India in 1822, and in 1841 during the First Afghan War, the entire column moving from Kabul to Jellalabad was massacred in the deep snow at Gundamak. The 56th arrived in India in 1805 and was amalgamated with the 44th Regiment of Foot in 1881 to become the Essex Regiment.

  Events

1. Census: UK Census 1881, Mar 1881, Rochford, Sub-District of Prittlewell, Essex England. ⁶

2. Census: UK Census 1891, Mar 1891, Rochford, Sub-District of Prittlewell, Essex England. ⁷

3. Military Award: Gold Medal for Best Man at Arms, Jan 1912, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. ⁸

Alfred married Ellen Millicent BULLOCK, daughter of James BULLOCK and Mary Ann LEYLAND, on 21 Jul 1903 in St John's Church, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.^{1 2} (Ellen Millicent BULLOCK was born on 4 Feb 1884 in Tiruchchirappalli, (Trichinopoly) Tamil Nadu, India, christened on 14 Mar 1884 in St John's Church, Tiruchchirappalli (Trichinopoly) Tamil Nadu, India ⁹ and died circa 1969 in <Orpington, Kent, England>.)