Private Oakley 1558
Date Enlisted: 25th Apr 1870 at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Corps: The West Suffolk Militia
Theatres Served: England and Egypt
Henry Oakley started his military career in 1870 with the West Suffolk Militia
However he then enlisted in the 27th Regiment of Foot (Regular Army) on the 27th December 1870.
On the census evening of the 2nd of April1871 he was noted as being in The Camp at Colchester. The reason for this may be due to his record showing that on the 8th of April he was found to have fraudulently enlisted in the 27th as he was already a volunteer for the Militia. This starts a long list of military misdemeanours that carried on for the entire length of his service.
He was given many inspections by Senior Officers, like on the 2nd of May 1871 when he was inspected by Major General Murray, and then again on the 6th of October when General Maxwell inspected him.
He was noted as being absent from the gym and was subsequently found drunk in his room and was sent to Aldershot on the 15th of December. He made an improper reply to a Lance Sergeant which earned him 7 days confinement starting from the 15th of August 1872.
On the 3rd of October he was posted to the Army Service Corps (which turned into the Commissariat and Transport Corps from 1881 onwards) and 4 days later he was punished with another 5 days confinement when he was absent, off pass, between 11pm and 7am. On the 13th of April 1875 he was awaiting trial in Woolwich having been found asleep at his post. He was imprisoned for 56 days from the 22nd of April until the the 16th of June.
This must have sent a message to Private Oakley as he was promoted to Lance Corporal less than a year later on 17th of January 1876 and then to Corporal one year later on the 7th of February 1877.
However, this good behaviour wasn't to last. In December 1877 he was noted as being absent from the canteen when on canteen duty and was given an admonishment. A few months later in March 1878 and he was further admonished for not being at the stables when he should have been and then lying about his whereabouts.
It seems that at this point, Corporal Oakley had given up behaving and his behaviour spiralled out of control. On the 12th of August, having been found drunk on Farnborough Road, he went to a Court Martial and the outcome was that they reduced his rank back to Private on the 22nd. 6 days later he was absent again and he was admonished. 2 days after that and he was absent for a parade and then he broke out of camp, eventually being arrested by the Royal Military Police at 11pm drunk once again. He was fined 7/6 for the absence and was imprisoned for 96 hours for breaking out.
December came around and he told a falsehood to the Company Sergeant Major earning him 6 days confinement. February 1879 and he was absent off pass from 11:45pm on the 1st until 8:45am on the 2nd earning him another 7 days confinement and in March he was absent from the 8th until the 11th, earning him the loss of 4 days pay and 21 days confinement. He did the same at the end of April and into May and received the same punishment. His next punishment wasn't until August when he sent the night out again and was admonished.
In 1880 he had 5 punishments for being out over night losing him a total of 7 days pay and 41 days confinement. In 1881 he changed his bad behaviour and was only absent over night once (athough he was caught breaking into the barracks this time!), but his other two punishments were for 'trotting his horses through Davenport against orders' and 'neglecting to clean his harness'. In June 1882 he was found drunk in his room at 12:30pm and was admonished but that was it for that year however his unit was sent into action in the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War, and specifically involved in the Battle of Tel-El-Kebir when the British Army advanced on the town in the shadow of darkness suffering very few casualties for a decisive victory.
His illustrious military career ended on the 14th of April 1883 when his period of service ended.
Medals Earned: The Egyptian Medal with Tel-El-Kebir clasp and The Khedive's Star
