Preston family collection
| Record No. | SC072 |
| Main Entry | Preston family |
| Title | Preston family collection |
| Dates | 1857-1945 |
| Physical Description | 4 cm of textual records. |
| Bio/Admin History | The Preston family has preserved records relating to relatives who served in the British army. Lt. Col. James H. Wyatt (b. 1825) was an officer in British Militia, stationed in Curragh, Northern Ireland. He married Jane [Jeanie] Forbes Hogarth, Jan 8th 1857. He sailed to China by clipper in 1857 but the ship was diverted to India because of the Indian Mutiny. Wyatt was in the military train (cavalry) and participated in the relief of Lucknow, Calcutta. The letters were transcribed by J.W. W[yatt]. The letters were inherited by Blanche Margaret Preston (nee Wyatt) and passed down through the family. Major William Forbes Amyas Preston was born in Beaumaris, Anglesea in 1896. He worked in the National Provincial Bank before joining 28th Battalion, The London Regiment, better known as the Artists Rifles, and officer-producing unit in 1915. On 30th Sept. 1916, he was commissioned in the Royal Artillery and appointed to the Rocket Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, which was serving in France. He served in the British Army in France during the First World Was and after in war in Bombay and Karachi India; Mesopotamia, Egypt and Turkey; and in the United Kingdom. He was seconded to the Royal Air Force to become a pilot and served until 1928. He served in the Royal Artillery in the United Kingdom form 1938 to 1945. On retirement he continued to serve in the Home Guard, 5th Battalion, Royal Welsh, Fusiliers, at the Vickers Armstrong pant in Queensferry, Cheshire. From 1950 to c 1960 he served in the Civil Defence in the City of London, Ontario and the in the Emergency Measures Organization of the Province of Ontario. He moved to Victoria B.C. in 1970 and died in Victoria in 1976. |
| Scope and Content | The collection consists of two manuscripts:-- "The Fathers' Indian Mutiny Letters, 1857 - 1859" which consists of Xeroxed, typed transcripts of letters from J.H. Wyatt, writing from India, to his wife, Jane, "Jeanie" in Aberdeen. There are 77 letters plus a note: "Maude's Battery at the Relief of Lucknow 25 Set. 1857. By Lt. Col. M.E.S. Laws. OBE. M.C. R.A. (ret'd.) Taken from the R.A. Journal, July, 1953", 6 pp. The second is "Military Memories: Part I. First World War,1914-19; Part II. Mesopotamia, Egypt, Turkey, 1919-23; Part III. Royal Air Force, 1923-28; Part IV, Second World War 1938-1945 by W.F.A. Preston, Major late Royal Artillery, Newmarket, Ontario, 1965." 137 pp. |
| Title Source | Title based on the contents of the collection. |
| Finding Aids | File list available. |
| Online Finding Aids | File List for Accession 1988-020 (PDF, 20 kB) |
| Restrictions | |
| Notes | Royal Military College and University of Calgary Special Collections have copies of these manuscripts. |
| Provenance | Preston family |
| Repository | University of Victoria Libraries Special Collections |
| Subject Headings |
Great Britain. Army. Royal Horse Artillery. O Battery (The Rocket Troop) |
| Related Links | Military History Collections Travel Collections |