The origin of the Welsh THURLOW`s
Henry George was baptised in the Parish Church of Diss, Norfolk on 22nd May 1835 to Robert
THURLOW and Sarah DOVE.
Henry George was the fifth of ten children and according to family legend was the
"Black Sheep" of the family, so it came as no shock when he seemingly ran away
to join the Army before his 15th birthday.
He joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery and whilst very little is known of his Army
service he was present at the birth of a nation...To be precise, he was in Canada in 1866
when the British Army and local Canadian Militia kept out the Irish Americans (Fenians)
hell bent on taking the dominion of Canada as part of the USA. The British Government were
very slow to issue a campaign medal for the defenders of her far flung outpost, the Canda
General Service Medal being issued in 1899, 29 years after the last battle had taken
place. Of the 16,668 medals issued only 1,338 were issued to non-Canadian units.
Fortunately Henry George was still alive in 1899 and therefore able to rightly claim his
Canada General Service Medal (Clasp "Fenian Raid 1866").
He next turns up in Pembrokeshire in the Coastal Defence Battery protecting the Royal
Naval Dockyard at Pembroke Dock, thus starting the first (and so far only) branch of Welsh
THURLOW`s.
He must have been a `career` soldier as he was still in the Royal Artillery, haven risen
to the rank of Bombardier, when he married a local Tailors Daughter, Sarah Jane WALTERS at
St. Mary's Parish Church, Tenby on 29th Jul 1876.
Quite when he left the Army is still a mystery, however it was between 1881 and 1891,
Henry having more than qualified for the Army`s Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, for
which he needed to serve a minimum of 18 years
Henry George & Sarah had fruitful marriage producing eight children with all but the
youngest being born at their army home at Martello Towers, Pembroke Dock.
The youngest child, Albert Edward being born at Hubbleston whilst Henry George was
employed as a Gardener.
Henry George was a teetotaller as he rose to take high office in the "International
Order of Good Templars", a temperance society in whose regalia Henry George can be
seen in above.
Whether all his children followed his example isn't known but Albert Edward the youngest
child also joined a Temperance Society, though in his case it was the "Order of
Rechabites" that he also rose to high office in.
We don't know when exactly Henry George died but it is known that he had died prior to
1921.
Written by Huw Daniel, 30 Aug 2005, (Henry's 2nd
great-grandson)
