[janwhin]

I notice he did desert while in South Africa in 1880, seems to be about a month and he had about three weeks in hospital in 1883, at Dover I think. Can't make out what it was for but seemed to involve sulphur, so I don't think I'll go there.

The defence in his trial only said that he'd had a very hard time of it.

It seems to me to be too much of a coincidence for the army documents not to be about him. He was only released from the reserve in 1890 and is on the 1891 census in Northumberland. His sister is of course in Bothal Demesne in 1891(Mrs Willis). They seem to have come from Ireland between 1882 and 1889.