Born at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk and baptised in St. James's church on the 16th of May 1834, the son of George Boreham and Martha Debenham.
Enlisted at London on the 10th of January 1853.
Age: 18.
Height: 5' 8".
Trade: None.
Sent to the Cavalry Depot on the 10th of July 1854.
Joined the regiment in the Crimea on the 25th of April 1855.
Sent to the General Depot at Scutari on the 10th of 0ctober 185 and from there to rejoin the regiment on the 1st of November.
Attached to the Army Hospital Corps at Manchester from the 1st of December 1859.
Discharged, "time expired", from Dundalk on the 13th of January 1865.
Conduct. "good".
In possession of two Good Conduct badges.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasp for Sebastopol,
Lummis and Wynn state, "Nothing further known..."
On the 26th of September 1880 he was awarded a pension of 10d. per day (after a total of 21 years' service) which included 1 year 7 months in the Coldstream Guards, 12 years in the 4th Light Dragoons and the A.H.C., and 1 year and 5 months in the 4th Dragoon Guards as well as 12 years on the Army Reserve (only the half of which time counted for pension purposes.)
He was then described as being 46 years of age, with a pale complexion, grey eyes, and dark brown hair.
He had spent one year and 1 month in the Crimea, and was in possession of three Good Conduct badges.
Born in the parish of St. James's at Bury St. Edmunds, he is shown as having "No trade" at the time of his second enlistment.
At the time of receiving his pension he was living in the South London Pension District.
He had re-enlisted into the 4th Dragoon Guards at London on the 15th of August 1866 at the age of 32 years and 6 months, his regimental number being 911.
No gratuity was paid, "He having received it whilst in the 4th Light Dragoons".
He did, however, claim and receive 3d. per day Good Conduct allowance "in consequence of his previous service in the Coldstream Guards and the 4th Light Dragoons."
He was discharged from the 4th D.G. at Aldershot on the 30th of January 1868 (by purchase) with a payment of £4/0/0.
He is also shown as having originally enlisted on the 11th of January 1853 and having served 15 years.
This is probably why the amount of purchase money was only £4/0/0 instead of the £20-30 usually required after such a short service as he had in the 4th D.G.
No trace can be (1988) be found of his service in the Coldstream Guards, either before January of 1853 or during the period between his discharge from the 4th L.D. and re-enlistment into the 4th Dragoon Guards. The only possibility is that he served in the Coldstream Guards under a different name.
His Crimean medal, with impressed naming to "G Boreham. 4th Lt. Dragns" and an un-named Turkish Crimean medal, (Sardinian type) and with only a small ring for the ribbon suspension, appeared in a Glendining's auction held on the 24th of March 1998.
1881 Census
The 1881 Census shows him as John George Boreham, living at No 6 Belmont Place, Nine Elms Lane, London, a Bootmaker, aged 46, born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, with his wife, Emma, aged 39 and born in Lambeth, London.
There were three children shown, the eldest, a son, being a Telegraph Clerk and two daughters of school age.