Born at Limerick, Ireland, on the 15th of November 1837.
[PB: the following passage from EJB's notes (see Further information, below) should, if possible, be integrated into this text, once the family tree has been clarified:
Mrs. Kitchener was a grand-daughter of James O'Brien and possessed not only his medals, but also those of 1021 Edward O'Brien, 4th Light Dragoons, and of 1057 Michael O'Brien, 4th Light Dragoons, later of the 7th Hussars. Edward O'Brien was her great-grandfather [i.e. her grandfather's father] and Michael O'Brien her great-uncle [grandfather's brother].
Enlisted at Hampton Court on the 14th of August 1852.
Age: 14 years 9 months.
Height: 4' 8".
Trade: None.
Attained the age of 15 years (and on to "Man's Pay") on the 16th of November 1852.
Sent to the Cavalry Depot at Birmingham, 10th of July 1854.
To the Service Troops in the Crimea on the 25th of May 1855, and joined the regiment on the 20th of June 1855. (Lummis and Wynn, however, state that "he did not serve in the Crimea").
From Private to Trumpeter. 1st of April 1856.
Discharged, "by purchase", from Curragh Camp on the 3rd of September 1861. Payment of £25.
He re-enlisted into the 1st Life Guards at London on the 25th of September 1861, with the Regimental number of 190.
Age: 24 years 10 months.
Height: 5' 6".
Trade: Musician.
Appearance: Fresh complexion. Blue eyes. Brown hair.
Former service allowed to reckon towards pension, vide War Office letter dated 23rd of October 1862.
Re-engaged at London to complete a period of 21 years' service on the 1st of October 1869.
He is shown on the Regimental "married roll" from the 7th of October 1874, his wife's name being shown as Louisa.
However, no trace can be found at St. Catherine's House of his marriage in 1874. It would seem that the number of men allowed to go on the "married roll" was very small, as at December 1879, out of 351 Corporals and men in the Regiment, only 25 were on the roll.
He was married to Louisa Dicker at St. Thomas's Church, Agar Town, Camden, London, on the 14th of March 1874 [PB: given the age of their children, below, is this a typo for 1864?], after banns. Both were shown as being "of full age", he as a "Musician" and she as a "Spinster." Both lived in Great Radcliffe Street, Camden, but a house number (36) is shown only for her. The witnesses for the marriage were Edward O'Brien, Jane Hink and Catherine O'Brien, and the ceremony was conducted by the Revd. R.P. Clemenger, Incumbent. His father was shown as Edward O'Brien, a soldier, and hers as Richard Dicker, a carpenter.
Enquiry of the Regimental Archives of the Household Cavalry shows him to have served as a Musician in the 1st Life Guards. Besides confirming his marriage to Louisa Dicker — at "St. Thomas's, Middlesex" — they also confirm only three children were born into the family while he was serving in the regiment:
- Edward James, born 17th of December 1865 (not shown where, but St. Catherine's House records confirm the family belief that he was born at Windsor);
(A check of the baptismal records of St. Stephen's, Camden Town, shows that Edward James O'Brien was baptised there on the 15th of April 1866, the son of James and Louisa O'Brien. His father's occupation was given as "Musician" and the ceremony was conducted by the Revd. W. Bereton.)
- Mary Jane, born 21st February 1871 (not shown where) and baptised at Holy Trinity Church, Windsor, on the 21st of May 1871;
- Frederick Henry, born 7th September 1872 (again not shown where) and baptised at St. Pancras Church, London, on the 27th of October 1872.
On the 30th of September 1879 there were four children shown in the family, aged 14, 8, 7 and 2 years, but on his discharge only three, the eldest having gone. Another child would seemingly have died circa 1876-77, at the age of three.
[See below for more information.]
Discharged from Regent's Park Barracks, London, on the 12th of December 1879 — but service to count until the 6th of January 1880.
Served 28 years 4 months (3 years 3 months "under age".) and his service allowed "to count" towards pension was 25 years 352 days.
In Turkey and the Crimea: 246 days, Remainder, "Home Service."
Reason for discharge: "He having claimed it on the termination of his second period of limited engagement."
Conduct and character: "Have been very good". He is in possession of the medal for long service and good Conduct: also a medal with clasp for Sebastopol and the Turkish medal.
In possession of five Good Conduct badges. Has never been tried by Court-martial and has no entries in the Regimental Defaulters' book.
Aged 49 years on discharge. To live at Regent's Park, London.
He was awarded the Long Service & Good Conduct medal on the 1st of April 1876.
Allowed 20/- discharge allowance, and granted a pension of 1/1d. per day.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasp for Sebastopol. His number is shown as 1707 on the medal roll for this.
His known medals are the Crimea, with a clasp for Sebastopol, engraved naming to "J. O'Brien. 4th Drgns.", Turkish Crimea (Sardinian type) with similar engraved naming, the Regular Army Long Service & Good Conduct medal, named to "190 Trooper J. O'Brien. 1st Life Guards." and the Volunteer Long Service & Good Conduct medal to "1601 Band-Sergeant J. O'Brien. 14th Mddx. V.R.C." These four medals are mounted on a pin with laurel leaf brooches above each medal. There are also two Old Comrades Association badges, as well as miniatures of James O'Brien and his wife, Louisa.
See photographs of his medals and miniatures of his wife and himself in the 4th Hussar file. The O'Brien medal groups came into the Kitchener family through an executor of James O'Brien's will, Frederick Charles Stanley.
James O'Brien lived until the 2nd of December 1925, when he died at 5, Wilmot Place, Camden, London, N.W. According to his will (made on the 17th of October 1922, and made probate on the 16th of January 1926), his known effects were worth £4,519/6/0, (Re-sworn to £4,069/6/0). The executors were Mary Jane O'Brien, spinster, and Frederick Charles Stanley, an engraver.
In his will, he requested that "his funeral should be private and that there should be no wreaths or flowers and that my body should be cremated at the Crematorium, Golder's Green, and the ashes be scattered, and no grave opened..." Possessed of several houses in Camden he left them to his son, daughter and grandchildren, with specific requests of his pianoforte to his daughter, Mary Ann, all other musical instruments, music and articles of a musical nature to his son, Edward James, the gold watch and chain presented to him by the Islington School Boys, to his grandson, Cedric, and all of his furniture, jewellery and personal effects to his daughter, Mary Jane".
That his last wishes were respected is evident from the short account of his death and funeral which appeared in the St Pancras Gazette , 11th of December 1925. (a paper which normally described in considerable detail some 10-12 funerals each week):
The cremation took place (Dec. 5th) at Golder's Green of the late Mr. James O'Brien, of No. 5 Wilmot Place, Kentish Town, formerly a band-master [sic] in the Life Guards, and a well-known clarinetist. Mr. O'Brien died on the 2nd. inst. in his 90th year, and prior to the cremation the first part of the service was read in St. Michael's Church, Camden Road. The funeral arrangements were in the hands of Mr. H.R. Sinclair, of Kentish Town Road.
Enquiry of the Golder's Green Crematorium shows that no memorial tablet to him was erected in the Memorial Garden there.
[PB: Much of the information below has now been integrated in appropriate sections above.]
In 1986 a Mrs Kitchener of Barnstaple, Devonshire, wrote to a professional researcher, seeking information on James O'Brien, and also on the other men with the surname of O'Brien who had served with the 4th Light Dragoons during the middle and latter part of the 1800s. Having been told the little of what was said could be found, the request was passed on [to EJB].
It transpired that Mrs. Kitchener was a grand-daughter of James O'Brien and possessed not only his medals, but also those of 1021 Edward O'Brien, 4th Light Dragoons, and of 1057 Michael O'Brien, 4th Light Dragoons, later of the 7th Hussars. (See their records.) Edward O'Brien was her great-grandfather [i.e. her grandfather's father] and Michael O'Brien her great-uncle [PB: i.e. her grandfather's brother].
Following the information that James O'Brien had also served in the 1st Life Guards and later in the 14th Middlesex R.V.C., the latter was researched as far as possible but to date [pre-2002] little can be found out of his later service apart from the fact that he was awarded the Volunteer Long Service & Good Conduct medal in the A.O. 96, of 1901 [PB: ?]. He was then the Band-Sergeant.
The family also possess a later edition (1899?) of Robert Farquharson's memoir, Crimean Campaigning, from which the story of Michael O'Brien in the Mutiny was taken (see his record).
[PB: I have not been able to find any other reference to this later, extended edition that includes the Indian Mutiny. Crimean Campaigning finishes with the release of British soldiers from Russian captivity in October 1855.]
Mrs. Kitchener's father, also Edward, was known to have been born at Windsor when his father was serving there in the 1st Life Guards and who himself died during World War Two. He carried on the musical tradition of the family — he was a Professor of the violin, a Gold Medalist of the Royal Academy of Music, a leader of several well-known orchestras, and was associated with the original Gilbert and Sullivan productions. One other child of the family was known, Mary, who died, un-married, before 1939. Mrs. Kitchener is the last-known survivor of the O'Brien family.
James O'Brien lived until the 2nd of December 1925, when he died at 5, Wilmot Place, Camden, London, N.W. Mrs. Kitchener thought he had died in 1924 and was totally unaware where he had been buried. Acting on her information that he had left property to his children and grandchildren his will was found. Made probate on the 16th of January 1926, his known effects were worth £4,519/6/0, (Re-sworn to £4,069/6/0) the executors being Mary Jane O'Brien, spinster, and Frederick Charles Stanley, an engraver.
In his will (made on the 17th of October 1922) he requested that "his funeral should be private and that there should be no wreaths or flowers and that my body should be cremated at the Crematorium, Golder's Green, and the ashes be scattered, and no grave opened..." Possessed of several houses in Camden he left them to his son, daughter and grand-children, with specific requests of his pianoforte to his daughter, Mary Ann, all other musical instruments, music and articles of a musical nature to his son, Edward James, the gold watch and chain presented to him by the Islington School Boys, to his grandson, Cedric, and all of his furniture, jewellery and personal effects to his daughter, Mary Jane".
That his last wishes were respected is evident from the short account of his death and funeral which appeared in the St Pancras Gazette , 11th of December 1925. (a paper which normally described in considerable detail some 10-12 funerals each week):
The cremation took place (Dec. 5th) at Golder's Green of the late Mr. James O'Brien, of No. 5 Wilmot Place, Kentish Town, formerly a band-master [sic] in the Life Guards, and a well-known clarinetist. Mr. O'Brien died on the 2nd. inst. in his 90th year, and prior to the cremation the first part of the service was read in St. Michael's Church, Camden Road. The funeral arrangements were in the hands of Mr. H.R. Sinclair, of Kentish Town Road.
Enquiry of the Golder's Green Crematorium shows that no memorial tablet to him was erected in the Memorial Garden there.
Enquiry of the Regimental Archives of the Household Cavalry shows him to have served as a Musician in the 1st Life Guards. Besides confirming his marriage to Lousia Dicker — at "St. Thomas's, Middlesex," only — they also confirm only three children were born into the family while he was serving in the regiment: Edward James, born 17th of December 1865 (not shown where, but St. Catherine's House records confirm the family belief that he was born at Windsor) and baptised at St. Stephen's Church, Camden Town, London, on the 15th of April 1866; Mary Jane, born 21st February 1871 (not shown where) and baptised at Holy Trinity Church, Windsor, on the 21st of May 1871; and Frederick Henry, born 7th September 1872 (again not shown where) and baptised at St. Pancras Church, London, on the 27th of October 1872.
(A check of the baptismal records of St. Stephen's, Camden Town, shows that Edward James O'Brien was baptised there on the 15th of April 1866, the son of James and Louisa O'Brien. His father's occupation was given as "Musician" and the ceremony was conducted by the Revd. W. Bereton.)
He was married to Louisa Dicker at St. Thomas's Church, Agar Town, Camden, London, on the 14th of March 1874, after banns. Both were shown as being "of full age", he as a "Musician" and she as a "Spinster." Both lived in Great Radcliffe Street, Camden, but a house number (36) is shown only for her. The witnesses for the marriage were Edward O'Brien, Jane Hink and Catherine O'Brien, and the ceremony was conducted by the Revd. R.P. Clemenger, Incumbent. His father was shown as Edward O'Brien, a soldier, and hers as Richard Dicker, a carpenter.
See photographs of his medals and miniatures of his wife and himself in the 4th Hussar file. The O'Brien medal groups came into the Kitchener family through an executor of James O'Brien's will, Frederick Charles Stanley.