Ever since he was a boy Paul Darran has taken great pride in his family’s contribution to the armed forces. “My aunt Rene used to regale me with stories about our military ancestors,” Paul says. “I loved hearing about their service in India, the First and Second World Wars and the Boer War. One of our ancestors even fought at Waterloo.
“Rene was ill at the time, so as a child I would carry round her shopping. I’d get a slice of chocolate Swiss roll and we would look through old photographs of my grandfather and great grandfathers in uniform. I was so inspired by them that I joined the Army myself at the age of 17.
“It’s a thrill to have discovered more about the ancestors Rene told me about. All of this has been made possible through genealogy.
“Rene was very close to her father Frederick Darran, my grandad, and his story is very emotive. Grandad enlisted in the Army in 1911, lying about his age because he was only 15.
“He served with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers at the First Battle of Ypres in 1914. Out of the 1,000 men who fought, only 86 rejoined their regiment. The rest were killed or captured. Frederick was imprisoned at Halverde and Lager 1 Haus Spital, Münster.
“Initially, Frederick refused to work in the coal mines, and was punished by being made to stand in the snow for hours. He was beaten by a camp guard with a lantern, and in photographs you can see a dark shadow on his face where he was scarred.
“Frederick was starved for years, and returned home very ill after the war. Despite his horrific experiences, he was a gentle, loving man. Rene said that the only time he lost his temper was when my nan bought black bread because there was no white bread available. In the camp they were fed black bread, porridge from grass, and coffee brewed from acorns. Grandad picked up the black bread and threw it out of the window, smashing the glass. He said, ‘Never bring black bread into the house again.’ ”
"Grandad picked up the black bread and threw it out of the window"
As a career soldier, Frederick served in the Territorial Army and in a Searchlight Regiment during the Second World War, tracking enemy aircraft. However, he sustained terrible burns in 1940. He also had many operations on his stomach to correct the damage caused during his years of starvation as a POW.
The Darran family as a whole gave great service and sacrifice during the First World War. Frederick’s brothers Arthur and Charles were in the Royal Navy and one of Paul’s great uncles, Joseph Herbert, died in 1916 from wounds that he sustained when fighting the Battle of Loos.
Paul was captivated by stories of Frederick’s son Arthur, who joined the Royal Artillery and served in Palestine after the Second World War. “Uncle Arthur guarded trains transporting German POWs from Egypt to Tel Aviv before repatriation from Cyprus. He witnessed a key moment in history when the
state of Israel was created.”
Frederick had followed in the footsteps of his father Arthur Joseph, Paul’s great grandfather, who saw action in the Boer War. Arthur joined the Army Service Corps and was posted to Cape Town. His regiment fought at the Battle of Laing’s Nek in 1900, where British forces were vastly outnumbered and suffered heavy casualties. He also saw action during the First World War, when he was in his 40s, transporting horses and supplies to Gallipoli.
“Rene told me that Arthur had kept his revolver from the Boer War and gave it to Frederick, my grandad. During the Second World War, the family lived through the Blitz in Canning Town, East London. Nan kept the gun under her pillow in case they were attacked by looters or German paratroopers. After the war, they buried it in the garden.”
Paul’s knowledge of his military ancestors beyond his great grandfather was misty, so 22 years ago he decided to research the family tree further back.
“I started at The National Archives at Kew using census records and War Office records. These were a treasure trove of information. The WO12 records include muster books, pay lists, enlistment dates and movements of British regiments across the world from 1732 to 1878. They also list marriages and families living in married quarters.” The records for 1812–1817 are now also available on Ancestry.
In the 19th century the movement of regiments greatly interested newspaper readers. Old newspapers have allowed Paul to trace his ancestors’ travels across the world via embarkation dates and ship names. He has also read books written by officers detailing the battles his family engaged in.
“The records revealed that my great great grandfather, Joseph Darran, enlisted in 1874 and served a 24-year military career mostly at home. However, his father, who was also called Joseph Darran, was a globetrotter who survived many battles overseas.”
Joseph was born in 1820 in Chatham, Kent, and worked as a gunmaker before enlisting in the 40th Regiment of Foot. “In 1840, his regiment was posted to Karachi, which I was thrilled to discover because I’ve always been fascinated by life in India.”
By 1841, Joseph’s regiment was en route to Kandahar, to engage in the First Afghan War. Conditions were harsh for the 40th, especially at Quetta in Pakistan where fever and dysentery claimed many lives. The 40th saw action at the Battle of Ghoaine in 1842, and was attacked by Ghazi warriors.
“Joseph Darran was a real survivor. He returned to India in 1843, and married Marianne Carberry in Meerut. This was a pivotal point in my research. Marianne was the daughter of John Carberry, a private from County Tyrone, Ireland. This marriage linked me to military ancestors of the 18th century.
“John Carberry, my 4x great grandfather, had an astonishing career. He enlisted in the 47th Foot as a 13-year-old, and later joined the 40th. John served during the Napoleonic Wars at the Battles of Vitoria, San Sebastián and Waterloo.
“It’s impossible to imagine how the foot soldiers felt, marching towards the French lines under heavy fire and fighting for their lives with musket and bayonet.
“Somehow John survived Waterloo and returned to garrison life in Britain. He married Mary Meehan in Cork in 1822.”
War Office records revealed that after a 28-day march from Liverpool to Chatham, which Mary would have followed, John’s regiment departed for New South Wales in Australia. “Imagine stepping off the ship in 1823. In most areas, there was nothing more than kookaburras, convicts and the Bush. Many of the children died on the ships because of the unhygienic conditions.”
This is where Marianne Carberry was born in 1826, and Paul found her military baptism in regimental chaplin’s returns. Her father John was posted from New South Wales to Bombay in 1829, which is how the Carberry and Darran families came together with Joseph and Marianne’s marriage in Meerut in 1843.
“The women of the family amaze me as much as the men. They had to be tough to endure Army life, with long marches and basic conditions.
“There were some advantages, however. Each family member was allocated a daily pound of beef and a loaf of bread. The children were educated, the men were given pensions and widows were supported.”
The earliest military ancestor Paul has found is his 5x great grandfather John Carberry, father to John who served at Waterloo.
John Carberry senior was born in 1773 in Clogher, Ireland, and joined the Royal Tyrone Militia in 1795 and later the 40th Foot. “He became a grenadier, one of the ‘hard men’ of the regiment.”
John senior served in the Napoleonic Wars. He was killed in 1812 while defending the British siege earthworks outside the garrison of Badajoz.
Finding John senior gave Paul eight generations of ancestors serving in every decade since 1794. Historians are astonished by this record of service.
“There are so many Darran ancestors to honour that my cousin Charles Smith and I are writing a book about them. Charles is the grandson of Arthur Richard Darran, who served in the Navy at the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915 and in the Baltic Sea during the Russian Revolution.”
Discovering his ancestors has a deep personal resonance for Paul. “My dad left our family when I was two years old. I didn’t know where I belonged. Researching the tree has given me a family, and my grandfather, uncles and great grandfathers are my father.”
What’s more, Paul is thrilled that his 11-year-old great nephew Keiron will be enrolling as an Army cadet in December, and is pictured alongside him in our photos: “Just like Rene did for me, I’ve been delighted to tell him about a great family history, which has really inspired him.”