The sketchbooks

I mentioned a day or two back that something in the morning paper had reminded me of family heirlooms. What I had in mind was an heirloom - in fact, two heirlooms - from my wife's family.

It was way back in 1991 that Mrs S, on visiting her mother, found the old dear about to throw away a couple (hence the two heirlooms) of old sketchbooks. Mother-in-law was beginning to lose the plot a little and had already (much to Mrs S's disappointment) disposed of an antique grandfather clock, a genuine Sussex shepherd's crook and an antique warming pan. Mrs S immediately told her mother that she would be very happy to take the sketchbooks off her hands and so they came into our possession.

These sketchbooks date from the 1820s and 1830s and are inscribed "Sketches from Nature by Henry Jervis, Lieutenant 62nd Regiment". They show scenes from England, Scotland, Ireland, India etc where Lt Jervis served during his army career. Now Jervis was the maiden name of one of Mrs S's grandmothers and was her father's middle name, so it seemed reasonable to assume that the good lieutenant was an ancestor. Quite naturally we wanted to learn something about the gentleman, and just what was the relationship between him and Mrs S. Could he have been her great grandfather? Or, more probably given the dates, her great great grandfather?

My first port of call (if you will pardon the nautical analogy when talking about an army officer) was the Army Museum in Chelsea, London. Or, more accurately, the library at that museum. But to gain access to the library I had to register and obtain a reader's ticket. I duly completed the application form, including the names and addresses of a couple of referees, and returned it. Some weeks later I received my ticket and I was set to start my research in earnest.