In 1872, the Cardwell Reforms began the process of organising the British Army along county lines based on two-battalion line infantry regiments, a process completed by the Childers Reforms nine years later. As a result, the 28th and 61st Regiments were amalgamated in 1881 to form the Gloucestershire Regiment, headquartered at Horfield Barracks in Bristol. The reforms also added the county's auxiliary forces to the regiment's establishment, and at its formation it thus comprised two regular, two militia and two volunteer battalions:

1st Battalion – formerly the 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot
2nd Battalion – formerly the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot
3rd (Militia) Battalion – formerly the Royal South Gloucestershire Militia
4th (Militia) Battalion – formerly the Royal North Gloucestershire Militia
1st (City of Bristol) Volunteer Battalion – formerly the 1st (City of Bristol) Gloucestershire Rifle Volunteers
2nd Volunteer Battalion – formerly the 2nd Gloucestershire Rifle Volunteers

The Gloucestershire Regiment began life quietly. The two battalions alternated between postings at home and overseas, mostly in India, but their first action came in 1899 during the Second Boer War (see link for details).
As well as the two front-line Battalions, some of the auxiliary battalions, which in 1900 gained the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, also played a role in the war. On 16 March 1900, a company of 124 officers and men from the 1st and 2nd Volunteer Battalions landed at Cape Town. They served for a year alongside the 2nd Battalion and were replaced by a second volunteer company in April 1901. The 4th (Militia) Battalion, meanwhile, guarded Boer prisoners held on St. Helena. By the war's end the regiment had lost 2 officers and 94 other ranks killed, 13 officers and 201 men wounded, and suffered 250 deaths from sickness. The regiment added 4 new battle honours to its colours: "Defence of Ladysmith"; "Relief of Kimberley"; "Paardeberg"; and "South Africa, 1899–1902"; the last of which was also awarded to the 1st and 2nd Volunteer Battalions.

Following the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 – part of the Haldane Reforms which restructured the British Army and converted the militia and volunteer battalions into the Special Reserve and the Territorial Force – the 4th (Militia) Battalion was disbanded, and at the outbreak of the First World War the Gloucestershire Regiment comprised:

1st Battalion – assigned to the 3rd Brigade in the 1st Division
2nd Battalion – deployed to Tianjin, China
3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion – formerly 3rd (Militia) Battalion
4th (City of Bristol) Battalion, Territorial Force – formerly 1st (City of Bristol) Volunteer Battalion
5th Battalion, Territorial Force – formerly 2nd Volunteer Battalion
6th Battalion, Territorial Force – formerly 3rd Volunteer Battalion.

During the war the regiment raised an additional 18 battalions, including the 13th Forest of Dean Pioneers. In total 16 battalions of the Gloucestershire Regiment saw active service in France and Flanders, Italy, Gallipoli, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia and Salonika.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloucestershire_Regiment

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I have rather belatedly just found this excellent prior thread abt the Coleford Company of Rifle Volunteers, which was apparently part of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion.
http://forest-of-dean.net/fodmembers/index.php?mode=thread&id=23340

=============

There are several W.Eagles within the PRs, altho not many from the Cinderford area. One possible candidate for our Corporal appears to be collier William Eagles, aged 23 when he married at Littledean in 1894. One of my earlier posts in this thread shows this is the same William Henry Eagles who was in Insurance.

MUCH MORE TO FOLLOW ON THIS LINE LATER TODAY, THANKS FOR YR PATIENCE

http://railwayphilatelicgroup.co.uk/postmarks-of-railway-sub-offices-rsosgreat-britain-...

"H Company, 2nd Volunteer Battalion Gloucester Regiment, would like hear anyone having Gymnasium Outfit for Sale. Communicate with Corporal W. Eagles, Cinderford. R.S.O."
Wednesday 7 October 1903 , Gloucester Citizen.

Meanwhile, please can anyone advise what R.S.O means, is it similar to RSVP ?

Many thanks, Jeff.

PS Also, ref WW1 soldier Bert Eagles who I mentioned on previous post, I've just relaised he's shown on this WW2 photo of Cinderford Home Guard, middle of picture wearing glasses, looks so much like his grandson and my friend Phil !.
https://forest-of-dean.net/gallery/cinderford_2/pages/page_110.html
https://www.sungreen.co.uk/cinderford_east_dean/cinderford-home-guard.html

In my old notes I've just found a mention of a Will for "William Wilse of Hardwick 1674", which mentions his grandchildren John, Joanne and Ann Eagles. I guess I found this as part of a general trawl for all-things "Eagles" within this FoD site. This Will can be found within the Documents Section of this site, page 8 of index.
http://forest-of-dean.net/index.php/wills

I mention this as I've just realised from the Woolaston site that PC Henry Eagles was born in Hardwicke. Could William Wilse be an earlier ancestor ?.
http://www.deanweb.info/history8.html

Hoping this is of interest, Jeff.

I do hope the sample results arrive soon and are in line with your expectations and no lasting harm done.

You are dead right! The BNA site provides me with endless fascination. Especially on a night like this when I am waiting for analytical results from a water quality incident. PC EAGLES seems to have been involved in all the usual drunken miscreants, unattended horses and damage to trees that a local constable might have expected in those days. The case where his children were called as witnesses attracted my special attention. He must have been involved in the community to a degree we might not recognize these days.

=====

Hi Paul,

I meant to contact you a while ago in case you knew of the following family ?. A few years ago I started some research for a family-friend from Cinderford, Phil Eagles. Unfortunately it wasn't finished or discussed further with Phil so I cannot verify my findings, but I think he said he descended from PC Eagles. I then found the above thread, and also that he is named as Constable for "Wollastone" in the 1897 Kelly's Glos Directory. As Mike says he does get a few mentions in the BNA.

Phil Eagles' father was Frank R. Eagles, he had an insurance business working from his Cinderford home very near ours, including covering Edwards' Buses of Lydbrook which is how our families first met. Phil's younger sister Gill went thro' Bilson & RFDGS schools in my year. By amusing coincidence given her quite unusual maiden name, Gill has lived and taught in SaarfEast London for 20+ years. Her family are football-mad and hold season tickets at the local club, Crystal Palace, aka "The Eagles"...

I see Frank may be an Eagles family name, wrt http://forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=24795

FreeBMD;

Marriages Sep 1950
EAGLES Frank R JONES Birmingham 9c 273
Jones Audrey M Eagles Birmingham 9c 273

I believe Audrey came to the Forest from Birmingham as a WW2 evacuee, this may be her;

Births Sep 1924
Jones Audrey M Bashford Birmingham 6d 306

Back to Frank,

Births Sep 1925
Eagles Frank R Mustoe Monmouth 11a 47

Which I think gives this Marriage from FreeBMD & GlosBMD, Frank's parents ?;

Groom Surname Groom Forename Bride Surname Bride Forename District Parish Building Year Register Entry
EAGLES Albert Edward MUSTOE Beatrice Annie Cheltenham Cheltenham Emmanuel 1924 1 42

Hence this Baptism for Frank's father;

Record_ID: 1055647
Entry_Number: 581
Year: 1899
Month: Apr
Day: 2
Parents_Surname: EAGLES
Child_Forenames: Albert Ed.
Fathers_Forenames: William H.
Mothers_Forenames: Laura
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Cinderford East Dean Glos
Occupation: Collier
Officiating_Minister: C. J. Reskelly
Event: Baptism
Memoranda: Born Feb 6th
Notes:
Register_Reference: D6514 1/1
Page_Number: 34
Parish_Chapel: Littledean Independent
Soundex: E242

And his Parents' Marriage, also at Littledean.

Record_ID: 1020531
Entry_Number:
Year: 1894
Month: Mar
Day: 22
Grooms_Surname: EAGLES
Grooms_Forenames: William
Grooms_Age: 23
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation: Collier
Grooms_Residence: Cinderford E.Dean
Grooms_Fathers_Surname:
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames:
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation:
Brides_Surname: PARRY
Brides_Forenames: Laura
Brides_Age: 26
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation:
Brides_Residence: Little Dean
Brides_Fathers_Surname:
Brides_Fathers_Forenames:
Brides_Fathers_Occupation:
Licence_or_Banns:
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark:
Witness_1: John Parry
Witness_2: Kate Parry
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: C.J. Reskelly
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes: Wm expanded to William
Register_Reference: D6514 1/2
Page_Number: 3
Parish_Chapel: Littledean Independent
Soundex_Groom: E242
Soundex_Bride: P600

GlosBMD confirms this is William HENRY Eagles;

Groom Surname Groom Forename Bride Surname Bride Forename District Parish Building Year Register Entry
EAGLES William Henry PARRY Laura Forest of Dean Westbury-on-Severn (FoD) Register Office 1894 10 76

My broad searches for "Eagles" also found;
Kelly's Gloucestershire Directories entries, ]
1914: "Wm Hy Eagles, Supt Britannic Insurance Company, Boxbush Rd, Coleford"
1923: "William Henry Eagles, Supt Britannic Insurance Company, St John St, Coleford."

I suspect this is the same gent, given the insurance business links. In fact modern directory sites still list "WH Eagles & Son", Insurance at Lydney.
??

My vague notes of my chat with Phil include mention of his "ancestors" who fought in WW1; one in the Royal Gloucester Hussars & then the Home Guard in WW2, the other apparently named on the Cinderford War Memorial as died on the Somme. These men are;
Pte A.W.Eagles, as per the Memorial, and I presume Bert Eagles. Curiously this website quotes they were both from Coleford rather than Cinderford, perhaps because this was their parents's(W.H.Eagles) home address ?.
"Eagles – A.W. – Glos R – Coleford
Eagles – Bert – RGH – Coleford"
http://glosters.tripod.com/graphic1.htm

(and yes, AW is on the Cinderford Memorial, see
http://www.memorialtranscripts.co.uk/Compressed/gloucestershire_ww1.html ? )

Searching the CWWG site gives;

Private EAGLES, ARTHUR W.
Service Number 5355
Died 23/07/1916
Aged 21
1st/5th Bn. Gloucestershire Regiment
Son of William H. and Laura Eagles, of 6, St. John St, Coleford, Glos.

https://www.cwgc.org

Also see this prior post re DV School Memorial http://www.forest-of-dean.net/fodmembers/index.php?id=43700

I don't know for sure if these definitely were Phillip's ancestors, or just names he found that he thought may be related, altho he does seem to know Bert's later Home Guard history so...
I've just checked this site's WW1 Database and both men are there, looks very much like they were related. Bert is named as Albert Edward, so he is in fact Phil's Grandfather. A.W. is Arthur William, Bert's brother;

Record_ID: 1055646
Entry_Number: 545
Year: 1895
Month: Feb
Day: 19
Parents_Surname: EAGLES
Child_Forenames: Arthur William
Fathers_Forenames: William
Mothers_Forenames: Laura
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Belle Vue East Dean Glos
Occupation: Collier
Officiating_Minister: C. J. Reskelly
Event: Baptism
Memoranda: Born Dec 15th 1894
Notes: Wm expanded to William
Register_Reference: D6514 1/1
Page_Number: 32
Parish_Chapel: Littledean Independent
Soundex: E242

=====

Paul, that's where my research stopped, I really should've finished it earlier, but I lost contact with Phil Eagles then forgot, sorry !. I hope it's of interest or even help to you in your researches. Phil still lives in the Cinderford area so can be easily found via search engine, I'm sure he'd enjoy discussing family history with you.

J.

Gloucester Citizen Saturday 21st June 1890:-

Thomas EAGLES (13), son of PC EAGLES, said that "on May 26th, about half past seven in the evening, DAMP came out of his house and asked him what was the matter, and witness replied that he thought there was something the matter with old Mr WYNN…………………………”

Another witness was Arthur EAGLES (11), brother of the last witness…………………..

Age 13 gives a birth date of 1877 for Thomas. So it looks like Earnest Thomas may well have been known as Thomas at that age.

http://www.deanweb.info/history8.html

2nd Quarter 1877
Volume: 6A
Page: 215
Line Number: 60

Confirmed from Genes Reunited as well.

Ernest Thomas Eagles
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
christening: 1 April 1877 St. Peter's, Almondsbury, Gloucester, England
residence: Almondsbury, Gloucester, England
father: Henry Thomas Eagles
mother: Fanny

Ernest Thomas Eagles
England, Bristol Parish Registers, 1538-1900
christening: 1 April 1877 Pilning, St Peter, Gloucestershire, England
residence: 1 April 1877 Pilning, St Peter, Gloucestershire
father: Henry Thomas Eagles
mother: Fanny Eagles

Ernest Thomas Eagle
England and Wales, Birth Registration Index, 1837-1920
Birth Registration 1877 Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England

The places are across the water just outside Bristol. Could this be anything to do with them?

The latter (configuration of Thomas Ernest Eagles) was requested by me as he an older brother - Ernest James Eagles (1873-1920) and I am aware that Ernest Thomas Eagles was well known in Woolaston where, amongst other things, he was a baker for the village.

The Gloucestershire BMD shows no trace of an Ernest Thomas Eagles / Thomas Ernest Eagles born during 1870 and 1893 (the date range of the births of his siblings). I believe that he was baptised in Almondsbury in 1877 but by 1891 he was living in Church Street, Littledean. His father was one of the village police officers.

My grandmother, Edith Emily Beard (nee Eagles) was a younger sister of Ernest (aka Thomas) and family photos have the inscription Tom on the back of them. If anyone can help me in finding his actual date of birth and the correct configuration of his name I would be most grateful.

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to read this message.