William Alden

Alden was a shoemaker by trade. He enlisted in 1859; signing his papers with a cross.

During his service he was mentioned in the Regimental Defaulters Book seventy-three times and court-martialled on seven occasions, being identified as being awkward and disrespectful towards officers.

His medical records show that, whilst serving in India, he suffered from ague, what we would recognise now as malaria, on several occasions. At other times he was diagnosed with hepatitis and tuberculosis. On the completion of his first period of service he re-enlisted and served with the 2nd Battalion. He was nearly 41 years old when he was discharged from the army in 1882.

Alden, died in 1924, aged 84 in Swaffham, Norfolk.