Timothy Lawn 1718 - 1776

The St Stithians parish records are available on the FamilySearch website and the page here records Timothy's burial and notes he was an 'out pensioner' of Chelsea Hospital. Chelsea Hospital is very well known in the UK and to this day provides a home for Chelsea Pensioners, ex-service personal who after long service retire to a residential home and dress in a very well recognised red uniform. What is less well known is that the majority of pensioners live outside the residential establishment. More information on Chelsea Hospital and it's pensioner residents today can be found here. 

The process for qualification for a pension, and I believe the only criteria for discharge from service, were a medical inspection with results being recorded in a register. The original registers are maintained at the UK National Archives, have been microfilmed and are available for download - but as yet not available for searching on-line. The entry for Timothy Lawn is available as WO116/5 image 344, it shows he was medically examined on 20th September 1763 and found to be 'worn out' and granted a pension. It further details that he was forty-five years old and had completed 20 years of military service at that stage, was born in Northallerton in Yorkshire and gives his pre-military occupation as a weaver. 

Further research at The National Archives established that he served with the East Yorkshire Regiment later changing its name to 15th Foot Regiment whose main base is at Catterick, Yorkshire, just near Northallerton. See here for a short regimental history. The East Yorkshire regiment were known to be actively recruiting in Cornwall at the time of Timothy's marriage in 1747 / 1748. Timothy and Anne's marriage in Penryn is recorded in the St Gluvius parish register here which records the date as 22 February 1747 but as this pre-dates the calendar change in 1752 according to the 'new' calendar the date would be one year later. The record is annotated with the word 'soldier' adding confidence that we have the 'right' Timothy Lawn. It is probable that Anne would have accompanied her husband on active service as a 'camp follower'.

The  East Yorkshire  Regiment saw service in a number of European actions as well as fighting in Canada where there is mention of Timothy's participation on Roll Calls again preserved in the UK National Archives.

On the basis that Timothy is a very unusual forename in 18th century England I'm tempted to speculate that either he or his father may have joined the East Yorkshire as a mercenary from Europe possibly from the Flemish part of Belgium where weaving would have been the predominant occupation at that time.