Billett Genn was born to Billett Genn snr (see post of 4th June 2014) ) in 1827. In in 1841 aged 14 he was signed on as an indentured apprentice seaman (for 7 years) aboard the brigantine "George Robinson", a merchant ship which sailed for Newfoundland.
Billett kept a diary of his voyages which has survived, and after a short stay in Newfoundland he sailed for the West Indies in "The Garland". In the West Indies he caught Yellow Fever and nearly died.
Soon after Billett arrived back in England, for some reason forgoeing the rest of his apprenticeship, he enlisted (in February 1846) into the 3rd Kings Own Light Dragoons, signing on for seven years as a trooper.
The 3rd had been stationed in India for some years and he was soon on the troopship "East Indies", sailing for India. He fought in the Punjab Campaign of 1848/9 against the Sikhs. The Sikhs have always been fine warriors and this and the usual thick headedness of some of our officers meant that there was some hard fighting, though ultimately the British prevailed and the Punjab was annexed by the British. The 3rd Kings Own Light Dragoons were heavily engaged in all this, and their charge at Chilianwala is depicted below.
Billett was dishcarged back in London in 1853. He received the Punjab Campaign Medal.
This medal was awared to Billett's comrade in the 3rd King's Own Light Dragoons
Returning to Ely, Billett became a Schoolmaster at Needham School in Ely which was a charity school for poor boys. The old building survives (below) but is now used for teacher training. Billett left and then returned and worked there for quite some years through to the 1870s.
Billett married Victoria Haylock, daughter of an Ely Miller on New Years Day 1867 - he was 40, she 23. They had a number of children. He retained the "cavalry" whiskers for much of his early and middle years as we can see below.
Even after leaving Needhams, Billett contiuned to work part time as a schoolmaster in Ely, doing so until the First World War when he was in his 80s. He also continued to have an association with the volunteer forces in Ely, having loved his time in the army, and we see him below sporting his Punjab Campaign Medal
Billett and Victoria lived at 1 Lynn Road in Ely, the house of his father and opposite the Lamb Hotel. I have been there a numer of times, it is now a shop
We see him and Victoria, he sporting a clay pipe in later life, but they are obviously visiting, as this is not their home. This is 1906, Billett is nearly 80 and Victoria 61. Below is Billet at nearly 90.
Victoria, who was well known in Ely in her own right, died in 1913 aged 68. Billett was the last of the Ely Ginn and Genn family to actually live there. He died aged 90 in 1917, the last of a family to have been there continuously for 330 years. He was granted a full military funeral which is depicted below, the courtege is passing his house.
Billett and Victoria had seven children
Arthur Robert - the first Ginn in Ely was Robert (1587) and his eldest son was Arthur. The last Genn in Ely was Billett d. 1917 a descendant of Robert, so it is a little spooky that his eldest son was Arthur Robert.
Arthur Robert joined the 17th Lancers the "Death or Glory Boys" in 1898. His very distant cousin Benjamin Ginn had left the same regment in 1891.
17th Lancers on Parade before embarking for S.A Arthur fought in the 2nd Boer War and received the South Africa Medal with 4 clasps.
He subsequently joined the Bedfordshire Police and rose to Inspector. He married and had issue and his son, the late Lt. Colonel Robert Seymour Genn left genealogical notes that have contributed research to this blog. Arthur died in 1955
Algernon - actually Billett Algernon Manners Genn - hated his name. I can scarcely blame him. He went into Warwickshire as a young man and took an apprenticeship (Birmingham) and lived with a Haylock Aunt for a time. He joined one of the Territorial battalions of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment when he was 18 calling himself Albert. He obviously feared his name being ridiculed. In 1900, there were moves to encourage volunteers from the Territorials into the regular army, and he volunteered (calling himself Alfred !) into a volunteer company of the 1st Btn. Essex Regiment. It is all the same man- he gave his place of birth and parents. Like his brother he fought in the Boer War earning the South Africa Medal with 5 clasps. This was issued to him as Alfred of course and I have noticed that the medal was recently sold in Australia. He took early discharge which as a volunteer was allowed in mid 1901 and some months later married. There were issue. Algernon was later an Engineer and a Freemason. He lived in Bedfordshire like his brother. He died in 1937.
Margaret Elizabeth - married Frederick Bixby in Westminster in 1906
Victoria Blanche - married Frederick Chambers at St Mary's Ely in 1913
Florence Martha - was a Housekeeper in Dorset in 1891 but untraced thereafter
Marian Bewster - married Thomas Martin Phillips at Ely St Mary in 1915
Yerbury Emile - died infancy
Acknowledgements - I am indebted to the late Lt. Colonel Robert Seymour Genn for much of the information on Billett, and to Robert's daughter Helen for the wonderful collection of photographs of him
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