The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-11-25 00:00:00

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A CENTENARIAN.

H. P. writes to The Times: -

"I send you the following particulars of the life of a
veteran, Thomas Geeran, who died a few olays ago in the
Infirmary of the Brighton Union, at the advanced age of log.
year..
These partieulars I gathered from the lips of the old man
himself, and from the inquiries which I have made I have
every reason to ltelieve that they are tellable:

. _
• Thomas Geeran was born on the 14th of May, 1766. at
Searill, in the county if Clare, Ireland. Bred a sawyer, he
continued to work at his trade till the year 1796, when lie
enlisted in the 71st Regiment.

"lie thortly afterwards went out to India, and on the
breaking out of hostilities with Tipp.. hulilli, the Sultan
of Mysore, he was engaged in the siege of Seringapatam,
which was tarried by strut on the 4th of May, 179 u,
"On his return to England he accompanied his regiment
on the expedition to Walcheren, and thence, after a short
Interval, he proceeded with large reinforcements to join
the army of Lord Wellington In the Peninsula, where he
continued to serve until the conclusion of the war, In April,
1814.

lie was engaged hi almost every battle fought by our
army after his arrival iii the Peninsula. and was severely
wounded on three occasions.

im the return of Napoleon from Elba he was sent with
the army under the Duke of Wellington to Belgium. and con-
cluded his active military career at Waterloo ; and in lel9
he was discharged from the service.

" For many Years he gained his livelihood by working at
his old trade as a sawyer and when he became infirm he con-
trived to eke out an existence by the contributions of the
charitable, among whom, I believe, may lie reckoned Iles
Majesty the Queen and several other mei oilers of the Royal
family. Ile retained the perfect use of all his senses to the
last, and his memory, which was wonderfully retentive. re-
mained unimpaired to the end of his life."

In connection with the above, Mr. William J.
Thorns, 40, St George's Square, London, writes :
I hope your correspondent • H.P.: who has sent you
an account of • Thomas Ceeran, who died lately in the in-
firmary of the Brighton Bnion at the advanced age f
years, will forgive me for pointing out a very important
omission in his letter. It does not contain a particle of
evidence in support of any one of Geeran's statements.
Tree, says—' From inquiries I have made I have
reason to believe these particulars reliable :' but he does
not tell us where these inquiries were made. Were they
made at Scarri 11, where Geeran was born, or at the War
Office or Chelsea Hospital? I doubt it they were made at
Seartilf ; I am sure they were not made at Chelsea.
" Geemn's story was that he enlisted in the 71st in 1790,
that he served In India, in Egypt, in the Peninsula, and at
Waterloo, and Was discharged In 1819 (after a service of 32
years, Including India) without a pension •
" Now, Ito not believe there is one atom of foundation for
this story.
• • • • - •• • •

• •
:eeran's case was brought before the Commissioner
at Chelsea. when every endeavonr was made to verify it ; hut
In vain. His name does not appear on the Prize Rolls for
the Peninsula or Waterloo, neither does it appear on the
Medal Rolls, though fiecran stated that he had received the
Waterloo Medal.

" Anyone who knows the accuracy with which these official
records are kept will be satisfied that his story about the
Pent cubs and Waterloo is groundless, and with this official
evidence of their falsity, who can believe the other unsup-
ported statements of this ' old soldier?

" A life of Geeran was published at Brighton in 1870, hi
which there exist several inconsistencies, and what I cannot
but think a great want of candour. The result of the inves-
tigation Into Geeran'a case at Chelsea hospital two years
before is all but suppressed : for surely the belief expressed,
that a 'pension could have been obtained for him had the
clerks sueceeded in hinting his name on the books,' can
seat cely be considered as a fair statement of the fact that
his ease had been thoroughly investigated at chelsea with
the result I have just shown? I have bib ire me four
different photographs of Bra-ran, taken On what be said was
his 1040 birthday, and I feel convince.% that any physiologist
would at a glance pronounce them to be portraits of a loan
nearer so than 104 years of age. The indications of extreme
age which are no marked in the portrait of a genuine cen-
tenarian are entirely wanting in these admirably-executed
photographs of Thomas lieeran."