COGGLE Owen

Four line infantry regiments with the numeral 96 were raised and disbanded between 1761 and 1818.A fifth 96th was raised in February 1824 at Salford Barracks, Manchester. It was later allowed to carry the battle honours awarded its predecessor – Peninsular, Egypt and the Sphinx.

Over the next decade, the regiment spent eight years in Halifax, Nova Scotia and two in the West Indies. It then garrisoned in Britain until 1839, when it was tasked with guarding its first of many convict ships bound for Australia. Some of these are profiled on this website’s Ships page.

During the regiment’s time in Australia, the 96th served in Windsor, Sydney and Parramatta, New South Wales; Hobart and Launceston, Van Diemen’s Land; and Adelaide, South Australia. In VDL many of the troops were garrisoned at Port Arthur, the major convict prison. The Anecdotes page of this website will take you to a story of the ‘Military Outrage’ in Launceston in May 1845.

The 96th sent a detachment to New Zealand in 1844 where it remained during the New Zealand Wars until the end of 1846. Again, the Anecdote page will write of the regiment’s missing medal roll.

In February 1847, 111 officers and men arrived in Western Australia on Java from Hobart; a further two arrived on John Bagshaw in January 1849. Thirty seven of the Java men took their discharge and settled in Western Australia; one of them was this man featured on the right. Four of the men transferred to a detachment of the 99th Regiment to receive their final pay.

The 96th in Australia left for India in two waves. In February 1849 General Hewitt left Launceston and then in April the balance left Hobart on Ratcliffe, picking up the 96th detachment from Western Australia on its way to Calcutta.

Lieutenant Colonel Sir Charles Stuart, founder of the 96th (Queens Germans) Regiment during its fourth ‘life’.
NAME Owen COGGLEName variations: None encountered.
Birth Date and Placec. 1815 or 1820 Norwich?  [deduced death record/enlistment].
Baptism Date and Place
Marriage Date and Place18 Jun 1853 Perth, Western Australia [WABDM Reg.#534].
SpouseElizabeth SPENCER (widow).
ChildrenStep children from wife’s previous marriage – not verified [The Herald 14 Oct 1871].
OccupationsOverseer, Gaol Working Party* [BARK p.37].
Land Acquisition in WA
Death Date and Place3 Feb 1878 Fremantle, Western Australia [WABDM Reg.#9564].
Burial Date and PlaceFebruary 1878 Skinner Street, Fremantle, Western Australia [deduced].
Death, Funeral, Obituary Notices
Will and ProbateNone.
BRITISH ARMY
Regiment96th Regiment of Foot.
Soldier No. and Rank#1414 Corporal.
Enlistment Date and Place10 Oct 1839 Norwich, Norfolk [WO12-9611-127].
Age 19 years. Bounty paid to recruit £3 5s. 0d.  First Muster 5 Nov 1839 Haydock Lodge Military Barracks, Lancashire.
Physical DescriptionHeight:  5 ft. 5 ins. [WO12-9611-127].
Arrival Van Diemen’s Land: Ship and DateLady Raffles.
Dep. 2 Dec 1840 Portsmouth. Arr. 17 Mar 1841 Hobart (disembarked 19 Mar 1841) [WO12-9612-292].
Arrival South Australia: Ship and DateEudora  Dep. 5 Oct 1841 Hobart.  Arr. 15 Oct 1841 SA [WO12-9613-196].
Arrival Western Australia: Ship and DateJava 24 Feb 1847 from Hobart (embarked 27 Jan 1847) [WO12-9620-334].
PromotionsPrivate to Corporal 6 Apr1848 [WO12-9622-113].
Medals, Clasps and BadgesGood Conduct Badge 1d. per diem – prior to arriving in WA.
Military Postings within Western AustraliaHQ Perth 24 Feb to 30 Sep1847,On Guard July [WO12-9620 & WO12-9622-36].
York 1 Oct to 1847 to 30 May 1848 [WO12-9622].
On Guard or Perth HQ 1 June to 30 Nov 1848 [WO12-9622-163].
Pinjarra 1 Oct 1848 to 31 Mar 1849 [WO12-9622-196].
Courts Martial in Western AustraliaNone.
Discharge Date and Place

27 Apr 1849 Perth, Western Australia – Conditional [WO28-266-97].
15 Feb 1851 Horse Guards, Westminster, London.
1 Jul 1851 Commandant, Perth, Western Australia.
Purchased Discharge for £4 0s. 0d. [WO28-266-132].

Age at Discharge31 or 36 years [deduced].
Length of Service12 years [deduced].

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Owen Coggle had something to say about his Army service, but very little can be found in the records for his civilian life.  *The reference [BARK p.37] of him being in the 99th Regiment relates to him being attached to the detachment relieving the 96th while he and others were awaiting official discharge in 1851. The following snippets from Owen Coggle’s days in court are perhaps the only footprints he left in the Colony.

The account of him being called as a witness in the matter of the stolen pork can be found in the Perth Gazette on 4 July 1851.
The mention of an axe allegedly stolen from him is in the Perth Gazette dated 5 January 1855.
His fine for drunkenness is reported in the Perth Gazette dated 19 September 1862.