According to his service file held at the National Archives John Milbank of Carlow, who was born in 1840, joined the newly re-formed 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers as a farrier at the Newbridge in March 1858. He had previously been working as a blacksmith.

Originally formed in 1689 as the Royal Irish (Wynne's) Dragoons during the Jacobite war, the 5th (Royal Irish) Dragoons had been disbanded in 1799 after the 'United Irishman' rebellion, after the discovery of a plot by new recruits to murder the officers and loyal men. It was re-established in 1858 as the 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers but was amalgamated with the Queen's Royal Lancers in 1922.

Milbank subsequently served for 21 years with the same regiment, spending over 11 years in the Indian sub-continent. The Fifth Lancers had arrived in India (via Mauritius) for garrison duty at Lucknow in February 1864, remaining there until they marched for service at Sealkote in December 1869. It returned to England in December 1875. Milbank was first promoted to farrier-sergeant in October 1860 but three years later was reduced to farrier. He was finally discharged in October 1879, aged 39 with the rank of farrier.

Though Milbank's conduct was recorded as being very good and was awarded four 'good conduct' badges, his name appeared four times in the Fifth's regimental defaulters book and was subsequently tried four times and demoted several times. Milbank's offences were not serious enough (he only received a maximum of ten days imprisonment in any one period of service) to be tried by courts martial but only by a regimental court.

After leaving the army he received his first pension payment on November 4th 1879. He was then living at Perfect Street, Manchester. At the time of the 1881 census he was living at 7 Prospect St, Gorton, Lancashire (RG11/3902 f. 97 p. 26) working as a blacksmith and married to 33 year old Martha who had been born in Norfolk.

Read more on the census return for 7 Prospect St at www.familyrecords.gov.uk.

By 1883, he had moved back to Ireland and was living in Mitchelstown, Cork, again working as a blacksmith, where his son John was born on July 20th 1883. According to family tradition, his son was attacked with a brick around the turn of the century and, as a result, the family returned to England where John senior died in 1905 and was buried at Norwich.