The Life and Times of John Rit

I have to confess up front, John Rit was my Great Grandad. Ever since I first heard of him, which was only about 10 years ago, his story has fascinated. He joined the British army at the ripe age of 18, old for such a move at the beginning of the 19thC, just after the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The Army took him around the world, from his home in Yorkshire the then British territory of the Ionian Islands in the Mediterranean, Ireland in the famine, India during the Raj, and a very long stint as a guard in Hobart and Port Arthur.

As far as I know, he never fired a shot in anger, but the world he saw is fascinating. Especially his stint in Tasmania which provides the ideal vehicle to view the convict times and the violent inter-racial conflict on that island from the viewpoint of a common soldier.

I'm only about 20% through this manuscript and, really, it's taking second place behind Football: a Bloody and Murthering Practise, but I'll keep you posted. My ancestors insist.

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