1876, a trying year for a Royal Engineer

A Georgian courtroom in England, were those for the military in Malta similar?

The events of 1876, affected not only William McKay but also his family. They were dependent on him and his rank in the Royal Engineers of the Malta Garrison to provide them with food and housing. What happened to Henrietta and the children, 5 year old Florence Annie, 2 year old Henrietta Maud and 6 year old William (if he was with them in Malta) when Corporal William McKay deserted on January 28, 1876?

Did William senior take his family with him when he absconded from the military or did he leave them behind? Wherever they were it must have been an anxious time for Henrietta while she was caring for her young children. But why had he run?

William wasn't at large for long, by February 4th his record stated that he was awaiting trial. The trial itself was noted as happening from February 15th to March 31st, which seems like a long time to me. He was convicted of "Desertion". Which cost him his G.C. (?) pay and pension. That wasn't all, he spent from April 1st to July 1st in prison. What happened to his family in the meantime?

Unfortunately, William's military record was silent about his family but I was able to find out more about his crime by accessing records of the War Office through Fold3. On the first charge William was found guilty of "Desertion Fraud misapplys money for payment of company". The sentence was 336 [days in jail?], reduced - which I interpreted as reduction in rank and stopped - which I thought was a stoppage of pay. The second charge was also fraud. In that case it was: "misapplys meat for patients in hospital. Allows meat to be stolen". Fortunately, he was found not guilty of that charge. He was in enough trouble as it was.

In spite of his sentence, he was only in jail from April 1st to July 1st, 1876. On July 2nd his record stated that he was a sapper, the equivalent rank to a private in the army. Had the engineers dangled the possibility of getting out of jail at a reduced rank for him to see the light or had he thought of what his incarceration was doing to his family and pleaded to get out of jail before his sentence was done? Were his family reduced to living in the barracks now that he didn't have his NCO status with its access to larger living quarters?

At least those family living arrangements wouldn't have lasted long as they said good bye to Malta and were on home ground in England by the beginning of 1877. I believe that the McKay family was included among those noted in Regiments of the Malta Garrison - The Royal Engineers' entry for 1876 which stated: "No. 24th Coy: On 21 Dec 1876, 2 officers, 4 officer's children, 1 officer's female servant, 4 sgts, 3 drummers, 76 rank and file, 13 soldier's wives and 20 children embarked on the P & O Steamer Nepal. They disembarked at Southampton on 31 Dec 1876."

Sources:

Find My Past – British Army Service Records 1760-1915 Records of William McKay enlisted 23^rd July, 1863

Fold3 – WO 86: Judge Advocate General’s Office: District Courts Martial Registers, Home and Abroad Piece 025: Judge Advocate General’s Office: District Courts Martial Registers (1867-1877)

Regiments of the Malta Garrison – The Royal Engineers https://www.maltaramc.com/regmltgar/royalen.html

Images:

Georgian courtroom Georgian courtroom in the Shirehall, the Quarter Sessions were held here 1778 - 1861 and the petty Session until 1971. It is now a museum.

By Richard Croft, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13106878