@maninayton Has A Family Link To The Famous Charge Of The Light Brigade

in #history7 years ago

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

First verse of 'The Charge Of The Light Brigade' by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

###The Battle of Balaclava

On the 25th October 1854, during the Crimean War, the Light Brigade of British cavalry took part in the disastrous charge against Russian artillery during the battle of Balaclava. The Light Brigade were supposed to have charged some Russians who were in the process of moving artillery but due to the orders being misunderstood they instead charged prepared artillery at the end of a valley.

The charge has gone down in British military history as an example of outstanding bravery but also of command incompetence. This event was later immortalised in the poem 'The Charge Of The Light Brigade' by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Of the 670 troopers that took part in the charge some 118 were killed, 127 were wounded and 60 taken prisoner.

Watching this event unfurl was my great grandfather, John Barstow, who was serving in the Royal Marines.

John

Although he didn't take part in the actual charge he was awarded the Balaclava bar which would have been worn on the ribbon of the Crimean medal.

During the Crimean campaign, John lost the toes on both feet due to frostbite. There is a family story that he used to place bets with fellow soldiers that he could have a gun carriage run over the toes of his boots without flinching. Those that didn't know of his lost toes soon lost the bet!

John returned to Morley when he left the army and worked in the cotton mills. Times were hard and money was in short supply. The picture below shows John with one of his grandchildren - unfortunately, we haven't a name for the child. Note the worn and patched clothing.

john2

Around 1908 John was featured in the local paper as the local Crimean War veteran. This is a picture taken by the paper and shows John wearing his medals and in his Sunday best!

john3

John died aged 77 in 1915. His home town of Morley, which is near Leeds in North Yorkshire, gave him a full military funeral. This was during the First World War and patriotic feelings were running high otherwise John would probably not have had such a funeral.

A newspaper clipping gives the details.

Clip

Photographs also exist of the funeral cortege and firing party.

Cortege

Firing1

Firing2

I would have loved to have met my great grandfather and have listened to the stories he could tell.

Divider

I hope you have enjoyed this post and would consider following me (I will reciprocate). Some of my posts are about mental health issues while others cover a wide range of subjects. For a taster of my musings please follow these links:-

10,500-year-old finds near my home town

A walk through Poppies

The Harrogate Spring Flower Show - Part 2 of 2

The Harrogate Spring Flower Show - Part 1 of 2

Birds in my garden

My descent into depression - Part 1 of 2

Descent into depression - Part 2 of 2

Until next time - take care of yourselves....

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