One for Liverpool Annie (Continued in Part 2)

[liverpool annie]

Fun ... isn't it Su ??

Amongst the Campaign Groups and Pairs is the Highly Emotive and Well Documented Crimea Group of Three to Sergeant Edward Hindley 13th Light Dragoons who charged with the Light Brigade at Balaklava on the 25th October 1854 before going onto serve in India helping to suppress the Mutiny three years later

[liverpool annie]

You know it really hurts me to see the amounts of money paid out by the "funds " ..... we see letters like the one written by Sgt Hindley's wife .... and their gratitude .... and then we see the prices paid for his medals ..... just heart wrenching !!

He received help from the Roberts relief fund, which paid for his funeral expenses when he died and also helped to support his widow. He bequeathed his medals to the fund as a token of his gratitude

Pensions 

There were two funds set up to help the veterans of the Charge of the Light Brigade  The Light Brigade Relief Fund (L.B.R.F)
In May 1890 a public scandal erupted when it was discovered that many veterans of the Charge of the Light Brigade were destitute.  The Secretary of War stated in Parliament that he would not offer assistance and in response the St James’ Gazette set up the Light Brigade Relief Fund.
On the 30th July 890 Florence Nightingale, Alfred Tennyson, and Martin Lanfried, veteran trumpeter made a recording with the proceeds going to the veterans ...  The funds so raised were administered by an influential committee. 
In March 1889 a considerable part of the sum had been expended by the committee in grants to the most needy of the men whose cases came before them.  A sum of over £3,000 however remained in their hands and they communicated with the trustees of the Patriotic Fund asking that they should take over the fund and in future distribute it.  They proposed that it should be invested so as to produce during the lives of the beneficiaries the greatest number of annuities of £8.5.0, or one shilling per day for men that  held no government pension and of such smaller sum as might be required to make up that amount in the case of men with pensions.  It was thus estimated that about 00 men survived who would be eligible for annuities between the ages of 58 and 62 and it was calculated that from ten to eleven annuities could be safely granted.  Shortly after the deed was executed on February 892 Parliament made pensions available to soldiers of 0 years service and upwards who served in the Russian War. This had an impact on the fund, the result being of the 9 survivors claiming the fund only four received the full 7/- per week, and the others on a sliding scale of payments. (National Archives TS 8/322)

The T.H.Roberts Survivors Relief Fund.

Mr T.Harrison Roberts was the proprietor of the “Illustrated Bits” magazine.  Roberts had the idea of bringing together all the survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade to view Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee procession, from his offices in Fleet Street.  Eventually with the help of the Balaclava Commemoration Society, 73 attended.  Roberts was shocked to find that some of the men were living in workhouses, and others were destitute.  In July 897 “The Balaclava Light Brigade Charge Survivors Relief Fund” also known as “The T.H Roberts fund” was started. 59 individuals had received payments between July 8 '97 and December 9, in the form of a 7 - 5 shillings per week pension with a total of £7,822 6s 8d being paid out during the period.

http://www.medalcollector.co.uk/pdf/fhsample.pdf

[liverpool annie]

Sgt Edward Hindley Woodcroft Rd, Liverpool, one of 2 survivors Liverpool in Charge of the Light Brigade Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman, Sebastopol, Mutiny, present at Lucklow

William Sewell Rose Lane, Mossley Hill, late of the 13th Light Dragoons ( Light Brigade ) rode through the Balaclava charge and was severely wounded.

http://www.old-liverpool.co.uk/Crimea.html

[seamike]

Alexander Roberts Dunn, 1833

British Army officer born on Sept. 15, 1833, at York, Upper Canada; first Canadian awarded the Victoria Cross; 1854, as a lieutenant with 11th Hussars during the Crimean War, took part in the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava; with his horse shot out from under him, he seized another mount and saved the life of a sergeant by cutting down two Russian lancers; returned to aid a private in trouble, driving off the enemy with his sword; rose to rank of colonel and commanded the 100th Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales' Royal Canadian Regiment); later served in India; killed on an expedition to Abyssinia when his hunting rifle accidentally discharged.

Globe & Mail (Toronto, Canada) (Jan 24, 2004): p.F8

Historical Plaque in Toronto:  NW corner of Clarence Square Park, east side of Spadina Ave.
south of King St. W:

Born in 1833 a short distance north of this site, Alexander Dunn was educated at Upper Canada College and at Harrow, England. In 1853 he was commissioned Lieutenant in the 11th Hussars. A participant in the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava on October 25th, 1854, he saved the lives of two of his regiment by cutting down their Russian attackers, and thus became Canada's first winner of the newly-created Victoria Cross. In 1858 Dunn helped to raise the 100th Royal Canadian Regiment, which he later commanded. In 1864 he transferred to the 33rd (Duke of Wellington's) Regiment, and four years later was accidentally killed while hunting in Abyssinia.

[seamike]

Bro Colonel Alexander Roberts Dunn VC (Canada's 1st)

Mr Alexander Roberts Dunn, was initiated into Ionic Lodge in 1855. The first son of JH Dunn, receiver General for Upper Canada. Dunn attended Upper Canada College and then Harrow, one of England's famous schools. He joined the 11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars in March 1852. Bro Dunn was a 21 year old lieutenant (later colonel) on October 25, 1854, when the 11th galloped into history against Russian guns at Balaclava in the bloody ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade. A non-commissioned officer riding a slow and exhausted mount began falling behind. The straggler's comrades began shouting, 'Sergeant Bentley's cut off!'. Suddenly, in the chaos of battle, Bro Dunn turned his charger back to rescue the sergeant , who was being pressed by three Russian dragoons, (heavily armed mounted troopers.) The rest of the brigade raced on, leaving Bro Dunn to spur his horse towards the first dragoon and sabre him out of the saddle, giving Bentley time to try to escape.
For his bravery and courage, Bro Dunn was awarded the British Empire's highest award for heroism for his courage the Victoria Cross. He was the first Canadian to be awarded the VC.


Members of Ionic Lodge have worked to have the remains of Bro Dunn returned to Canada. A Masonic service will be held a day prior to the full military funeral on Saturday, October 23, 2004.
(Initially was buried at Senafe Military Cemetery, Eritrea)

Bro Dunn was Initiated, Passed and Raised in Ionic Lodge

[liverpool annie]

Forgotten in Canada, the only evidence of Alexander Dunn is a marker in Toronto’s
Clarence Square near Spadina Avenue and King Street. Born in York (Toronto) on
September 15, 1833, Alexander Dunn was the son of The Hon. John Henry Dunn,
Receiver-General of Upper Canada (Ontario). Born into a privileged family, Dunn
attended one of Canada’s elite private boy’s schools, Upper Canada College, *where his
medals and portrait are still on display. Dunn’s sword and field-chair are at the Canadian
War Museum in Ottawa

PLAQUE #106
Location: On the NW corner of Clarence Square Park, east side of Spadina Ave.
south of King St. W.

http://www.waynecook.com/atoronto.html

His grave (in present day Eritrea) had been neglected for many years but was repaired in 2001 by a group of Canadian Forces engineers from CFB Gagetown.
*For over 50 years his medals were on display in the main foyer of his old school, Upper Canada College, in Toronto. In 1977, due to a number of recent thefts and "losses" of Victoria Cross medals the school replaced the VC with a copy and moved the original to their bank safety deposit box.

Burial - Military Cemetery Senafe, Eritrea

EDIT .....

http://www.civilization.ca/media/show_pr_e.asp?ID=810

[seamike]

COUNCILLORS are rallying to preserve the memory of a Walsall man who was one of the few survivors of the heroic Charge of the Light Brigade.

The famous 17th Lancers were all but wiped out in the ilated assault on Russian guns in The Valley of Death which was immortalised in the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

A mere 25 of "the 600" lived to tell the tale and one was Troop Sgt Major William Purvis, who lived for 30 years in Walsall and is buried in the town.

His horse was shot during the charge and it rolled on to him, breaking three of his ribs and leaving him unconscious.

When he came round he was too weak to get up but escaped the field by hanging on to the stirrups of a comrade's horse which dragged him clear.

His grave and memorial stone in Ryecroft Cemetery were repaired 10 years ago but they are now in need of further work and the borough council's environmental services committee will be asked tonight to set aside pounds 300 for the job.

Sgt Major Purvis, a native of Glasgow, was a private in the 17th during the Crimean War when the charge took place at the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854.

He went on to serve during the Indian Mutiny of 1858/59 and on one occasion captured five elephants which were carrying pounds 500,000 worth of treasure!

Sgt Major Purvis, described as a self effacing man who did not like to talk about his experiences, died on June 11, 1899, at the age of 71, and was buried with his wife.

He was afforded full military honours at the funeral and thousands of people turned out to mourn his death.

Huw Pritchard, archivist at Walsall Local History Centre, said today: "Sgt Major Purvis is one of Walsall's forgotten heroes and is a character people of the town should be proud of."

Copies of the soldier's military record and discharge papers are kept in the history centre and his medals are on display at the town's museum and art gallery.

Birmingham Evening Mail (England) (June 5, 1998): p.18.

[liverpool annie]

You know Mike ... I've come to the conclusion that even though all these articles say

"a man who was one of the few survivors of the heroic Charge of the Light Brigade"

we've found more than a few !! 

Annie 

[liverpool annie]

You know I kept thinking ( or should I say wishful thinking !!  ) as I have a Hindley in my tree .... though pretty far out on a limb ! .... that maybe I could claim him .... but after reading this ... I don't think I honestly can !! 

http://www.chargeofthelightbrigade.com/allmen/allmenH/allmenH_13LD/hindley_e_1540_13LD/hindley_e_1540_13LD.html

Annie