Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
What happened to the survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade?
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Link to my video about the Charge of the Light Brigade itself:
Link to the recording of Trumpeter Martin Landfried:
What happened to the survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade?
On October 25th, 1854, during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, 670 cavalrymen charged into the Valley of Death. Alfred Lord Tennyson immortalized their courage with his famous poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” declaring “Honour the Light Brigade, Noble Six Hundred!” But what actually happened to the men who survived that fateful day?
The answer is a tale of two fates. While some survivors found success and prosperity, others ended their days in workhouses and paupers’ graves—a shocking reality that would eventually spark national outrage.
Among the success stories were men like William Pennington, who became a leading Shakespearean actor and manager of Sadler’s Wells Theatre, and John Kilvert, who prospered as a pawnbroker and served as mayor of Wednesbury. Lieutenant Alexander Dunn, the only officer awarded the Victoria Cross for the charge, became the first Canadian to command a British regiment. Others like William Pearson and James Mustard built thriving businesses, while John Parkinson rose to sergeant in the Birmingham police.
But the darker truth was equally compelling. By 1890, at least six survivors were living in workhouses, struggling in poverty despite their heroism. Even Samuel Parkes, awarded the Victoria Cross by Queen Victoria herself for saving a comrade during the charge, died destitute in 1864 and was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave at Brompton Cemetery.
When Rudyard Kipling discovered how Britain’s heroes had been abandoned, he wrote a scathing poem that shamed the nation: “O thirty million English that babble of England’s might, Behold there are twenty heroes who lack their food to-night.” His words sparked Parliamentary debate and inspired the 80-year-old Tennyson to take action.
This video follows the 73-year journey of the Light Brigade survivors—from the Crimean War battlefield to Britain’s backstreets, through the creation of relief funds, to Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 where trumpeter William Perkins sounded the charge once more, and finally to the death of the last survivor, Edwin Hughes, in 1927.
It’s a story that asks an uncomfortable question: what does it truly mean to honour our veterans?
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:52 Charge of the Light Brigade
2:15 Alexander Dunn VC
3:52 Veterans Making Good
5:43 William Henry Pennington
6:20 Convict Ships
7:09 Veterans on Hard Times
7:31 Samuel Parkes VC
9:57 Veterans in Workhouses
10:25 Kipling’s Outrage
12:03 Light Brigade Relief Fund
13:13 Trumpeter Martin Landfried
14:34 Veterans Meet Queen Victoria
15:38 The Roberts Fund
17:14 Last of the Light Brigade
18:52 Learning From History?
#britishhistory #militaryhistory #19thcentury #crimeanwar #victorianera
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My name is Chris Green and I love to share stories from British history. Not just because they are interesting but because, good or bad, they have shaped the world we live in today.
My aim is to be chat as if I were having a coffee or meal with you. Jean in Maryland, USA recently wrote: “Chris, is the history teacher I wish I had at school!”
Just for the record, I do have a history degree in Medieval & Modern history from the University of Birmingham and am a member of the Royal Historical Society.
I am also a member of the Victorian Military Society, the Anglo Zulu War Society and the Military Historical Society.
Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the ‘Comments’ section do not reflect the opinions of Chris Green Communication Ltd t/a The History Chap. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Chris Green Communication Ltd does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, or otherwise questionable comments or material in the ‘Comments’ section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
The History Chap is a trading name of Chris Green Communication Ltd, a company registered in England & Wales (Co No: 05025587)
Balaclava…..been there….😊
Captain John Low CSN a scot who fought for the South is buried in my home town Golborne, Wigan, St Thomas Church. He did well after becoming Manager of the local Textile mill. A different War.
Sgn Donague buried in Great Sankey Cemetrey , born, T believe, in Canterbury.
And what exactly changed in the last 200 years? The 1% cleans up on war profits, the squadie not so much.
In Beaufort, South Carolina, USA, there is a headstone in a church yard marking the grave of a survivor of the charge of the Light Brigade – and a survivor of the American War Between the Stated, having served in the Confederate Army.
His name was William Henry Cory.
And their own regiments took advantage of their poverty and offered them bugger all to purchase the medals from these guys who were literally on their arses.. remember that when you visit a military museum with rows and rows of victorian medals…chances are,that's how the museums acquired them………
Soldiers have