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)
Kipling got it right and nothing changes. Tommy is soon forgotten.
Appealing in so many ways! God Bless and Thank You
FYI Graylands Hospital – the only dedicated mental health hospital in Western Australia first opened in 1904 and is still running in the suburb of Mt Claremont. Up until the 1960's it had 30-40 wards and was in aize about 2 miles in diameter. The main office building, (to the west of the present Hospital) now stands surrounded by residential homes, and houses a small MH museum inside.
I chanced upon a graveyard in Dorchester , Dorset, where it stated that a calvary man with the surname Warr is buried there claiming that he was the last surviving member of the charge of the light brigade I could re investigate as I live not to far away it also had his photograph on a plaque with his story
Very good mate. Thanks for doing the research and uploading this. Azza, Mt Isa, Queensland, Australia.
Excellent
Such is the way of heroes. Fight for your Country, you are a hero, become an Ex soldier, you are a nobody. Disgraceful.
We put illegal immigrants in hotels, but are heroes are forgotten. While 1.2 million English are homeless we send foriegn aid to countries with nuclear weapons and a space programme.
It's time for change.
He, he, he! I don't think his bugle call would bring a tear to the eye of the Palestinian hate marchers. Andere Zeiten, andere Sitten.
"Not only did these soldiers have the nerve to survive a war but they expected us to embrace these pau-I mean loyal soldiers and provide them with basic dignity, safety and comfort and the ability to keep them off the street upon their return? How selfish" – every returning "servicemen" who come from aristocracy and the upper classes with dozens of medals on their chests( most of which they likely never earned) given to them off the backs of hundreds of young men who didnt get to live to the grand old age these "servicemen" did.