Born in London, circa 1815.
Enlisted at London on the 16th of March 1837. At the Maidstone Depot from the 28th of March.
His trade is shown as "None."
No other enlistment details are recorded.
From Private to Corporal: 21st of April 1845.
Corporal to Sergeant: 27th of May 1848.
Appointed Paymaster's Clerk on the 1st of October 1853.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Sebastopol, and the Turkish medal.
Lummis and Wynn state that he was also entitled to the Long Service & Good Conduct medal, this forming part of a group, but no documentary proof of this award can yet be found. An 831 Private William Horne was awarded this in 1854 and the confusion may have arisen from this.
Died at Hounslow on the 31st of July 1857.
Committed suicide "by cutting his throat with a razor whilst the balance of his mind was disturbed." (There is a copy of his death certificate in the "Certificates" file.)
Next of kin: Mother, Jane Horn. Living in Brompton, London.
There is a copy of the inquest report taken from The Times for the 8th of August 1857 in the 11th Hussar file. From this it would appear that his mind was disturbed after being accused of embezzlement when serving in the Crimea, but here again, as with the award of the Long Service & Good Conduct medal, no documentary evidence can be found to support any such offence being committed and being tried for it, up to the time of the regiment leaving the Crimea during June/July of 1856.
It was afterwards stated that besides cutting his throat he had severed the arteries of both arms and that his father and grandfather had also taken their own lives.
The burial registers of St. Leonard's church at Heston show that he was interred there under the name of "William" Raphael Horn on the 4th of August 1857, aged 42 years. The service was conducted by the Revd. S. R. Anderson.
There is a photograph in the 11th Hussar file of the churchyard of St. Leonard's, Heston, in which he was interred, and of the church itself. Owing to the very dilapidated state of the whole area no headstone can be found for him, if indeed one was ever erected.
At a auction of "English Literature and History" held at Sotheby's, London, on the 18th of July 1991 the following Lot appeared:
"(No. 425) — Crimean War. Important and extensive series of about ninety autograph letters by Philip Horn, Paymaster Sergeant of the 11th Hussars (The "Light Brigade") to his brother and sister, virtually a complete record of his service in the campaigns, including reports of the Siege of Sebastopol, the Battles of Balaclava and Inkerman, the Charge of the Light Brigade and other bombardments and attacks on the Russians, during which Horn describes the camps at Yeni Bazar and Sebastopol, life in the trenches during winter shortages, cholera epidemics, the arrival of 'that Angel of a Woman, Miss Nightingale', the looting of Sebastopol, his own duties, and of his impeachment for embezzlement after the end of hostilities; together with a sketch of an encampment in the Crimea, drawn by Horn, c. 250 pages, mostly folio and 4to, some address panels, a few stamps removed occasionally affecting the text, some dust-marking and crazing, some wear repaired.The letters were sent from the 30th June 1853 to the 23rd July 1856, most originating from Yen Bazaar, Varna, Sebastopol Heights, Cavalry Camp Balaclava and the Cavalry Camp at Kadikoi:
"[W]e had another skirmish with Russians I am sorry to say that the Light Cavalry Brigade lost a great number of Men by some mis-understanding — the order was sent to charge an immense number of Russian Cavalry and Guns about 20 to our 1. There will be a Devil of a Row about it. ... I am happy to say although the loss on our side was great it was greater on the part of the Russians; our Regiment lost a great number of Men the Brigade charged Batterys of Guns facing them on each side and drove them from their Guns and the Cowardly Russians actually retreated but their support of Cavalry coming up on the flank and rear our men had to go back to their old position..."This is one of the most interesting collections of campaign letters to have appeared in recent years, providing an eye-witness account of the whole course of the Crimean War from June 1853 to July 1856. Horn committed suicide in 1857."