Born in the parish of St. Margaret's, Chatham, and baptised in The White Chapel (Wesleyan) at Sheerness on the 8th of November 1835, the son of Richard Hart and Elizabeth Body.
Enlisted at Chatham on the 27th of October 1852.
Age: 19.
Height: 5' 9".
Trade: Labourer.
Features: Fresh complexion. Blue eyes. Brown hair.
Wounded in action at Balaclava.
Sent to Scutari on the 26th of October 1854 and being invalided to England aboard the "Julian" on the 28th of March 1855, was on the roll at Chatham Invalid Depot from the 26th of May, when he was sent to the Regimental Depot at Brighton.
At Brighton Depot from the 15th of June 1855 and rejoined the regiment at Cahir on the 1st of June 1856.
Transferred to the 12th Lancers at Cahir on the 12th of August 1856. Regimental No. 1829.
Volunteered to the 1st Troop, 1st Brigade, of the Bengal Horse Artillery at Lahore on the 19th of February 1860. Regimental No. 11,548.
Volunteered to the Royal Artillery on the 18th of February 1861.
Invalided to England on the 4th of February 1862.
Transferred to the 2nd Battery, Depot Brigade, of the R.H.A. on the 1st of November 1862 from Netley Hospital. Regimental No. 531.
Discharged from Canterbury on the 1st of March 1864 as "This man was sent to Darjeeling two years ago suffering from an attack of syphilitic rheumatism, the effects of which he has not yet fully recovered. He was sent to Darjeeling for a change to a milder climate and for the purpose of bathing in the waters — which do not appear to have benefited him in the slightest degree. He is now very weak and unable to perform any duty. Has extensive disease of the upper jaw bone extending to bones of the nose and palate. Is totally unfit to be able to contribute towards his livelihood, and in my opinion, will remain so..."
Served 11 years 113 days.
In Turkey and the Crimea: 11 months
In India: 5 years 11 months.
Conduct: "very good."
In possession of two Good Conduct badges.
Never entered in the Regimental Defaulter's book. Never tried by Court-martial.
Aged 30 years 4 months on discharge.
Awarded a pension of 8d. per day for 2 years. (21/9/1866)
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Sebastopol, and the Turkish medal.
Mutiny medal with clasp for Central India.
Served under Major-General Sir Hugh Rose, Major-General Roberts or Major-General Whitlock in the operations against Ghansi, Calpu or Gwalior.
To live at 24, King Street, Blue Town, Sheerness, Kent, after discharge.
Died in the Chatham Pension District on the 11th of January 1866.
He was buried in Plot No. 55G, in the Halfway Cemetery, Sheerness, on the 18th of January 1866, the ceremony being performed by the Revd. Jenkins. Aged 29 at the time of his death, he was brought from King Street, Blue Town, Sheerness.
The Cemetery Authority states that there is no erected headstone, and that a Rebecca Rye, of Broad Street, Mile Town, Sheerness, was buried in the same grave on the 26th of April 1869, aged 30 years.
They also state that possibly the woman may be in some way related to Hart, or that it was a pauper's grave, but unfortunately no records to establish either fact, exist.