Born at Bristol c.1832.
Enlisted at Bristol on the 1st of August 1850.
Age: 17 years 10 months.
Height: 5' 8.
Trade: Labourer.
Rode in the Charge, 25th October 1854.
Extract from the Royal Magazine (Volume XIII) under the title, "Survivors' Tales of Great Events":
"It was the custom when on active service in those days to turn out and stand to our horses for two hours before daybreak, and on the 25th we turned out about four o'clock. The weather was cold, and we welcomed the order to 'Stand Down'. We next proceeded to dismount, and stood to our horses for some time. A few men were able to take a snack of something to eat, but only those who had saved part of the last rations issued on the previous day, for on that morning we had turned out in a violent hurry, and there was no time to do the little odds and ends of work that had been overlooked.
For instance, the straps under my trousers were still unbuttoned, because in the hurry of mounting I had no time to secure them. The riding and galloping had made me very uncomfortable. There were no jack-boots in those days — and my trousers had wriggled up my legs. I said to a comrade of mine, a young man from Birmingham, named Thomas Fletcher: 'Tom, will you button up my straps for me? He willingly obliged, and was just finishing the job when Captain Nolan galloped up to Lord Lucan. [This was 1271 Thomas Fletcher, 4th Light Dragoons]
What passed between Captain Nolan and Lord Lucan I cannot pretend to know, because I was not close enough to hear anything: but at any rate, Lord Cardigan shouted: 'Stand to your horses, men! Prepare to mount! Mount!' The order was then given: 'The Light Brigade will advance!' We knew one thing — we knew what was expected of us, for two or three days before the charge Lord Lucan had addressed us, saying: 'Keep your horses well in hand, men, and obey your officers: but when you get in amongst the Russians, 'skiver' them well!' As he spoke, he gave us with his own sword an illustration of what he meant — which was — pointing and cutting with the weapon. Lord Lucan had previously served in the Russian Army. He was a regular fire-eater. Lord Cardigan and he were well matched in that respect.
The advance began. We had not gone more than two or three hundred yards when the Russians bellowed fire from three batteries of guns, with ten guns in a battery. There were ten on our left, ten on our right, at a distance of about a mile, and ten at the bottom of the valley, with their muzzles pointing directly at us. All these batteries were field guns, and very much superior to ours. The batteries opened up a dreadful fire from these three quarters — straight ahead and on our right and left: and, in addition, there must have been great numbers of Cossacks and infantry in ambush on our right, because from that direction also a murderous fire was coming. Rushing into the 'jaws of death' like that our men dropped from their saddles by dozens. Some were wounded, some killed on the spot and fell out of their saddles. There were cases of men and horses being literally blown to pieces by shells.
Soon after we started the wild rush of the living men was accompanied by maddened horses with empty saddles. The first man to fall in the charge was the officer who, rightly or wrongly, had brought the order for it — Captain Nolan. He was ripped up the breast by a piece of shell, and fell from his horse with terrible cries: but his foot got fixed in the stirrup and he was dragged for a considerable distance. Our own Major — Major Halkett — was struck by a shell or cannon-ball, full in the chest, and killed on the spot.
Very soon my own chum, Tom Fletcher, was shot. He was a brave soldier and a splendid horseman; but the heavy fire was disorganising and he got a little behind me. I shouted: 'Keep up, Tom!'. The words were no sooner out of my mouth than I heard a whiz and a thud, and a bullet which had just grazed me struck him in the back of the head. But he held on, wounded though he was, and fought on until he was taken prisoner. He lived for a little while, but died not long afterwards in the Crimea.
The Light Brigade was advancing in three lines — the 13th Light Dragoons and the 17th Lancers forming the first, the 4th Light Dragoons and the 11th Hussars the second line, and the 8th Hussars the third. Lord Cardigan was in command, and led the first line; Colonel Douglas the second, and Lord George Paget the third. The 17th had lances, the rest of us carried swords, although as light cavalry we had been through the lance exercise. From our starting point to the place where the farthest guns — those at the far end of the valley were stationed — was at least a mile and a quarter; and for the whole of that distance we rode through a perfect blaze of fire. So terrible was the flanking fire on our right and left, that when we reached the bottom of the valley there were no more than about one hundred men remaining mounted.
We literally flew at the batteries; but by the time we got to the guns the first line of the Brigade had melted away. It had by then almost been annihilated by shot and shell. When we reached the battery we found that the gunners had limbered up their guns and were slowly retreating. We galloped up and surrounded them as best as we could with our shattered numbers and stopped them from going. Then the most terrible part of the whole mad business came. The gunners tried to escape from the fury of our men by crawling under the guns; but the drivers had not the time to get away from their horses. They were sabred as they tried to dismount, and a good many of our men dismounted and struck the Russians under their own guns or routed them out at the point of the sword. At such a time nothing could escape — men had no time to think, and the very horses were stabbed and killed. As far as my recollection goes there was not a man or horse who escaped alive in the whole of the battery. Many of the men were fighting dismounted, their horses having been killed by fire or steel.
Some of them performed prodigies of valour, amongst them being Samuel Parkes, a private of my regiment [635 Samuel Parkes, 4th Light Dragoons]. When we were mixed up with the guns Parkes was on foot, his horse having been killed. He was surrounded by Russians and fought like a demon. In a curious way he got level with his officer, for he disobeyed an order. He was going for a Russian, and for some reason the officer shouted, 'Spare him, Sam!' But Parkes was too busy looking after his own skin, and the Russian had to go. He fought as long as he could, and then had to surrender or be cut to pieces. He surrendered, and was made a prisoner, but not before his sword had been smashed by a shot. The Russians kept him for twelve months, then he was released, and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his valour during the fight. For many years he lived at the Marble Arch, where he was the attendant.
We had captured the guns fairly enough, and for a short time they were actually in our possession; but the Russians were seen to be hurrying up large bodies of troops to rob us of the fruits of our charge. The enemy was seen by our officers. Lord George Paget shouted to Colonel Sherwell, commanding the 8th: 'We must rally on the Lancers, men!' evidently believing that a body of the Lancers had advanced to our support. He was at that time looking up the valley — the 'Valley of Death' -as we now know it. One or two of our men, amongst them a sergeant called Andrews, shouted back, 'But they're Russian Lancers!' Then Lord George replied that we must hold together and cut our way through them; and the order was given to go about and retire. That indeed, was the only thing to do, because it was clear that the handful of men who were lucky enough to be still living could do nothing against the Russian masses who were now in motion against us.
To stay where we were was to be cut to pieces — and all for nothing — inasmuch as we had no supports, and could not take the guns away. As for supports, it was fortunate, in a way, that we were without them; for if they had advanced they would have been served in the same way as the Light Brigade. There would have been no help for it, because the odds were so overwhelmingly against us. When we went about we made for the Lancers, whom we now saw clearly enough. They were drawn up in a line right across the valley, not far from the points at which the flanking batteries on our right and left were placed. Our horses were utterly winded, and terribly distressed with the charging and galloping down the valley for more than a mile. It was impossible to get them to go very fast; but the remnants of the five regiments obeyed the order to hold together, and went at the Russian Lancers.
Strictly speaking, not a soul in the Light Brigade should have been permitted to return, in view of the superior numbers of the enemy, their freshness, and our own exhausted state. We rushed in amongst them and there was a renewal of the cutting, slashing, pointing and parrying of the early part of the fight. There was no fancy work, but just hard business, and it fulfilled its object, for we cut our way through the opposing Lancers. There was a repetition of a savage thing that happened to us as we dashed down in the beginning — the Russian batteries continued to blaze away even when we were mixed up with their own people, and destroyed friend and foe alike. It was merciless butchery as far as their own people were concerned, although it was fair enough in our case, as we were objects to be destroyed.
The charge had caused us to be scattered and utterly disorganised and separated, so we retreated pretty well any-how and as best as we could. Many a friend was missing, and some that I never thought I would ever see again were found. There was one amongst them a member of my own troop, that I did not expect to ever set eyes on, but I overtook him on our retreat. [PB: Who was this?]
I saw that something was wrong, as he was terribly pale, so I said to him, 'Hello, Bill, what's the matter? Are you hurt?' He said 'Yes, I am: I'm shot through the foot and leg! 'Here, old boy,' I told him, 'You must get out of this. Hang on to the saddle and give me the reins. I'll get you through.' I did get him through luckily, and when we were safely back I saw him taken off his horse. He was then removed to one of the hospital ships in Balaclava, doctored, and invalided home. He wrote me a letter afterwards to say that he had heard I had got the first step to being a general. So I had — I had been promoted to corporal.
A few lucky ones amongst us got safely back — and a melancholy return it was... Ages seemed to have passed since we charged down the valley, and yet the whole of the desperate business had been done well within half-an hour. We staggered in, some singly, some in two's and threes: and the way we were met and cheered and helped showed how stunned those who had been left behind, and had seen us going on an undertaking that looked sheer madness and certain death for every man and horse. We were back at last — but what a handful!
When we returned to our tents that night some were perfectly empty, for not a single man belonging to them was alive: while others, which had sheltered twelve soldiers in the morning, now only held two. The camp seemed quite deserted, and the shadow of death lay heavy upon it. Some of our brave fellows were, we knew, in the hands of the Russians, because their horses had been shot down, they themselves wounded and escape was impossible, but most of the missing were dead.
After Balaclava we were under the command of the French General D'Allonville at Eupatoria. We tried very hard to get the Russians to have another brush with us, but they would never face us again. It has always been a disputed point as to whether the trumpets sounded the 'Charge' or not. The order was 'Walk!' then 'Trot!' The men found they were passing through such a murderous fire that they all wanted to get at the enemy as soon as possible. Accordingly they began to gallop, and from the gallop they broke into the charge. But I never heard any 'Charge' sounded, and other survivors bear me out in this statement."
See record of 1514 Christopher Fox, for the final paragraph in his story.
At Scutari from the 4th of April — 11th of May 1855.
From Private to Corporal: 17th of April 1855.
Corporal to Sergeant: 1st of December 1855.
"Absent", 7th-14th of October. In confinement, 15th-19th of October and reduced to Private by a Regimental Court-martial on the 20th of October 1856.
"Deserted" from Brighton on the 15th of November 1856. (He had only 1d. in his credits at this time.)
Can find no further trace in the muster rolls.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Sebastopol.
Attended the first Balaclava Banquet in 1875.
Member of the Balaclava Commemoration Society in 1879.
Chairman of the Balaclava Relief Fund for 10 years.
Signed the Loyal Address to the Queen in 1887.
Present at and presided over the Annual Dinners in 1890, 1892, 1893, 1895, 1897, 1903, 1905, 1906, 1909 and 1911.
He was present at the Fleet Street Offices of T.H. Roberts for the Jubilee celebrations in June 1897 and signed the testimonial given to Mr. Roberts on that occasion. (See copy of this in the "Memoirs" file.)
His portrait appeared in the Balaclava Banquet commemorative issue of the Illustrated London News, at the time of the Dinner on the 30th of October 1875, and again, with an account of the Charge, in Answers magazine, 26th of October 1912.
Also a photograph of him wearing the robes of some Order (possibly Masonic) appeared in a picture-magazine in the mid-1890s. (See copies of the first and last items in the 4th Hussar file.)
Married three times, he had a builder's business for some 20 years, but when this failed he became a night-watchman before being forced to give this up because of rheumatism. He was a pensioner of the "Robert's Fund in his later years. He had twenty-four children from his three marriages the eldest and youngest being a daughter of 60 years of age and a son of 23.
Died at 14, Windsor Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey, on the 8th of October 1912 and was buried on the 14th of October, with military honours, in the Mitcham Road Cemetery, Croydon. He was buried in a public grave, No. 7123, Plot 1/4. (Old Part.) The Cemetery records show him as being buried as "Henry" Herbert, and aged 78 years. The plot was purchased in 1926 (by another family) and three further interments took place between 1926 and 1952. No headstone has been erected over the grave space however. (See photograph of the grave-site — that immediately in front of the gravestone at the top of the picture — in the 4th Hussar file.)
(See report of his funeral, taken from the Croydon Advertiser, 19th of October 1912, in the 4th Hussar file.)
ADD TRANSCRIPT, IMAGES AND LINKS
With other survivors, he was present at the Coronation procession of King George V, standing in a place of honour, in front of the troops, when the procession passed along Fleet Street.
In 1971 his grandson, Mr. C.H. Herbert, of Cambridge, wrote to various regimental authorities seeking information on him. His letter was passed around the different units as at the time of writing he did not know which regiment his grandfather had served in. For some unknown reason the final deposit of these letters was in the 17th Lancer Museum, and in early 1986 they were sent on [i.e. to EJB] as "being of no great importance to the Regiment". Contact was then made with a mentioned great-grand-daughter, Mr. C.H. Herbert having died in the meantime. Little, if any, knowledge had been gained by the family over the years, and a full copy of these records was sent to them. In 1971 it was also claimed that a member of the family had his Crimean medal, but because of the great number of descendants this is not now possible to prove. Mr. C.H. Herbert was one of the four grandchildren mentioned as being present at the funeral in 1912.
James Herbert's account of the Charge appeared in the Royal Magazine in March 1905 and was reprinted, with several illustrations, in ? Wood, Survivors' Tales of Great Events, [CHECK & ADD DETAILS & LINKS].
CHECK the Pittsburg article about starving Chargers and the photos of "Sergeant Henry Herbert" et al. Is this JH?
