Born in the parish of St. Peter's, Dublin c.1829.
Enlisted at Liverpool on the 2nd of November 1847.
Age: 18.
Height: 5' 10".
Trade: Labourer.
Appearance: Fresh complexion. Blue eyes. Lt. brown hair.
Tried by a Regimental Court-martial and imprisoned from the 23rd of October — 2nd of December 1850.
Tried by a Regimental Court-martial for being "Absent". He was imprisoned, 13th-17th of July 1851.
Confined by the Civil Power at Nottinghamshire Assizes for "Felony" (Larceny from the person) from the 13th of July — 14th of November 1853. He also forfeited 5 years 117 days previous service by this conviction, but his former service was restored by War Office Authority, dated the 22nd of August 1861.
Tried by a Regimental Court-martial and imprisoned 1st of June — 28th of July 1865.
Embarked for the Crimea aboard the H.T. "Shooting Star" on the 25th of April 1854.
Embarked for India from Cork aboard the S.S. "Great Britain" on the 8th of October 1857.
1858: Served at Kotah.
Re-engaged for a further 12 years' service on the 22nd of August 1862.
Volunteered into the 20th Hussars with effect from the 1st of November 1863 with the Regtl No. 620 and joined the regiment at Sealkote, India, on the 28th of December 1863.
From Private to Corporal: 9th of May 1870.
Tried by a Regimental Court-martial and reduced to Private on the 1st of August 1871.
Discharged from Colchester on the 17th of August 1873.
"Free, at his own request after 24 years' service."
Served 24 years 284 days.
In Turkey and the Crimea: 1 year 10 months
In India: 3 years 11 months.
Conduct: "Bad, and addicted to drink." Not in possession of any Good Conduct badges.
Fifty-two times entered in the Regimental Defaulter's book. Four times tried by Court-martial. Once convicted by the Civil Power.
Documents confirm the award of the Crimea, Turkish, and Indian Mutiny medals.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Sebastopol.
Mutiny medal with clasp for Central India.
He is not named amongst the members of the Balaclava Commemoration Society in either 1877 or 1879, but he is known to have attended the Annual Dinner in 1893 and possibly 1894.
He was a certified pensioner of the Roberts Fund, which also paid part of his funeral expenses.
On the 27th of November 1897, T.H. Roberts wrote a letter to the Army and Navy Gazette appealing for funds for his charity:
"Amongst the 60-odd veterans I entertained in St. James's Large Hall was yet another man from the workhouse, namely Martin Hackett.
Immediately I learned of the fact that this man was from the Lambeth Workhouse I announced the fact to the people in the Hall, supplementing it with the assurance that he would not return there.
I therefore advanced him money from my fund for his immediate needs and made an appeal in the pages of the London evening paper, "The Sun", for light employment for the veteran, which arrested the attention of my friend, Mr, Carl Hentschel, who very generously offered to provide Hackett with employment and to keep him in such as long as he justified Mr. Hentschel's confidence.
Now Hackett has 5/9d. a week from the Government and 7/- from my fund, plus what Mr. Hentschel pays him.
In addition to this Mr. Hentschel sent money with which I purchased the old man an overcoat and adding to the balance from my own pocket have succeeded in getting him back his three medals again, which he now proudly wears.
It is a marvellous fact that a gentleman who was until only recently a Russian subject should have been the only man in England to help me rescue this poor old man from the workhouse."
A drawing of him as a "Sweeper" appeared in the Illustrated Bits magazine on the 31st of December 1898, titled,
"Martin Hackett, late of the 8th Hussars and the Lambeth Workhouse, Now in the employ of Carl Hentschel, Esq., 182-184 Fleet Street, London, and a pensioner of the 'I.B. Balaclava Fund'."
(There is a copy in the 4th Hussar [8th Hussar?] file.)
On the 4th of February 1899 an article signed by T.H. Roberts appeared in The Illustrated Bits magazine:
"Martin Hackett, whose portrait I published recently, is the latest of my old pensioners to leave a world which has treated him very cruelly.
Hackett fought right through the Crimean and Turkish campaigns and was present at the battles of the Alma, Balaclava and Inkerman and the siege of Sebastopol.
He took part in the historic Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, from which charge he was so fortunate to escape without a scratch.
After a chequered career in various parts of the world, I found him in the Lambeth Workhouse and brought him out on October 25th 1897 to attend the I.B. Balaclava Concert in St. James's Hall.
Since that time the poor man has been kept out of the workhouse by a small sum given to him weekly from the "I.B. Fund," but mainly through the kindness of Mr. Carl Hentschel, who found him light employment, and this enabled him to live in comparative comfort.
He died, utterly worn out, on Tuesday (the 17th of January) and would have been buried in a pauper's grave had it not been for some of his fellow-employees at Messrs Hentchel's.
These kind souls subscribed half the expenses of a decent funeral and I paid the remainder from the Fund.
He was buried at Kensal Rise on Saturday the 21st, and so once more the Balaclava Fund has helped to soothe the last days of a brave soldier and rescue him from the indignity of a pauper's funeral.
Hackett died just in time to be saved from the knowledge that the great nation he fought for cares so little about her old soldiers that she allows such a fund as mine to perish for the want of a little patriotic support."
Martin Hackett is known to have lived at some time in St. George's Terrace, Fulham.
He was also at one time in the St. George's Union at Fulham, London.
Died on the 16th of January 1899 in the St. George's, Hanover Square District, and said to have been buried on the 21st of January.
According to his death certificate he died, aged 60, at No. 42 Horseferry Road, St, John's, Westminster, from "Cerebral Haemorrhage". His occupation was given as General Labourer".
An Ellen Rice, of the same address, was present at, and the informant of, his death. (See copy of this in the "Certificates" file.)
He was buried in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery at Kensal Rise, London, in Grave No. 561, aged 70 years. This was a common grave and there is no headstone. He was brought from No. 43 Horseferry Road, Westminster.
1991: The entire public grave area of the cemetery has now been completely re-constituted and after being covered with a fresh layer of earth, is again being used for interments. The original plot areas are now impossible to define.