IN PROGRESS — NOT FOR PUBLICATION.
Said [at enlistment] to have been born at Burwash, near Robertsbridge, Sussex.
However, it would seem that he was actually born at Frant, near Tunbridge Wells, the son of a carpenter, on the 13th of December 1822. The original family cottage was replaced in 1879 by a building which is still known as "Bond's Cottage". For more on this, see below (Further information).
Enlisted at Brighton on the 24th of August 1840.
Seth Bond had originally enlisted into the 35th Foot (Royal Sussex) at Lewes, Sussex, on the 5th of September 1839 at the age of 18. He was said to have been born at Burwash, Sussex, but no other enlistment details are shown. The Regimental Depot was then at Chatham, Kent, and it was from here that he was discharged, "by purchase", on the 7th of May 1840, with a payment of £20.
He was shown as "in hospital" at the time of the two previous quarterly muster states being made out.
Age: 19.
Height: 5' 9".
Trade: Labourer.
Appearance: Fresh complexion. Grey eyes. Light brown hair.
From Private to Corporal: 22nd of January 1847.
1851 Census
Pockthorpe Barracks, Norwich, Norfolk.
Seth Bonds [sic], 29, unmarried, Soldier, Corporal, born Burwash, Surrey.
Corporal to Sergeant: 24th of February 1851.
He spent most of 1852 on recruiting duties in King's Lynn (the regiment then being in Nottingham), but rejoined it in Dublin on the 4th of December 1852.
Confined in the Regimental Guard Room cells from the 7th-10th of February 1853, and tried by a Regimental Court-martial on the 9th of February 1853, when he was reduced to Private. Although this was shown as being for a military offence, as is usual there is no mention in the current muster rolls of his having been tried by Court-martial — merely, "In confinement, 7th — 10th, To Private". However, this trial was confirmed in his documents.
He must soon have been back in favour, though, as he is shown as "Orderly to the Lieut. General" at the time of the 31st of March 1853 muster taking through to the regiment embarking for the Crimea in May of 1854.
He forfeited all previous service, but this was later allowed to reckon by War Office letter dated the 22nd of December 1857. Former service in the 35th Foot was also allowed to reckon per War Office Authority dated the 27th of December 1851. His documents carry no other details of this former service.
From Private to Corporal: 10th of May 1854 (on the augmentation of the regiment).
His papers state:
"Received a bayonet wound over the left eye on the 20th of September 1854 and a sword wound on the left arm and the head at Balaclava on the 25th of October in the Light Brigade Charge."
For these he was later awarded the French War Medal. (See below.)
George Loy Smith in his "Memoirs", published in 1987 as A Victorian RSM, mentions the occasion when Seth Bond was wounded (Alma, 20th of September 1854):
"Sergeant Bond, during the pursuit, received a bayonet wound in the face from a prisoner he had taken who pretended to surrender, then treacherously made a point at him. Bond would have cut him down, but an officer galloped up and told him to spare the scoundrel. At his moment it was perceived that a swarm of Cossacks were rapidly approaching, so that the pursuers had to retreat and this Russian escaped."
[PB, Jan 2014: See also the brief account (below), in Lieutenant-Colonel Peel's recommendation of Bond for the French Military Medal. "Subordination" is an interesting choice of words. I wonder who this staff officer was?]
"At Alma, when ordered to pursue and capture prisoners, he exhibited great subordination in sparing (at the suggestion of a staff officer) a Russian, who had wounded him."
William Pennington of the 11th tells a slightly different story:
"In securing one drunken Russian of the Imperial Guard, Sergeant Bond of ours narrowly escaped the loss of an eye as the prisoner surrendered his piece and bayonet.
It was evidently an accident, for the fellow was reeling and could hardly stand. Bond saw this, and was cool enough to regard it as such, for he did not retaliate, and to this day shows a deeply-indented scar as witness to the fact."
Corporal to Sergeant: 18th of October 1854.
His life is reputed to have been saved at Balaclava by 1475 Robert Briggs of the 11th, but no documentary evidence can be found to support this, neither does Bond mention it at all in his own account given to a reporter from a local newspaper, although he does mention several others who took part.
In 2013, the Archive was contacted by Mr Garry Farmer with information about Robert Briggs. Mr Farmer, who had corresponded regularly with EJB, wrote:
"According to Honour the Light Brigade, by Lummis & Wynn, it is stated that Briggs saved the life of Sgt Seth Bond 11th Hussars. In fact, according to Seth Bond [in A Warwickshire Hero at The Charge of the Light Brigade, by Richard Stirling] it was the other way around.
Bond ... caught a riderless horse on the field ... for Sgt Pickworth of the 8th Hussars, who had called out for it.
Briggs, who had also been unhorsed, beat him to it, mounted it, and between Bond and Briggs, Sgt Pickworth held onto the stirrups of each and they galloped back to the British lines.
Promoted to Troop Sergeant Major in "C" Troop on the 10th of September 1857. Removed to Sergeant on the 10th of October 1858 but was again promoted to Troop Sergeant Major on the 30th of December 1858.
Lummis and Wynn state that he was promoted Regimental Sergeant Major, but no trace can be found of this.
Discharged from Dublin on the 7th of January 1864 at his "Own request, after 24 years' service".
Service to count: 24 years 118 days.
In Bulgaria and the Crimea, 2 years.
His conduct and character are decribed as having been "very good". He was in possession of two Good Conduct badges when promoted to Sergeant and would now have been entitled to four.
He appears once in the Regimental Defaulters' book. Once tried by Court-martial.
Aged 43 years 5 months on discharge.
Granted a pension of 2/- per day.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman, and Sebastopol, and the Turkish medal.
Documents confirm the award of the Crimean and Turkish medals.
Awarded the French Military War Medal.
His Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund Peel's recommendation, sent from Sebastopol in May 1856, stated "1091 Serjeant Seth Bond":
"Served in the Campaign in Bulgaria in 1854. Was present at the affair of the Bouljanak and Battles of Alma, Balaklava and Inkerman. At Alma, when ordered to pursue and capture prisoners, he exhibited great subordination in sparing (at the suggestion of a staff officer) a Russian, who had wounded him, and also at the action of Balaklava his coolness and gallantry were noticed. He also served in the whole of the Campaign from 1854 to 1856."
The Service Historique of France states that the Medaille Militaire was awarded under a decree dated the 21st of August 1856.
Letter from:
"Horse Guards,
27th September 1856,
Sir, I have the honour to transmit the accompanying Diplomas to the N.C.O.s and Soldiers of the Regiment under your command upon whom the French Military War Medal has been conferred and HRH the Commander-in-Chief has directed that you will present them on parade in a manner in keeping with the decoration, to the individuals to whom they are addressed.
I have the honour, etc., etc.
J. W. Reynolds,
DAG.
[To:] Officer Commanding 11th Hussars."
[PB, August 2015: When the list of those proposed for the French military medal was published, Seth Bond and a handful of others were singled out in some newspapers for particular attention, even though the list was long (covering "34 closely-printed pages of parliamentary paper." It adds that long as such a list is,
"many thousands of gallant soldiers... are necessarily unmentioned in a record of this kind... We should add that these are the names of the living — not the dead. There no French medal for the men who toiled the hill at the Alma, for those who saved the allied armies from destruction upon the terrible of Inkermann, and then succumbed. They sleep in their Russian graves."
See e.g. Dumfries and Galloway Standard, Wednesday 30 July 1856 (apparently a copy of one in the Times, 28th July 1856).
Humble Heroes of the War
Serjeant Seth Bond, of the 11th Hussars, served in the Bulgarian campaign of 1854. He bore his part in the affair of Boulganak and in the battles of the Alma, Balaklava, and Inkermann — that is to say, in all the principal actions in which a cavalry soldier could bear a part throughout the war.
"At the Alma, when ordered to pursue and capture prisoners, he exhibited great subordination in sparing (at the suggestion of a staff officer) a Russian who had wounded him ; and also at the action of Balaklava his coolness and gallantry were noticed."
Might not Colonel Peel have found a better word than "subordination" to characterise such an action? A man who could so conduct himself was not likely to act inhumanly even to an enemy who had wounded him. Serjeant Seth Bond, of the 11th Hussars, served in whole of the campaign from 1854 to 1856.
Attended the first Balaclava Banquet in 1875.
Member of the Balaclava Commemoration Society in 1879.
Signed the Loyal Address to the Queen in 1887.
Attended the Annual Dinner in 1895.
[PB, March 2019: There is a fine image on the Southam Heritage Collection website captioned "Seth Bond, survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade, buried in Southam Churchyard." It would be good to contact the SHC with a view to sharing information, and perhaps securing a higher-resolution image. Surely this is the unknown portrait by Manchester-based painter Robert Crozier referred to below? I'm also pretty sure it's on the cover of a small book on SB somewhere in the archive. Check.]
[Image captioned "Seth Bond, survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade, buried in Southam Churchyard" found on the Southam Heritage Collection website There is no further information (e.g. the name of the artist, date, location of the original).]
He is shown as intending to live at 23, Hanover Street, Brighton, Sussex, after discharge, and travelled there from Dublin. The fact that he was allowed £2/14/0 passage money would imply that he was accompanied by his wife. A comparable journey to London, presumably unaccompanied, was costed as £1/2/5d.
He was living in the Coventry Pension District from sometime in 1864, no actual date of transfer being shown (as is usual) — the only comment being "Coventry — fr. admission." The Pension Books for the Coventry District do not exist after 1862.
1871 Census
Appendix Street, Southam, Warwickshire.
The 1871 Census shows him as a "Pensioner Troop Serjeant Major 11th Hussars", living with his wife Mary.
1881 Census
Appendix Street, Southam.
In 1881 Seth Bond was still living with his wife at the same address. He is shown as 58 years of age, a Chelsea Pensioner, born at Burwash, Sussex. His wife Mary was then 56 years of age, born at Southam, Warwickshire.
There is no mention of any children in the household.
1901 Census
Appendix Street, Southam.
In 1901 Seth Bond and his wife were still at the same address.
Seth Bond died on the 15th of December 1902 and was buried in Southam churchyard, Warwickshire, on the 19th.
[Photo: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/59764048/seth-bond# (accessed 18.3.2019).]
There are copies of his obituary notice and funeral report taken from the Leamington Spa newspapers of the period, in the 11th Hussar file, and a copy of his death certificate in the "Certificates" file.
Copy of a letter written to Mr T.H. Roberts :
"Southam, 11.30 p.m.
December 13th 1903.
Dear Sir,
You will be sorry to hear that today has seen the end of another of the few remaining heroes at Balaclava, for at 9 o'clock tonight Sergeant Major Seth Bond, 11th Hussars, breathed his last after a long illness terminating just after eighteen weeks in bed.
I shall be glad if you can see your way clear to defray the expenses of the funeral out of your excellent Fund, the deceased having only just recently bothered you, and that on account of sheer necessity.
The deceased, who was eighty years of age on the 13th inst. leaves a widow who is just over seventy-eight years of age herself. She is totally unprovided for after a married life of considerably over forty years, except for the value of the furniture, which does not represent a very large item.
Trusting that you will be able to arrange that the deceased may be accorded a decent funeral in some measure worthy of his service to his country.
I have the honour to be,
Yours faithfully,
[Signed] W.H. Plummer."
The Roberts Fund gave Plummer £3/6/0 for the funeral.
(The W. H. Plummer who wrote to Mr Roberts was most probably the person of this name baptised at Southam on the 12th of June 1864, the son of William Plummer and his wife Abigail. From this he would have been a nephew.)
The parish register of Southam Parish Church confirms that Seth Bond was buried there on the 19th of December 1902. To this entry the then Vicar has added "(Late 11th Hussars, a survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, 1854.)"
A tombstone, in the form of a cross about five feet high with a carved sword belt and scabbard wreathed from the top, was later erected.
There is a photograph of the stone in the 11th Hussar file in which the inscription was no longer legible. However, after much cleaning, later photographs taken in 1993 show the inscription to be:
On the first tier:
"In memory of Seth Bond, Troop Sergt. Major 11th Hussars. Served at Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman & Sebastopol. Died 15th Dec. 1902, aged 80 years."
On the base:
"Erected by public contribution in recognition of nearly 25 years faithful service to his country."
On the top and first tiers (right-hand side):
"Also of Mary, his widow, Died Aug. 24th 1911, aged 86 years."
There are copies of these photographs in the 11th Hussars file.
[PB, May 2017: Seth Bond's memorial is listed on the Imperial War Museums' website: iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/19431. The inscription shown is slightly different from above.]
SETH BOND, TROOP SERGEANT-MAJOR 11TH HUSSARS/ ONE OF THE SIX HUNDRED/ SERVED AT ALMA, BALACLAVA, INKERMAN AND/ SEVASTOPOL/ DIED 15. DECEMBER 1902 AGED 80 YEARS/ ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
In September 2000 it was learnt that, following two previous attempts at vandalism attempts when the cross was broken off from the base and replaced, the church authority have decided that this will now be placed inside the church. There is a picture of the stone as in September 2000 in the 11th Hussars file.
His great-great-nephew, living in Leicester in 1983, has an interesting collection of memorabilia, as well as the medals and photographs. (There are copies of photographs of these in the 11th Hussar file.)
A silver kettle (some two feet high) which was presented to him on his discharge bears the inscription:
"Presented to Troop Sergeant Major Seth Bond, 11th (P.A.O.) Hussars, on the completion of a long and honourable service in the Regiment, by his brother non-commissioned officers, whose esteem and best wishes he carries with him. December 20th, 1863."
[PB, Jan, 2014: There is an intriguing reference in the entry for 1091 Seth Bond, 11th Hussars to a painting by the Manchester-based portrait painter Robert Crozier (1815-1891), but it is not clear what this painting is of. Is it a portrait of Bond?]
[PB, March 2019: This seems very likely see above. There is more info. about RC (but no images that I could find) on the University of Manchester Special Collections site. There are no RC images on the ArtUK site.]
A painting [of?] was executed by Robert Crozier at Manchester in 1860.
Mr. Richard Stirling of Southam, who, in trying to raise an interest in Seth Bond for the local museum, was sent a copy of this record in 1993. From him comes the confirmation that Bond's wife was formerly Mary Plummer. It was he who also provided the later pictures of Bond's family gravestone.
According to a local directory Seth Bond was said to be living at "The Hart Inn" in Banbury Road, Southam in 1864, but whether as landlord or just living there has not yet been established.
On the 25th of October 1993 Mr. Stirling had a letter published in a local newspaper and from this was able to contact Bond's great-great-nephew and establish that a number of other items of memorabilia, not previously known of, were also possessed by the family.
In respect of Bond's association with the local Yeomanry, two letters in family possession from the Repton and Crossley Yeomanry show quite clearly that Bond had decided to join them and attend an eight-day drill starting October 3rd of that year, one letter stating that: "Colonel Frazer has informed me that you can have leave from the 11th Hussars from August 15th to October 15th in order to enable you to be with the Repton and Crosley Yeomanry." (The muster rolls for July-December of 1863 confirm that he was "On furlo" from the 15th of August to the 18th of December.)
The Repton and Crosley Yeomanry was merged shortly after this (April 1865) into the Derbyshire Yeomanry. With no records available it could be that Bond lost any position he may have held (or even not taken on the strength of the unit at all, he not being available till January of 1864), although he may have been retained, the same officer who apparently appointed him to the R & C. Yeomanry also being in command of the Derbyshire Yeomanry. There was no mention of any Yeomanry participation at his funeral — as would have been expected had he been on the Permanent Staff.
In 1994 a booklet on Seth Bond was published by Mr. Stirling, much of it based on this record. (There is a copy in the "Memoirs" file.) It also contained, however, a number of small things not recorded here.
His birth details are unclear, but it would seem that he was actually born at Frant, near Tunbridge Wells, the son of a carpenter, on the 13th of December 1822. The original family cottage was replaced in 1879 by a building which is still known as Bond's cottage.
His wife, Mary Plummer,the daughter of William and Elizabeth Plummer, was baptised in St. James's Church, Southam, on the 12th of December 1825.
[PB: a note elsewhere says "A person of this name [Mary Plummer] was baptised at Southam on the 12th of December 1824, the daughter of William and Mary Plummer."]
Unfortunately the actual date and place of Bond's marriage to Mary Plummer remains a mystery, as does the suggestion that they had a daughter.
The 1841 Census shows the Plummer family living in Appendix Street, Southam (now known as Pendicke Street). Mary does not appear on this, so it can be assumed that she was probably "in service" somewhere in the neighbourhood. Seth and Mary Bond were living in Appendix Street in the 1871, 1881 and 1901 Censuses, though not (it would seem) at the same house.
The Leamington Spa Courier of the 20th of August 1864 reports that "the licence of the "Harp Inn" was transferred from Mr. Stephen Abbot to Mr. Seth Bond". This was a Coaching Inn on the Banbury Road approximately one mile south of Southam which still stands today, albeit in a much altered state as a private residence.
The licence was renewed in 1865 but not in 1866. In its listing, the Petty Sessions court recorded all the licences granted, include one for the Harp Inn, but the entry has been crossed out. It would seem likely that the clerk copied out the previous years' list and then, realising, rectified his mistake. It can be assumed that no application had been made, rather than that a licence was refused. Whatever the reason, neither the Harp Inn nor Bond were granted a licence that year.
Several years later the Harp Inn re-opened, but by that time had a new landlord. Bond and his wife had moved into a small house in Appendix Street, where they were to live out the rest of their days. Standing at one end of the street, it was later demolished to make way for the detached residence that stands there today.
In subsequent years he became a farmer and at least twice appeared in the County Court. In 1876 he was taken to court by John Aires of Southam who claimed that he was owed £1/17/- for hay-tying as part of a deal in which he had sold Seth Bond's hayrick to a Charles Duckett. After Mary Bond had confirmed her husband's account of the deal the case was found in his favour.
In July of the same year he took out a civil action to recover £4 from a Mr. Hough, also of Southam, for the keep of a colt. This was deemed "an excessive charge", with Mr T. Russell of Lower Shuckburgh and Mr Ironsides of Long Ithington telling the court that they "did not think it possible for such an animal to eat the quantity of hay and corn said to have been given." The Judge, Mr. R. Harrington, ordered Mr. Hough to pay Seth Bond the sum of £3.
1911 Census
Oxford Street, Southam.
Mary Bond, aged 86, widow, born Southam.
Death registered
Mary Bond [wife], aged 86, September Quarter 1911, Southam.
Memorial to Southam's Light Brigade survivor is rebuilt and restored
The Courier, Leamington Spa: Tuesday 23 October 2012
Members of the Southam Civic Ideas Forum have raised the funds to repair the Seth Bond Memorial, which had been vandalised. Seth Bond was a soldier from Southam who survived the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854.
Pictured are members Len Gale and Rowan Parker (both former Mayors), Cllr Dave Wise (Stratford District Council), Cllr. Jennie Ellard (Stratford District Council), Rev John Armstrong (who dedicated the memorial) and Bernard Cadogan (Chairman of the Cardall Museum) who read Lord Tennyson's famous poem 'The Charge of The Light Brigade'.
The memorial is on the path that goes down to the recreation ground by the graveyard. MHLC-17-10-12 Memorial Oct56.
He survived a charge during the Crimean War that has been described as 'suicidal' due to the horrific numbers of British casualties.
And now the memory of Southam solder, Sgt Seth Bond — who was one of a small number to survive the Charge of the Light Brigade — can be once again properly preserved for posterity, thanks to the efforts of a voluntary group.
A memorial erected to commemorate Sgt Bond, who died in the town in 1902 and was buried at St James' church, was shattered by vandals around ten years ago with several other gravestones.
Members of the Southam Civic Ideas Forum set about gathering the pieces of the memorial and arranged for them to be reassembled by professional stone masons, but Sgt Bond's gravestone, at the bottom of which is an inscription about him, had sunk into the ground so that no one was able to read what was written.
Forum treasurer Leonard Gale said: "This is something of a tourist attraction as there are not too many gravestones like this in the country.
"It was brought to our attention that there have been complaints from people about not being able to read the inscription since 1973.
"We thought somebody has got to stand up and do something about it."
The group requested funding from Stratford District Council, which awarded it £1,116 from the fund provided to Southam by Tesco when the supermarket opened a store in the town two years ago. The money was used to pay for the gravestone and memorial to be raised on a plinth by Hornton Stone Company.
Mr Gale said: "They have done a remarkably good job. I am very pleased with the results."
Sgt Bond was in the 11th Hussars at the time of the charge and was aged 31. His life was saved by Private Robert Briggs and he was discharged from the army ten years later, having served for 25 years. A booklet about him is available at Southam library.
(Source: http://www.leamingtoncourier.co.uk/community/memorial-to-southam-s-light-brigade-survivor-is-rebuilt-and-restored-1-4391802, accessed 24.10.12)