LIVES OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE
The E.J. Boys Archive

Added 17.7.11. Minor edits 10.4.14, 2.6.14.

Private William DEABALL — 852, 17th Lancers

Birth & early life

Born at Stanford, near Loughborough, Leicestershire, c.1827.

Enlistment

Enlisted at Nottingham on the 18th of May 1845.

Age: 18.

Height: 5' 7".

Trade: Labourer.

Appearance: Fresh complexion Grey eyes. Lt. brown hair.

Service

Discharge & pension

Discharged, "invalided", from Dublin on the 27th of January 1857:

"Suffers from Hernia Humoralis — Cause not known — also a weakly constitution attributable to a long and severe attack of scurvy whilst in the Crimea."

Served 10 years 253 days.

In Turkey and the Crimea, 2 years.

Conduct and character: "good".

In possession of two Good Conduct badges.

Aged 28 years on discharge.

Awarded a pension of 7d. per day for three years, "final."

Medals

Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman, Sebastopol, and the Turkish medal.

In August 2020, Kevin Joynt wrote from Ottawa Canada to the Charge of the Light Brigade Facebook group about WD's Crimea Medal in Library and Archives Canada:

"Library and Archives Canada holds the impressed, four clasp Crimean War Medal to W.Deaball 17th Lancers. William Deaball's service number was 852. I believe he is listed as a possible charger. The medal is from the William David Collection and it was a gift to the archives from Mrs Lucy Deyos of Haney British Columbia. It appears ty have been donated in 1959" [Facebook: Charge of the Light Brigade Group: Kevin Joynt: Deaball. KJ also provided a number of photographs of the medal and documents (in hand).]