Born at Westbury, Wiltshire, said to be on the 21st of November 1817.
In the 1841 Census, there was only one family of this surname to be found living in Westbury.
Hence he was most probably a son of John Dyer, a baker, and his wife Rebecca, living in the Market Place. Both were then aged 65 years. There was a gap of 10 years between an unmarried daughter aged 30 and a son, James, aged 20, a confectioner.
Enlisted at Gloucester on the 21st of November 1833.
Age: 16.
Height: 5' 5".
Trade: Blacksmith.
Attained the age of 18 years on the 20th of November 1835.
Appearance: Fresh complexion. Grey eyes. Brown hair.
Appointed to Farrier-Sergeant on the 1st of August 1849.
1851 Census
Preston Barracks, Brighton
John Dyer, aged 35 years, born at Westbury, Wiltshire.
Susan Dyer, wife, aged 30 years, born Maidstone, Kent.
Matilda Dyer, aged 10 years, born Ipswich, Suffolk.
Alfred Dyer, aged 6 years, born Rathbeggan, Ireland.
Susan Dyer, aged 2 weeks, born Preston, Brighton.
Two other children are known to have been born into the family: Henry, at Athlone in Ireland in 1839, and William H. at Hounslow in 1843. Possibly these two died young.
Embarked for the Crimea aboard the HT "Wilson Kennedy" on the 2nd of May 1854.
A son, Alfred, entered the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea on the 2nd of March 1855, at the age of 10 years. He was shown as the son of Farrier-Major John Dyer of the 8th Hussars and his wife, Matilda. He is later shown as being "Returned to his father", on the 16th of June 1856.
Embarked for India from Cork aboard the S.S. "Great Britain" on the 8th of October 1857.
Served at Kotah, 22nd — 30th of March 1858 and Gwalior, 17th — 23rd of June 1858.
Promoted to Quarter-Master Sergeant rank on the 4th of February 1860. His documents however, show his rank as a Farrier-Major on discharge.
Invalided to England on the 29th of May 1861.
Discharged from Chatham Invalid Depot on the 3rd of June 1862.
"From general debility — the result of long and arduous service. Is now unfit for the duties of a dragoon. Not aggravated by vice or intemperance."
Aged 44 years 6 months on discharge.
In Turkey and the Crimea: 1 year 324 days. In the East Indies: 3 years 319 days.
Conduct: "very good".
In possession of two Good Conduct badges when promoted to Sergeant
Never entered in the Regimental Defaulter's book. Never tried by Court-martial.
Next of kin (in 1854): Wife, Matilda Dyer.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman, and Sebastopol.
Mutiny medal with clasp for Central India.
Lummis and Wynn state that he was entitled to the Long Service & Good Conduct medal, but there is no indication of this on his documents, which confirm only the Crimean medal with four clasps, the Turkish Medal and the Mutiny medal with one clasp. From his known conduct and character however, it would appear that he would have qualified for this.
He was awarded the Long Service & Good Conduct medal on the 3rd of July 1862.
Awarded a pension of 2/3d. per day.
To live in Bath, Somerset, after discharge, but he went to Trowbridge in 1863.
He died at Trowbridge, Wiltshire (according to the Pension Books) on the 5th of December 1868, from "Cirrhosis of the Mesentery", aged 52 years.
A Sarah Wiltshire, who had to make her mark, was present at, and the informant of, his death.
There is a copy of his death certificate in the "Certificates" file. This shows that he died on the 4th of December 1868.
From the Trowbridge and North Wiltshire Advertiser, 12th of December 1868:
"Obituary Notice. December 9th, at Holt, of internal cancer, Sergeant John Dyer, late of the 8th Hussars. Deeply lamented by a large circle of friends.
"Death of a Hero."
Our obituary of today announces the death of one of the few who came safely out of the never to-be-forgotten charge at Balaclava; viz. Sergeant John Dyer of the 8th Hussars...
He was through the whole of the Crimean campaign and in actual engagement with the enemy at the Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Sebastopol (for which he received the Crimean medal and clasps) the whole of which he escaped without a scratch.
On his arrival home the Indian Mutiny broke out, and although he could have obtained his discharge he was one of the first to volunteer his services, which were immediately accepted.
Landing at Bombay on the 18th of December 1857 he went through the whole of the Mutiny, and engaged actively with the rebels at eight separate engagements.
He returned to England on the 13th of November 1861, and immediately received his discharge, with a good conduct medal. Since that time he has been living in Holt, Trowbridge, and by his great kindness, affability, and gentlemanly Conduct: he gained the confidence and esteem of the whole neighbourhood."
From the Incumbent of Holt Parish Church:
"The Church Register of St. Catherine's at Holt shows that the above was buried (presumably in this churchyard) on December 11th 1868, aged 52 years, by the Revd. H. H. Moseley — A cursory look around the churchyard has not lighted upon any gravestone — many are too weathered to be deciphered without great patience. I am unable to find any other details in the Baptismal Register or the Banns/Marriages Registers.
Rueben Dunning, Vicar."
There is a photograph showing the area of the churchyard in which he was most probably buried, in the 8th Hussar file.
See copy of his will in the 8th Hussar file. His wife is then shown as Mary Dyer, and thus seemingly his third marriage. His daughter, Matilda, was by then the wife of William Wilkins, but Susan was still unmarried.
None of his sons are mentioned, although a Henry William Dyer [sic], shown as a Locomotive Foreman on the Midland Railway and residing at Windsor Cottage, Barton Hill, St. Philip's, Bristol, was named as the Executor of his will.
[PB, December 1214: John Dyer featured in an article by Edgar Jones and Simon Wessely in the British Medical Journal in 1999 speculating that he may have been suffering from "chronic fatigue syndrome", a diagnosis that was not available to Victorian doctors:
"...Farrier Major John Dyer... was medically discharged from the Eighth Hussars with 'general debility, the result of long and arduous service.' Dyer had enlisted in November 1833 at the age of 16 and served throughout the Crimean campaign, taking part in the battle of Balaklava, although it is unclear whether he participated in the ill fated charge of the Light Brigade. Dyer then sailed with his regiment to India, where he served in the campaign to suppress the mutiny. In the absence of detailed medical records, it is difficult to reach a firm conclusion, although the presentation suggests chronic fatigue syndrome. "
The article chiefly focuses on Charles Dawes, 8th Hussars, who enlisted in October 1854, served in the Crimea in for six months (but too late to feature in this archive), and then in India until 1864. He was discharged in February 1872.
"Having returned to the United Kingdom in May 1864, Dawes suffered from increasing fatigue. He reported the following symptoms: exhaustion, weakness, tremor, pains in his legs when walking, and pain in his joints, particularly knees, elbows, and shoulders. He had a persistent cough and experienced visual difficulties in his left eye. Dawes became so fatigued that he was eventually discharged from the army in February 1872 with a diagnosis of general debility, imperfect vision, and rheumatism, for which a disability pension of 12d (5p) a week was awarded.
The army physicians who had examined him concluded that his 'service of seventeen years in Turkey, India and at home, and the general hardships of a soldier's life during the Indian Mutiny' were the reasons for his declining health. It was speculated that cold and general exposure in a country in which malaria was endemic may have been the cause, although there was no clinical evidence to suggest that Dawes had contracted malaria. His visual problems were later diagnosed as iritis, and by 1923 he was almost blind in his left eye.
Despite the judgment of a medical board in 1872 that Dawes was 'permanently unfit for contributing to his own support,' he returned to his former career of house painter, albeit on a casual basis. Later, he worked as a commercial traveller before ill health forced him to give up employment. In June 1885, his physical condition was described as 'very unsatisfactory indeed,' and three years later the examining physician commented that although he was then able to earn a livelihood, Dawes 'is likely at any moment to be quite unable to do so.' In April 1900, he was assessed as being 'more debilitated' and not long afterwards as 'feeble.'
Dawes was not a malingerer and, in fact, had been something of a model soldier. "
[Source: Edgar Jones & Simon Wessely, "Case of chronic fatigue syndrome after Crimean war and Indian mutiny", BMJ 1999; 319: 1645-7. The article is available for download from http://www.kcl.ac.uk/kcmhr/publications/assetfiles/historical/Jones1999-caseofchronicfatiguesyndrome.pdf (accessed 23.12.2014).]
[PB: His medals came up for auction at DNW in 1993, with the claim that they would be "sold with additional research which includes authoritative confirmation that Farrier Sergeant J. Dyer took part in the charge of the Light Brigade." But it is not clear what evidence there might be. EJB says nothing.]
Lot 326. Date of Auction: 12th May 1993
Unsold. Estimate: £2,500 — £3,000
A fine Light Brigade group of four to Farrier Major John Dyer, 8th Hussars
CRIMEA 1854-55, 4 clasps, Alma, Balaklava, Inkermann, Sebastopol (Far. Maj., 8th Hussars) contemporary engraved naming; INDIAN MUTINY 1857-58, 1 clasp, Central India (Farr. Major, 8th Hussars); LONG SERVICE AND GOOD CONDUCT, V.R. (431 Farr. Major, 8th Hussars); TURKISH CRIMEA, British issue, named and fitted with replacement straight suspender, one or two edge bruises and contact marks but generally good very fine (4)
Footnote
The following obituary appeared in The Trowbridge and North Wiltshire Advertiser, Saturday, December 12th, 1868:
'DEATH OF A HERO — Our obituary of today announces the death of one of the few that came safely out of the never-to-be-forgotten charge of Balaclava, viz, Sergeant John Dyer, of the 8th Hussars. He was through the whole of the Crimean Campaign and in actual engagement with the enemy at Alma, Balaklava, Inkermann, and Sebastopol (for which he received a Crimean Medal and clasps), the whole of which he escaped without a scratch.
On his arrival home the Indian Mutiny broke out and although he could have claimed his discharge, he was one of the first to volunteer his services, which were immediately accepted. Landing in Bombay, December 18th, 1857, he went through the whole of the Mutiny and engaged actively with the rebels in eight separate engagements. He re-landed in England on November 13th, 1862, and immediately received his discharge with a good pension.
Since that time he has been living at Holt, Trowbridge, and by his great kindness, affability, and gentlemanly conduct, he gained the confidence and the esteem of the whole of the neighbourhood.'
Medals and clasps verified and sold with additional research which includes authoritative confirmation that Farrier Sergeant J. Dyer took part in the charge of the Light Brigade.
[Source: https://www.dnw.co.uk/auction-archive/past-catalogues/lot.php?auction_id=360&lot_id=2983 (accessed 28.3.2017).]