Born in London on the 16th of June 1818, the son of William Joseph Lockwood, of Dews Hall, Lambourne, Essex, and his wife, Rachel, daughter of Sir Mark Wood, of Gatton, Surrey.
His father had been in the Coldstream Guards and served under the Duke of Wellington in Spain and Portugal.
His elder brother (later General) William Mark, assumed the surname of Wood in 1846 and served in the Crimea with the Coldstream Guards.
Ensign in the 75th Foot: 11th of July 1857.
Lieutenant, 75th Foot: 28th of August 1840.
Lieutenant in the 8th Hussars. 17th of May 1844.
1851 Census
Preston Cavalry Barracks, Steyning, Sussex.
George Lockwood, 33, unmarried, Lieutenant, born London.
Captain, 8th Hussars: 26th of December 1851.
A.D.C. to Lord Cardigan at Balaclava.
Captain Lockwood served the Eastern campaign of 1854, including the reconnaissance of the Danube under Lord Cardigan, the battles of the Alma and Balaclava and the Siege of Sebastopol. (Medal and Clasps.)
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava and the Turkish medal,
Lummis and Wynn state, "Name not on the medal rolls," but he is shown on the roll of the General and Divisional Staff as being entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma and Balaclava (Noted as having been "Killed in action") and on the roll of the 8th Hussars for that of Sebastopol.
He acted as A.D.C. to Lord Cardigan at Balaclava, but little or nothing is known of the manner of his death.
He had commenced the charge riding behind Lord Cardigan and was afterwards seen by Henry Fitzhardinge Maxse far down the valley.
As the Light Brigade started to withdraw, he suddenly appeared in front of Lord Lucan, demanding to know, like so many others, where Lord Cardigan had got to.
He had obviously followed Lord Cardigan down the valley and back up the slope again.
Lord Lucan had assured him that Lord Cardigan had ridden off some time before, but possibly mis-understanding what had been meant by this he turned away and set off down the valley again. He was never seen again, neither was his body ever found nor did the Russians take him prisoner.
A letter from Henry (better known as "Fitz") Maxse about Lockwood's death appeared in The Times, 28th of July 1868:
"The Fate of Captain Lockwood in the Balaclava Charge.
To the Editor of the Times.
Sir, — As a brother Aide-de-Camp of Captain Lockwood in the Balaclava Charge, I am desirous of correcting in your columns Mr. Kinglake's surmise regarding the circumstances under which he met his death.
On page 359, vol 4, of his "History of the Invasion of the Crimea", Mr. Kinglake says:
"At the moment when the Light Cavalry Brigade began its advance, Captain Lockwood was probably in the performance of some duty which separated him from the other Aides-de-Camp.
Indeed, there is an idea that he rode to the ground where some of our battalions were halted, addressed a General whom he found, and, announcing that the Light Brigade was about to engage in an ugly task, urged that it should be supported by infantry.
Supposing that he did this, and that the Light Brigade moved forward before he returned to it, he would have been likely to have galloped off in all haste down the valley to regain his place near Lord Cardigan."
This supposition is incorrect.
Captain Lockwood started in front of the Light Brigade from the moment of its advance about four horse's lengths to my left and some five or six to the right rear of Lord Cardigan.
The loud ringing cheer and gallant bearing of poor Lockwood, as he turned in his saddle about three parts of the way down can never be effaced from my memory, and is doubtless in the recollection of others.
This is the last time I saw him; he was not near me on passing the Russian battery.
I also take the opportunity of here stating that Captain Nolan (though I cannot think he realised their position) intended to charge the guns we did charge, and no other.
I have no recollection of his divergence in the manner described by Mr. Kinglake either by word or gesture until after he was struck; then his horse took the line pointed out by Mr. Kinglake,
I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
Fitz Maxse
Heligoland, July 22.
His father was the Verderer of Epping Forest.
Extracts from the Irish Times, November and December 1847 (various dates):
[PB: Is it possible to divide and identify each separate extract?]
"Trial by Magistrates.
Charges brought by Lieutenant Lockwood against Mrs. Dawson, Proprietress of the Devonshire Arms at Bandon. — It appears that Lieutenant George Lockwood of the 8th Hussars was billeted on his march through Bandon at the Devonshire Arms Hotel.
On presenting his billet he was told he could get no other accommodation except sharing a double-bedded room already occupied by another gentleman.
This he declined to do, not considering it proper accommodation for an officer, but offered to take any single-bedded room in the House, and on being refused this he was under the necessity of going to the Barracks with his brother officers and managing therein as best he could.
The Quarter Sessions were then going on at Bandon and having continued for some time, prevented the trial of the latter before the Magistrates until the 29th of November, when the complaint was heard, being grounded on the 90th section of the Mutiny Act, "for refusing to receive and afford accommodation and diet in a House in which such Officer or Soldier is quartered, and to furnish the several things directed to be furnished to Officers and Soldiers, such victuallers or other persons shall forfeit for every offence a sum not exceeding £5 or less than 40/-."
The Magistrates, being desirous of the opinion of the Law advisers to the Crown as to whether a room already occupied was proper accommodation (the Act not defining it) directed the Clerk to write on the peculiar particulars of the case to the Law advisers and the following was their reply...
Dublin Castle, 2nd of December 1847.
In reply to your letter of the 29th ultimo in reference to a complaint brought by an officer billeted on the Hotel at Bandon of inadequate accommodation under the 90th Section of the Mutiny Act, in having been offered a second bed in a room already occupied, I beg to advise you that the Law Adviser is of the opinion that the accommodation was proper if the Hotel keeper had not, and could not, produce a better...
On the 6th of December the case was again brought before the Magistrates and they decided upon dismissing the complaint, some of them stating that such accommodation was quite proper under the circumstances and others the opinion that the Section of the Act, which provide that "if a Victualler, etc., shall not have sufficient accommodation in the House upon which a Soldier is billeted, then in some good and sufficient quarters, ect, — applied only to Soldiers, not Officers."
The true definition of Section 90 under the Act was raised under the authority of the Solicitor-General, who was asked whether, under the rule "proper accommodation" applied only to Officers and not Soldiers, i.e. "an Officer is not entitled to a separate sleeping apartment in the House where he is billeted" — "or in some good quarters in the immediate neighbourhood, in the event of their not being sufficient accommodation in the House...
The reply was that the advice given by the Law advisers in Ireland was wrong, and that "We are of the opinion that an officer is entitled to a separate apartment in the House in which he is billeted...
In the case of Soldiers, the Act provides that, "if there is not sufficient accommodation in the House where he is billeted, he may be placed in some good and sufficient quarter, which is to be provided by the Victualler in the immediate neighbourhood." But Officers not being specifically mentioned in that part of the enactment, we doubt whether it applied to them...
For Officers we are of the opinion that the Victualler must provide proper accommodation in the House where they are billeted."
Killed in action at Balaclava.
Memorials were erected in the church of St Mary and All Saint's at Abridge, near Lambourne, Essex, to both him and his father:
"To the memory of George Lockwood, 8th Hussars, second son of William Joseph Lockwood of Dews Hall.
Born 16th of June 1818, he fell on October 25th 1854 in the memorable charge at Balaclava, whilst acting as A.D.C. to Major General the Earl of Cardigan.
Every effort to recover his body having proved ineffective, this monument is erected by his mother as a tribute of love to an affectionate and dutiful son."
"Sacred to the memory of William Joseph Lockwood, Esq., of Dews Hall, in this parish.
Born 12th of May 1790 — Died 16th of September 1854.
In 1806 he entered the Coldstream Guards and served under the Duke of Wellington in Spain and Portugal and was present at the battles of Talavera and Busaco.
He married Rachel, daughter of Sir Mark Wood, and by her had two sons and three daughters, of whom the second son, George, Captain in the 8th Hussars, was killed on the 25th of October 1855 whilst bravely taking his part in the glorious but fatal charge at Balaclava.
This tablet was erected by his widow and surviving children as a tribute of their affection and respect."
[PB: His death was commemorated in the poem "An Episode of Balaclava", by Edward E. Bowen (date?)]
[PB: acc to DA the ILN version was re-printed from the D Telegraph). Transcript by RD (who seems to have copied it from DA). Check this version against Doug Austin's 2004 transcript in Balaklava Anniversary at Alexandra Palace 2 Oct 1875 p.22.]
Henry Joy, 17th Lancers, relates:
I was trumpet major of the cavalry division, commanded by General Lucan. On the morning of the 25th October, 1854, as General Lucan and his staff were riding down the plain, all of a sudden some rifles were discharged at us, unfortunately killing Captain the Honourable Walter Charteris, aide-de-camp to the Earl of Lucan. After proceeding some short distance further we witnessed the blowing up of a Turkish redoubt. The Earl of Lucan got wounded in the foot, while several officers, who had come to join the staff, were also slightly hurt.
Shortly afterwards Captain Nolan brought the order from Lord Raglan to General Lucan that the Light Brigade was to immediately attack and prevent the enemy from taking the guns. His lordship said that it was impossible, and that he had no supports or guns near him to assist in the attack; but Captain Nolan still persisted in the instructions that he had received. The Earl of Cardigan was then sent for, and to him was given the order. In the meantime the Earl of Lucan had sent Captain Walker, aide-de-camp, to the officers of the heavy cavalry, commanding them to bring up the Heavy Brigade in support as quickly as possible, which was done, and they came in position in line on the same ground as that from which the Light Brigade had just charged down the valley.
Some time afterwards Captain Lockwood, aide-de-camp to the Earl of Cardigan, rode up to me in a state of great excitement, without his busby, asking if I had seen Lord Cardigan. I replied, "Yes; he has just passed me," and I pointed in the direction which he had taken. The captain rode away, and I never saw that officer again.
On the day following the charge I went down the valley with a flag of truce to General Liprandi, the Russian general in command.
Census information for 1851 kindly provided by Chris Poole.