Born at Erdington, near Manchester, c.1830.
Enlisted at Manchester on the 9th of August 1848.
Age: 17 years 8 months.
Height: 5' 8".
Trade: Goldsmith.
He assisted 817, Private Robert Grant, 4th Light Dragoons, during the Charge.
1004 Corporal Morley of the 17th Lancers stated in his "Memoirs" that he, James Cope of the 17th Lancers, and McGregor of the 4th Light Dragoons, reported back to their lines after the roll was called.
At Scutari 4th of April — 11th of May 1855.
Discharged from Cahir, "time expired", on the 25th of January 1861.
Conduct: "good".
Not in possession of any Good Conduct badges.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Sebastopol.
Awarded the French War Medal, the citation for which stated:
"For gallant and distinguished conduct in the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava on the 25th of October 1854. Served during the whole of the campaign of 1854-55. Present at the battles of the Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Tractir and the Expedition to Eupatoria in October of 1855."
Member of the Balaclava Commemoration Society in 1877 & 1879. [CP]
See references to Thomas Wright 17L, George McGregor 4LD, and John Levick 8H, in Jean M. Morris, Across The Gap (Lulu, 2016), chapter on "The Noble Six Hundred". She acknowledges (p.428) that there must be "a mound of interesting material in local family possessions or other sources to which I am not privy" about Charge veterans associated with Widnes. [Contact her?]
Her book is des described as :
"An account of how, in the wake of The Industrial Revolution, a little known corner of rural England was transformed into an area of dense industrial activity. The arrival of the alkali trade in Widnes, and the subsequent explosion in population, changed the social structure of the area and created great divisions in society. The indigenous communities, who had lived and worked in time honoured rural occupations for generations, were swallowed up by a growing workforce of migrant workers from all corners of Britain and Ireland. As a consequence, the social fabric of the area was irrevocably altered and the devastating effect of industry on the landscape and environment created huge problems. This book allows us to see how a new unskilled workforce struggled to adapt to factory disciplines and routines, as well as a new urban way of living."
[Source: https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Across_The_Gap.html (accessed 24.5.2018). Some pages are available to view.
THE NOBLE SIX HUNDREDI think most readers will be familiar with the story of the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade, immortalised by Lord Tennyson in his famous work which was once a staple poem in classrooms across Britain. The events which took place during the Battle of Balaclava caused a sensation in Victorian Britain and soon became the stuff of legends. Since that calamitous event all those years ago, controversy has raged over the mistake which sent the Light Brigade down the valley instead of up onto the Causeway Heights. Although Lord Lucan was to receive most of the blame, an ambiguous message from Lord Raglan was said to be at the heart of a mistake which caused the death of hundreds of men. Another theory was that a trumpet call was sounded which led the men into battle. However no-one knows if this was fact and, if so, who sounded it. The controversies which surrounded the event were numerous and blame was thrown in all directions. In addition to these debates, the extraordinary clash of personalities between Lord Lucan, Raglan and Nolan was thought to have played a major part in the unfortunate saga in which so many young men were sent to inevitable slaughter.
When reading about famous historical events, the major players in these actions have become well-known names. We know who they were and what they did, or rather what historians tell us they did.
Those who played less significant roles are usually consigned to history, unknown and forgotten. They are generally regarded as merely bit players in a bygone drama. Yet each man or woman involved in these historical events was a person of importance in their own right.
They were sons or daughters, brothers or sisters, husbands or wives, or the fathers or mothers of someone. Their life was unimaginably precious to those who loved or knew them. Some of these nameless players paid the ultimate price by giving their lives for their country and although they belonged to an anonymous mass they were each, in their own way, a vital part of the events which they were caught up in.
Widnes author, Harry Jones, in his wonderful book "I don't want to be a Sunbeam" gave us a moving reminder of this fact. In this book, the [428] potted biographies of First World War soldiers from Widnes, while often distressing to read, are also in a strange way uplifting. Through his painstaking research Harry Jones has shown us that before that dreadful War these men had lived fairly unremarkable existences. They had come from our own communities, lived in our streets, gone to our local schools and churches and worked in local industries. They were just like us in so many ways, until they were required as cannon fodder for a ruthless war machine. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Harry Jones for shedding a more personal light on these men and their lives, the ordinariness of which is all the more poignant.
Unlike the local dead of the two World Wars, whose names appear on cenotaphs in both towns, there are few acknowledgements of those who fought in earlier historical combats like the Battle of Balaclava.
However, we do know that men from both sides of our river were involved in this, as well as some other key events in the Crimean and Boer Wars. In a previous book, "Into the Crucible", I gave an account of how the Widnes Volunteers made an offer to serve overseas at the outbreak of the Boer War. They subsequently joined with the [?] Battalion of the South Lancashire Regiment at Ladysmith in March 1900 and were heavily involved in the sieges of Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley. Naturally, the Boer War being the more recent means that there are numerous sources of information concerning that conflict.
We have many letters from local men, written to their families back home, which give us first-hand accounts of some of the fighting. Unfortunately there appears to be a dearth of specific material about local veterans of The Charge of the Light Brigade, although it is believed that quite a few local men took part in this tragic event.
Nevertheless, despite this apparent lack of information, I am sure there is probably a mound of interesting material in local family possessions or other sources to which I am not privy. Whilst acknowledging that there is limited data about early veterans to draw upon, I am fortunate to be able to share a small amount of information on two Widnes veterans of the infamous Battle of Balaclava. These men were Thomas Wright, who lived in Major Cross Street and George McGregor who traded as a herbalist in Hutchinson Street.
Thomas Wright was actually born in Warrington but spent most of his long life in Widnes. When he was young he lived for a short while in Cholmondeley Street before moving to Major Cross Street where he resided for a large part of his life. His military career began when he enlisted into the 17th Lancers known as the "Death or Glory Boys" in the early 1850s. He served in the Indian Mutiny and all through the
[429]
Crimean War and, of course, he was a survivor of the famous Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava.
In later life he was employed as a labourer at the Gaskell Deacon works in Widnes. Mr. Wright was a popular and well-known figure in the town and because of his role at Balaclava he was something of a "local hero". When he died it was suggested that he should be given a full military funeral but this did not happen. In April l903 a memorial stone, paid for entirely by public subscription, was erected over his grave at Widnes cemetery. After a public ceremony, the grave and memorial stone were officially handed over to Widnes Town Council who, as the representative body of the Widnes townspeople, was charged with maintaining both the grave and memorial. Also donated to the town at the same time was a "large carbon portrait of the great hero, which was handsomely framed". This portrait, also purchased by public subscription, was donated on the explicit understanding that it would be placed on permanent display in the Public Library in Victoria Square".
[JMM: n.141: Numerous enquiries have failed to locate the present whereabouts of this picture.]
[PB: What could this "large carbon portrait" be? A charcoal or pencil drawing? It seems unlikely to be a photograph but if so this image might well be the fine portrait of TW with his medals and a cane shown on Thomas Wright's page in the archive. But where did this image come from? In May 2018 it could not be found on the artuk.org website.]
George McGregor, another veteran of Balaclava, also had an extremely eventful military career. He served in the Punjab and Kaffir Wars and went all through the Crimea. He subsequently took part in the quelling of the Indian Mutiny and the Chinese War. He was discharged on full pension in 1862 after 20 years service. However, he was not content to finish with military action and when the American Civil War broke out he decided to join in the fray, but lost his right arm in the process.
Fortunately, from a historical perspective, George McGregor was a prolific letter writer. Like Thomas Wright, he was also a participant in the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade and it was in respect of that event that he was prompted to take up his pen on several occasions. He wrote numerous letters of complaint about the treatment of the survivors of that infamous event.
[PB: Prolific letter-writer? — I have yet to find any letters other than the one she quotes (from the Liverpool ??). And was he really in the Punjab and Kaffir Wars, Crimea, Indian Mutiny and American Civil War? — on this last one, is Jean Morris confusing George McGregor with John Levick?]
Mr. McGregor's letters provide an interesting historical account of the shoddy behaviour of the British Government towards veterans who had been part of that blood-soaked battle. It is interesting to note that despite his palpable outrage he manages to retain an inherent sense of loyalty to his Queen and country. His first letter concerns an article published in The Liverpool Mercury. The newspaper had stated that a British Government agent was searching for a man called John Levick who served with the British Army throughout the Crimean War. The article suggested that the Government had had some difficulty in tracing survivors from the War, particularly those associated with The [430] Charge of the Light Brigade. Mr. McGregor was quite cynical of this claim. In May 1889, as one of the survivors of "The Noble Six Hundred" he wrote the following response to the article.
"In last Saturday's issue you refer to an agent of the British Government searching for the whereabouts of John Levick, whom you say served all through the Crimean War. With your permission I wish to give you and your readers a little insight into the doings of the aforesaid British Government respecting the noble 600. John Levick was well known to me. He was a sergeant for some time in the 8th Hussars.
I am rather surprised to hear that the British Government are so anxious to make "some substantial return to any survivors of that famous charge." If they intend to do anything, they had better do it quickly, for up to the present they have shown to such survivors nothing but studied neglect. Let them begin with poor Thomas Rodgers, of the 4th Hussars, now an inmate of the Withington Workhouse in Manchester. If they want the names of the survivors they can be supplied to the amount of seventy-six very quickly. Sixty four of these sat down to a banquet in London on October 25th 1888. And ten sat down on the same date in Manchester at Mr. Flood's Crosby Hotel. I myself am one of the survivors of the noble 600. [?] regimental number was 1382, 4th Light Dragoons, now named the 4th Hussars, and up to the present time the British Government has entirely lost sight of me.
From the tender mercies of such a Government I say 'May the Good Lord deliver us.' There is not one of the noble 600 alive today that would not fight for the Royal ensign of Old England but I fear they all will agree with me when I state that England is the richest and meanest nation under the sun. Many of the poor survivors are in great need of some "substantial return This I know for a fact, and I for one would be extremely gratified if the British Government, in what you say they intend to do, would do so speedily, and thus in a small measure wipe off the great reproach that lies at their door. 'God Save the Queen'."
Several months later, in October 1889, Mr. McGregor wrote a follow-up letter to The Liverpool Mercury. It appears that the intervening months had brought no further action by the Government to remedy these terrible injustices.
"May I again trouble you about the Charge of the Light Brigade. and the late festivities commemorating Balaclava Day. I see in a late issue of your dear little paper that you refer to the 196 men who returned to the British lines on that eventful day, and you add 'of these but a few are now known at the War Office to be still living.' I ask why is this? Is it that they are all dead and being dead are completely forgotten?"
[Online pages end here.]
Follow up...
"he was not content to finish with military action and when the American Civil War broke out he decided to join in the fray, but lost his right arm in the process. Fortunately, from a historical perspective, George McGregor was a prolific letter writer."
Additional information about the Balaclava Commemoration Society kindly provided by Chris Poole.