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

IN PROGRESS — NOT FOR PUBLICATION

1007, Private John Thomas MOON — 4th Light Dragoons

Birth & early life

Born in the parish of St. Margaret's, Westminster, c.1814.

Enlistment

Enlisted at Westminster on the 11th of December 1838.

Age: 23 years 11 months.

Height: 5' 6".

Trade: Labourer.

Sallow complexion. Grey eyes. Brown hair.

Service

Sent to Scutari on the 1st of December 1854 and was invalided to England in March of 1855.

Joined the Canterbury Depot from the Chatham Invalid Depot on the 28th of March 1855.

Discharge & pension

Discharged from Dublin on the 6th of January 1863.

"Own request, free to pension after 24 years' service."

Served 24 years 9 days. In the Crimea, 5 months

In India: 2 years 8 months.

Conduct: "very good".

In possession of five Good Conduct badges.

Three times entered in the Regimental Defaulters' book. Never tried by Court-martial.

Aged 47 years 11 months on discharge. Awarded a pension of 1/1d. per day.

Served in "D" Troop.

Intended to live at 12, Bear Alley, Farrington Street, City of London, after discharge, but he was living in the Taunton Pension District from 1871.

Medals

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

Awarded the Long Service & Good Conduct medal on the 3rd of January 1860, with a gratuity of £5.

He was presented with his Crimean medal by Queen Victoria at a ceremony on the Horse Guards Parade on the 18th of May 1855.

His name appears on the Nominal Return of those present now in the PRO, also on a similar roll which appeared in the United Services Magazine for June of 1855 and on that which appeared in the Illustrated London News of the 26th of May 1855.

Commemorations

Likenesses

He appears in a photograph with three others of his regiment, taken, it is believed, especially for Queen Victoria, as the original is in the Royal Library at Windsor,

(See copy of this picture in the 4th Hussar file, in which Moon is the second man from the left.)

(Click on image to enlarge)

[PB: In 2015 Roy Mills made a remarkable discovery of where exactly this photograph (and a comparable one for four men of the 17th Lancers) was taken (in front of Moulscoomb Place, Brighton, just outside Preston Barracks). I wrote a blog about his find in June 2015: "Oh, the rapture on spotting where these two charger photographs were taken".]

Life after service

Death & burial

Further information / information to follow up

[PB: Wendy Leahy includes this information on John Moon:

Enlisted: 15 12 1838 London

Rank: 1838-1839: Private.

1841: Private.

1854-1855: Private.

Embarked 16 03 1839, England — arrived 10 07 1839, Bombay, India.

Embarked 10 11 1841, "Mary", Bombay, India — arrived 12 03 1842 "Mary", Gravesend, England.

[PB: When/how did he get to the Crimea?]

Embarked from Crimea to Scutari 01 11 1854.

March 1855: From Scutari to England.

[PB: WL also says "Embarked 06 10 1855 England". What might this be?]

Admitted to out-pension: 06 01 1863 East London 1.

Pension district: 1863: East London 1.

1865: East London 1 and West London 1.

TNA sources: WO/12/648-649, WO/12/651, WO/12/659-661, WO/23/52, WO/23/62.

[Source: http://shadowsoftime.co.nz/4ths/dragoonm/moon1.html (accessed 16.6.15).]