Born at Stafford, c.1820./p>
Enlisted at Maidstone on the 21st of June 1838.
No other enlistment details are shown.
[PB: When did he go to India?]
Returned to England aboard the "Repulse" on the 27th of March 1842, having left Bombay on the 28th of December 1841.
From Private to Corporal: 28th of September 1846.
Reduced to Private by a Regimental Court-martial on the 6th of January 1848.
At Scutari General Depot from the 22nd of September 1854, but was sent to rejoin the Regiment on the 20th of October.
Taken prisoner of war at Balaclava, 25th October 1854, after being severely wounded in the face.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Balaclava and Sebastopol.
See the record of 597 Thomas Perry, 8th Hussars.
Died while in Russian captivity (25 October 1854 — 25 October 1855, exact date unknown but probably November 1854).
Next of kin: Brother, John Johnson, serving in the 60th Rifles.
According to Robert Farquharson in his "Memoirs", Normoyle died from his wounds in November 1854:
"Poor Normoyle's face was terribly mutilated. He had a sword cut across his face — which nearly severed it in two. But he was still alive, and so wonderfully cheerful under the circumstances. He was glad to see us, although he could not say so in words, and was altogether a shadow of his former self. Poor fellow, he died a few days after this..."
JAMES JOSEPH NORMOYLE
SURNAME: Normoyle also recorded as Normyle
FORENAMES: James Joseph [second names of Thomas and Joshua also recorded]
BORN AT: Stafford
OCCUPATION[S]: Tailor
SIBLINGS: Brother, James Johnson, 60th Regiment Rifles 1854
1st REGIMENT NO: 918
2nd REGIMENT NO: .
ENLISTED: 21 06 1838 Maidstone HQ
RANK: 1838-1839: Private
1841: Private
1854: Private
EMBARKATIONS: 20 07 1838 Malabar England
06 11 1841 Repulse Bombay India
DISEMBARKATIONS: 14 11 1838 Malabar Bombay India
28 03 1842 Repulse Gravesend England
OTHER DUTIES: 16 09 1854 to General Depot Scutari
04 10 1854 from Scutari
25 10 1854 Taken Prisoner by the Russians
DIED: Early November 1854 [Simferopol]
WILL: £1 12s 4d
NEXT OF KIN: Brother, James Johnson, 60th Regiment Rifles
NOTES: According to Robert Farquharson 4LD, a fellow POW: '...Fletcher and Normyle of the 4ths, terribly mutilated. Normyle's face was nearly severed in two by a sword cut...' On or around the 3rd of November 1854 Farquharson and others were permitted to visit the wounded, and reported that Normoyle was still alive, but that he died a few days later.
TNA SOURCES: WO/12/648-649
WO/12/651
WO/12/659
BL SOURCES: .
OTHER SOURCES: Honour the Light Brigade
Northern Times 17 11 1854, 23 11 1854
Robert Farquharson, Crimean Campaigning and Russian Imprisonment by one of the 600
FIBIS
[Wendy Leahy, Shadows of Time website: James Joseph Normoyle" target="_blank">. We are very grateful to Wendy for allowing us to include information from her website.]