According to his army documents, John Penn was born in the parish of St. Cavan, Dublin, the son of Farrier-Major John Penn of the 14th Light Dragoons.
However, John Penn was in fact born in Brighton, Sussex, the son of James [PB: James?] and Sarah Penn, of "The Barracks", Preston. At his death his date of birth was shown as the 31st of December 1820 (itself a suspect date) although he is known to have been baptised in the Parish Church of St. Peter's at Brighton on the 28th of January 1821 (see copy of the baptismal entry from the church registers in the 17th Lancer file).
Of course, it is possible that he may have thought he was born in Ireland (the regiment having come from there to Sussex), not knowing otherwise through having left home at an early age. On the other hand, he is shown as having been born at Brighton in the 1861 Census Returns (when he was living in Maidstone).
His father, John Penn, was baptised in the church of St. Michael and All Angels, at Walford, Herefordshire, on the 15th of August 1790, the son of yet another John Penn, who had married an Elizabeth Webb. His father spent his youth working in his father's smithy, but on the 8th of May 1811 he enlisted into the 14th Light Dragoons. He may have been something of a "black sheep" as the bequest made to him in his father's will was somewhat less than the others.
Even after joining the Army, he fell foul of the law, the musters showing that he rejoined the regiment from Winchester on the 16th of January 1812 after being acquitted (with two others) at the Assizes on a charge of larceny. (He was lucky, for of the 30 or so tried at the same Assizes fourteen were sentenced to hang for crimes ranging from sheep and horse stealing, highway robbery, to appropriating Naval property to the value of twenty shillings).
Having rejoined the regiment, he deserted from the 5th of February until he was brought back on the 5th of November of that same year, then marched to embark on the 9th of November to join the regiment in Spain. He went to Jamaica with the regiment but whether he took part in the attack on New Orleans cannot be established. He returned to England in June of 1815, and after a short tour of duty in Ireland the regiment was deployed along the coasts of Kent and Sussex assisting the Riding Officers of the Revenue.
Around this time John Penn senior had married Sarah Hooth. The last known of him was his death at Leeds on the 22nd of October 1829 at the age of 37 years, and his subsequent burial in the churchyard of St. Peter's there.
During his service he had probably taken part in the battles of Vittoria, Nive, Orthes and Toulouse.
A Private John Penn is recorded as having died at Leeds on the 22nd of October 1829, when serving in the 14th Light Dragoons. The sum of £1/8/4d. to his credit was paid over to his widow, Sarah. He had more than 17 years' service at this time, but whether he was ever a Farrier-Major cannot be confirmed. No entry can be found in the muster rolls to confirm or deny this.
[PB: Puzzle to be sorted. Is "John Penn's parents" (above) EJB's earlier (mistaken) account of (what he assumed to be) 1168 John Penn's parentage, which he subsequently realised was false? i.e. that JP's father was not John Penn, 14th Light Dragoons, born Herefordshire (as below) but James Penn? But if so, what are we to make of EJB's finding that 1168 John Penn and his wife Joanna had a daughter, Sarah Joanna Hooth Penn, baptised 1871, whose names included "Hooth", the maiden surname of John Penn's wife. Confusingly, both "mothers" are called Sarah.]
John Penn [junior] entered the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea shortly after his father's death, on the 2nd of December 1830 at the age of 9 years and 3 months [sic]. He was shown as being the son of F.M. [presumably Farrier-Major] John Penn of the 14th Light Dragoons and his wife, Sarah. His father was shown as "Dead" at this time and his mother as "Still alive."
On the 8th of December 1834 he was "Released to the care of Lady John Bethell", to whom he became a servant of some kind. Just where Lady Bethell lived is not shown in the records.
[PB: It is proving hard to locate "Lady John Bethell". The Bethell family were not, so far as I know, titled until the banker and Liberal politician John Bethell (1861-1945), and his father's name was George, not John. George was a gardener, probably at Timperley Hall, Cheshire, when John Bethell was born, so clearly there can be no direct connection. A different Bethell family? There is more information on the Bethell family here. Notice many years later John Penn named his son, born 25th November 1867, John William Bethell.]
Enlisted into the 3rd Light Dragoons at Dublin on the 27th of August 1838. Regimental No. 1104.
Age: 20.
Height: 5' 6".
Trade: Labourer.
Features: Dark complexion. Hazel eyes. Dk. brown hair.
From Private to Corporal: 30th of August 1841.
Corporal to Sergeant: 30th [3rd?] of October 1843.
Reduced to Private by a Regimental Court-martial on the 1st of January 1844.
[ADDITIONAL INFO TO CHECK:
Private to Corporal: 19th of May 1846.
Reduced to Private: 9th of February 1847.]
From Private to Corporal: 1st of November 1852.
Transferred to the 17th Lancers as a Corporal on the 1st of July 1853.
Confined for "absence", 5th — 22nd of August 1853, and reduced to Private by a Regimental Court-martial on the 23rd of August 1853.
Embarked for the Crimea as one of a draft of seven men on the 24th of June 1854.
From Private to Corporal: 4th of October 1854.
Corporal to Sergeant: 1st of January 1855.
Sent to Scutari on the 29th of November 1854.
Invalided to England on the 3rd of March 1855 and being on the Depot roll at Brighton from the 21st of March 1855.
Confined for "absence", 29th of July — 2nd of August 1855, and reduced to Private by a District Court-martial on the 3rd of August 1855 for "being drunk on duty."
John Penn, who was known in the regiment as "Old Jack Penn", is mentioned in a number of accounts of the Balaclava period [PB: including Nolan's History of the War Against Russia, which includes the fine engraving that appears on this page].
DH Parry,Death or Glory:
[Source: DH Parry, Death or Glory (1903 edition), opp. p.214]
Among them [at the guns] was a veteran of Afghanistan and India, still affectionately spoken of by the handful who survive as "Old Jack Penn," though he himself has long joined the majority. fl
Penn volunteered out of the 3rd Light Dragoons into the 17th immediately on his return from India, in 1853, and came out to the Crimea with a draft that left Portsmouth in June.
On reaching the battery he drove his lance into a gunner and left it there, and when the regiment opened out after passing the guns he rode at a Russian Hussar officer, who turned to fly.
Penn pursued him on his near side, and with "cut six" nearly severed his head from his body!
The Lancer's horse receiving a ball in the shoulder, he dismounted, and cut off the Hussar's pouch belt, also taking possession of his clasp-knife and sword, which he used with effect on the return ride.
[Source: DH Parry, Death or Glory (1903 edition), opp. p.214]
[PB: John Penn is singled out for special mention in EH Nolan's, The History of the War Against Russia, (1855) vol.1 pp.552-3. Indeed he is also the subject of a fine engraving, possibly the only soldier among many portraits of officers. I wonder why he was chosen?]
The acts of individual courage during this short, but memorable charge, were innumerable; nor were they confined to the officers — "groom fought like noble;" and this was especially exemplified in the instance of private John Penn, of the 17th Lancers, whose likeness will appear as one of the illustrations in this work.
Seldom has heroic courage equalled his; had he been a soldier of any other army in the world than that of England — humbly born although he is — he would have been promoted to rank, and have other honours conferred upon him than the medals and clasps which cover his breast. He bears eleven honours, in the form of such decorations. Besides detailing his gallant conduct in the battle of Balaklava, we shall give a general outline of his military career:
"He was born in the 14th regiment of Light Dragoons, and was left an orphan before he was eight years of age, by the death of his father, Farrier-major Penn. At fourteen he was taken into the service of Lady John Bethell; but, not content with that situation, and his whole wish being for a dragoon's life, he entered the cavalry as soon as he had attained the standard height.
This excellent soldier has seen eighteen years' service. He was through the Affghanistan [sic] campaign, under General Pollock, for which he received the Cabul medal. He was also through the Sutlej campaign, under Lord Gough. He was in the memorable action of Moodkee — was then severely wounded, and received a contusion on the head from the blow of a sponge-staff from a Sikh artilleryman. In the capturing of the guns he was unhorsed, and was found in the field next morning by a reconnoitring party, the poor fellow having lain there all night in great suffering. His wounds were dressed, and within two days of the battle of Sobraon he rejoined his regiment, and took part in that action, for which he received a clasp.
He was with the army at Lahore, and until the close of the war; he was again in the field at Ramnuggur; he was also at the forcing of the passage of the Chenab. He was next at the brilliant attack of Soodoolapore, where the Sikhs were driven from their position on the Chenab. He was also in the action of Chillianwallah, 1849. He fought at Goojerat, when the Sikhs were again defeated, which was the last battle fought with that race of Indians.
The 3rd Light Dragoons were then ordered to England, which they reached in July, 1853. Penn had not been many days at home when, hearing that the 17th Lancers were ordered for Turkey, he volunteered into that corps; and on the 23rd of June, 1854, he embarked at Portsmouth with a detachment of 6th Enniskillens, 13th Light Dragoons, 17th [p.553] Lancers, and fifty-seven horses, under Captain the Hon. Hercules Rowley, the present Lord Langford. They arrived at Varna in July following.
On the 1st September, Penn proceeded to the Crimea. He was in the action of the Alma; he was with his troop at Mackenzie's Farm when the Russian baggage and stores were captured; and in the Light Cavalry charge of Balaklava, for which he received the medal for distinguished conduct in the field.
He speaks very highly of the lance — a weapon of which the Russians are very much in dread. Unfortunately for many of the brave fellows of his regiment, they had their poles shattered by the enemy's showers of grape-shot. On their coming up to the Russian guns, they were ordered to charge, when he made a point at a gunner, which took effect — the lance going through his body. He could not extricate it, as he was at a gallop. Passing through the enemy's guns, the 13th Light Dragoons and 17th Lancers were obliged to open out, when our hero came in contact with a Russian officer (a Hussar); he made for him, and the officer wheeled his horse about, for the purpose of making a bolt; he, therefore, took a favourable distance on the officer's left (both at the time being at a gallop), when he delivered cut six, which instantly dismounted the officer, whose head was nearly severed from his body.
At the same time his horse halted, and on dismounting, to his grief, he found that his horse had received a ball in his near shoulder. He then took a view of the Russian officer; he must have died in an instant, as his body never moved after falling to the ground; he cut his pouch belt off, and took his sword, and a clasp-knife, which he wore in a belt round his waist. This gallant affair was witnessed by several of Penn's comrades. He returned with the second line, composed of the 4th Light Dragoons, 8th Hussars, and 11th Hussars, keeping a sharp look-out on their front, flanks, and rear, until they had forced a passage through the Russians, who had closed upon them. By perseverance they forced a passage, after a few guards with the Russians, Penn using his trophy — the Russian officer's sword. The seventh guard he took with a Russian, the point of the sword broke about ten inches off.
He luckily returned with the remnant of his regiment. The ball was speedily extracted from his horse, which recovered, and the animal stood the winter, and was doing duty when he left the Crimea. Penn was at the battle of Inkerman, for which he received a clasp.
He was never ill during the whole of the season, although much exposed. He was always employed on general duty. On account of the heat of the sun in July, when he was on outpost duty at Baidar, his head became affected, which caused him to be invalided home. This arose from his having his right collar-bone fractured, and the lower jaw broken, by a horse falling on him when he was at field-drill in India, in 1852."
[PB: the description of the Charge is remarkably detailed. What was the source? How had Nolan come by it? Does it derive from the manuscript account ]
PB: The image on the left, which appears to be a pastel illustration, is from a negative in the EJBA. Its origin or context of use is uncertain. Clearly it was photographed from an illustration in a book (the print dots are visible). Where is the original? Who is the artist? Check for further information in the EJBA.
The image in the centre (dated November 1855) is presumably the model for both the engraving (above) and the illustration (left. It appears to be a photograph (the IWM records it as such), but is it? It has a painted backdrop (showing e.g. fortifications and a canon) and much of the uniform appears to be rendered too. Is it possible it is entirely painted, including the head? The resolution of the online image is too low to be certain. (Image from the Royal Archives Windsor Collection. It can be viewed online on the Imperial War Museum's website.)
The image on the left appears to be a carte de visite or similar, but no information is given in the source, the Lothian Lives website. It would be good to know more.
The text that accompanies it, which contains a most intriguing reference to a "personal account of his experience of the Charge of the Light Brigade", reads:
John Penn was born in Brighton in 1820. He was an experienced soldier who fought in the Crimean War and survived the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854. This ill fated attack is immortalised in Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'.
Here's an image of John in his uniform. As a gratitude for their contribution the soldiers who survived the charge were allowed to keep their beards whereas all new recruits to the army had to be clean shaven.
John Penn was indeed a brave soldier with medals showing service in various battles in the Crimean War, Turkish war and a medal for distinguished service. He also served in Ireland and was discharged from the army after 25 years service in May 1863.
By 1865 John Penn was living in the High Street in Dunbar. He joined the East Lothian and Border Yeomanry, and used his wealth of soldiering experience to train new recruits. He was also a member of the Dunbar Castle Lodge of Freemasons and something of a local celebrity. He was an attendee at the annual dinner for the survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade and an account of the 1877 banquet published in the United Services Gazette mentions him specifically and notes he 'holds more medals for bravery and soldiership than any other man in Her Majesty's service'.
He wrote a personal account of his experience of the Charge of the Light Brigade for a local lawyer who had done him a service. This account survives with East Lothian archives service. He died in January 1886 of liver disease and is buried in Dunbar.
[Source: "John Penn Military Hero", by "francesw", on the Lothian Lives website (entry dated 27.9.2011, accessed 10.8.15).]
From the Illustrated London News, 9th of February 1856:
"Private John Penn, 17th Lancers — A penny subscription has been started at Maidstone for the purpose of rewarding this Crimean hero with a sum of money for his services. Mr. W. Randall, of the New Inn, Maidstone, who has been appointed treasurer of the Fund, will gladly receive subscriptions from the public."
EJB: Following a letter to a local newspaper asking for further information on the "New Inn", a Mr. K. Farrant phoned to say that his house in Dean Street, East Farleigh, was once a public house of that name, but a Mr. K. Waller, of London Road, Aylesford, came up with the suggestion that the "New Inn" was the former name of the recently demolished "Wig and Gown", near the County Hall. Another letter was later received from an elderly lady (in her mid-eighties) which read:
"Mr. Wells of Aylesford was quite right, the Wig and Gown was originally the New Inn. When I was nine years old (in 1908) I lived in one of the farm houses which stood in Sandling Road at the top of the Railway Goods Yard (now a car-park) next to the Maidstone East Station. The New Inn was almost opposite our house and I am almost sure it was a Style and Winch house because I've a hazy recollection of "The New Inn" in gold letters on a green background. I can also remember the name of the man who cleaned the windows, a Mr. Samways. You can rest assured that the Wig and Gown was originally the New Inn, and it all happened before the County Hall was built in front of the Sessions House."
From the Brecon Journal, 19th of April 1856:
"On Monday evening last (the 14th) John Penn of the 17th Lancers was influenced by a few friends to spend a social evening in the Canteen of the Brecon Barracks as a mark of respect for the high and distinguished honours he had received as a soldier, and for the heroic services he had rendered to his country. About 60 of his friends met Mr. Penn, and were invited to hear his history of the various engagements in which he had acted a part, and more particularly of the cavalry charge at Balaclava in which Sir Godfrey Morgan of Tredegar had also so gallantly distinguished himself.
The account related by our hero of his various engagements was most gratifying and entertaining. After he had entertained his listeners for some time the Chairman rose, and in a most appropriate manner proposed the health of Mr. Penn, at the same time presenting him with a silver-handled riding whip on which was engraved the following inscription: 'Presented to Mr. John Penn by a few friends. Brecon, April 14th 1856.' The Chairman, in presenting this little token of respect to the brave soldier, addressed him in very complimentary terms on the courageous services he had rendered to his country.
Mr. Penn, in a short speech, very gratefully acknowledged the kind manner in which his health had been proposed by the Chairman and the friendly manner in which the company had responded to it, and at the same time thanking all those who surrounded the festive board, for the kind present. Toast and song followed in succession for a short time, when the company broke up, having enjoyed a most pleasant evening."
There is no information how he came to be at Brecon at this time, in particular as the musters for the period show him as being on the roll of the Cavalry Depot at Maidstone. One thing is possible, in that he may have accompanied Godfrey Morgan to Tredegar in some capacity, and Brecon is no great distance from there.
John Penn joined the regiment at Cahir, Ireland, on the 1st of June 1856.
From Private to Corporal: on the 1st of October 1857, and sent to the Depot at Canterbury on the regiment leaving for India.
Having gone "Absent", he was imprisoned 28th-30th of April 1858 and reduced to Private by a Regimental Court-martial.
From Private to Corporal: 19th of September 1860.
__________
Marriage registered
John Penn married Johanna Ellacott, December Quarter 1860, Maidstone.
On the 25th of October 1860, while he was at Maidstone and before his discharge from the Army, John Penn married Johanna Ellacott, a widow. His father's name was given on the wedding certificate as John Penn, Veterinary Surgeon, and hers as George Ward, Wheelwright. He was then 40 years of age and she 28. The ceremony took place at All Saint's Parish Church at Maidstone. Their address at this time was 7, Ordnance Place, Maidstone.
Further research showed that his wife, nee Ward, was originally from Sampford Courtenay, near Okehampton, the daughter of George Ward, a Wheelwright, and she had first been married to one of her father's apprentices.
Their first child was born at Okehampton, in Devon. Two more children were born at Maidstone while he was in the Sandling Road Barracks.
- Elizabeth Penn, born c. 1862 [in Okehampton?]
- Catherine Penn, c.1865, [Maidstone?]
- Jane W. Penn, c.1866, [Maidstone?]
- George L. Penn, c.1870, [place?]
- John William Bethell Penn, 25th November 1867, Dunbar [note "Bethell" — his first employer].
- Sarah Joanna Hooth Penn, [date? place?] [note: Sarah was John Penn's mother's name, Joanna that of his wife, and Hooth his mother's maiden surname]
[PB: It would be good to clarify these details. EJB says that "three...children [were born] while living at Dunbar, between 1856 and 1869." Which? EJB says that Sarah was "the 7th child", but I have only found references to 6 children.]
__________
1861 Census
7, Ordnance Road, Maidstone.
John Penn, aged 40, Corporal in Army, born Brighton, Sussex.
Hannah Penn [sic, should be Joanna], 29, Sampford, Devon.
Corporal to Sergeant: 18th of May 1862.
Discharged from Maidstone Depot on the 19th of May 1863, at "Own request, free to pension after 24 years' service."
Served 24 years 224 days.
In Turkey and the Crimea: 1 year 5 months. East Indies, 13 years.
Aged 44 years 10 months on discharge.
Conduct: "good". In possession of three Good Conduct badges.
Fourteen times entered in the Regimental Defaulter's book. Five times tried by Court-martial.
Awarded a pension of 1/3d. per day.
Intending to reside at Lanark in Scotland on discharge.
His documents confirm the award of the five medals, three from India and two from the Crimea.
Medal, with clasp for Cabul. Served in the First Afghan War.
Entitled to the Sutlej medal with clasps for Moodkee and Sobraon. At Moodkee on the 18th of December 1845 he was unhorsed at the capture of the guns and was severely wounded in the right shoulder and the left leg. The medical reports on his documents confirm these wounds.
Entitled to the Punjab medal with clasps for Chilianwala and Goojerat. Engaged during the whole of the campaign in the Punjab up to the occupation of Peshwar.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman, Sebastopol, and the Turkish medal.
Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, having been recommended for it on the 19th of February 1855, with a gratuity of £10, but it is not known under what circumstances.
Attended the first Balaclava Banquet in 1875.
Member of the Balaclava Commemoration Society in 1877 (he is named on the list of those attending) and 1879.
On discharge in 1863, John Penn said he intended to reside at Lanark in Scotland.
From at least 1871, John Penn was a sergeant in the East Lothian Yeomanry Cavalry, based in Dunbar.
[PB: EJB's notes talk about JP going from Grantham to Dunbar. Grantham?]
Just when John Penn went from Grantham to Lanark and Dunbar is not known. Most of the N.C.O. Instructor appointments to the Yeomanry and other Volunteer units were made direct from the various regiments but others were advertised in one way or another in one of the many Service newspapers circulating at the time, and he probably answered one of these for the East Lothian position he later filled.
The details of his services would now appear to be non-existent, but he did have three more children while living at Dunbar, between 1856 and 1869.
1871 Census
42, High Street, Dunbar, East Lothian.
John Penn, aged 50, Sergt Yeomanry Cavalry.
Joanna, 37, [born?].
Four children are shown: Elizabeth, 9; Catherine, 6; Jane W., 5, and George L., 1.
Also 2 lodgers and 1 boarder.
[Source: http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=7828#p34714.].
In December 2012 "cappuccino22" posted this photograph of an unknown soldier on the Victorian Wars Forum site, asking for information that might lead to his identification. Roy Mills replied that it was "John Penn, DCM (Crimea — Charge of the Light Brigade, 17th Lancers), Cabul (3rd Light Dragoons), Sutlej (3rd Light Dragoons), Punjab (3rd Light Dragoons), Crimean (4 clasps, 17th Lancers), Turkish Crimea. Late East Lothian Yeomanry Cavalry. Born Brighton, lived Lanark, Died 1886. No LSGC apparently, despite his long career." NB the photograph has been edited by "cappuccino22" in a way that suggests facial scars that probably did not exist. It would be good to have the original scan.
A number of interesting observations were made by other contributors.For example, "17thlancer" discussed the uniform John Penn was wearing, and contributed two fine photographs.]
John Penn was proposed for the Dunbar Castle Masonic Lodge on the 29th of September 1874 and became a Mason on the 4th of November 1874.
Two photographs of him in a single frame, one in the uniform of the East Lothian Yeomanry and the other in the uniform of the 17th Lancers were said to hang in the Lodge room. The Lodge having now [1980] moved to new premises, these photographs cannot now be traced.
[PB: However, in July 2015 an article was published about John Penn, containing newspaper reports and a photograph, on The Lodge website. This site represents the Dunbar Castle Social Club, Masonic Hall, Belhaven Road, DUNBAR, EH42 1DD, presumably the new premises that EJB noted. Is this one of the two mislaid photographs? ]
Date and other details unknown. Although similar in clothing and pose to the portrait dated c.1874 (above), the background is very different, JP appears much older, his beard fuller, his medals somewhat disarranged.
[Source: article posted 9.7.15 on The Lodge: Dunbar Castle Social Club website, http://dunbarcastlesocialclub.org.uk/the-balaclava-banquet-sergeant-john-penn (accessed 10.8.15).]
[Title?]
November 17th 1876
It is a common saying that "one half of the world does not know how the other half lives," and we strongly suspect that considerably more than one half cares as little as it knows. This after all is, perhaps, just what might be expected. Both society, and the individual members composing it, must fight their own battles, and they are all the better for doing so. Indeed, the surest and the speediest way to spoil a hero or a genius is to make a demigod of him, and to set all the asses in the district braying around him. Robert Burns was never less of a man than after he had been feasted and feted by the elite of Edinburgh. It was then that he had to take the shady side of the street in Dumfries, and suffer all the miseries of blighted and blasted hopes at the close of "life's fitful fever."
We have had for some years a hero in our midst, in the person of Sergeant John Penn, whose name will be held in honour as long as the famous charge of the "Six Hundred" stirs the manly heart of the British nation. In an appreciative article, in connection with the recent anniversary of the Battle of Balaclava, the United Service Gazette bewails the little sympathy which is bestowed upon those who have fought our battles after the hard and thankless work has been done. "The charge of the 'Six Hundred' ", says our contemporary, "as a feat of manhood and military prowess, far surpasses the defence of Thermoplyae. Such men as Jack Penn, the possessor of the greatest number of medals in the British Army, and Roberts of Wednesbury, who was picked up on the field wounded in eight places, were not the company of which any man, however high his social position, need be ashamed."
The fact is also alluded to that "such heroes as assembled round the table at the banquet still remained non-commisioned officers or privates." "They manage these things better in France," where, by this time, every one of these men would have held the rank of commisioned officers — and, perhaps, one of them would have possessed the distinction of a Marshal's baton. We have no wish at present, at least, to imitate Charles Reade, and make "a hero and a martyr" of Sergeant John Penn. His modesty is as great as his heroism: and, perhaps, both may yet be more fully appreciated than they are at present. Respectability, which keeps its gig, and drives past Sergeant Penn, should remember that his name is among "the immortals," and will be held in honour so long as there is a brave heart and a strong arm to fight for our Queen and country.
Sergeant Penn, we may add, is at present acting as compulsory officer to the Dunbar (Landward) School Board, and there is little doubt that, with his strong sense of duty, he will charge down upon the absentees from school as earnestly and as manfully as he did upon the Russians, when
"Into the valley of Death
Rode the Six Hundred."[Source: article posted 9.7.15 on The Lodge: Dunbar Castle Social Club website, http://dunbarcastlesocialclub.org.uk/the-balaclava-banquet-sergeant-john-penn (accessed 10.8.15).]
1881 Census
41, The Close, High Street, Dunbar, Haddington, Scotland.
The 1881 Census Returns show him as a Chelsea Pensioner, aged 62, born in England, with his wife, Joanna, formerly a Cook, aged 48, born in Dunbar, and two children, both Scholars: a daughter, Jane W., 15, and a son, George L., 11, both born at Dunbar [sic].
1891 Census
41, The Close, High Street, Dunbar, Haddington, Scotland.[PB: Check.]
According to the 1891 Census, his wife Joanna and a daughter Jane (by now a Teacher), still lived in the house in the High Street.
John Penn died at Dunbar, Scotland, in 1886.
He is thought to have died on the 31st of January 1886 at 2 p.m at 41, Close, High Street, Dunbar (there are photographs of the house in the 17th Lancer file). This is more likely to have been one of the small cottages in the lane leading down to the harbour and entered by a door at the side of No. 41. The cause of death was "Carcinoma of the liver (4 weeks)".
[PB: Notice from a local newspaper.]
February 5th 1886
Deaths
At 41 High Street, Dunbar, on the 31st ult., Sergeant JOHN PENN, late 17th Lancers and E.L.Y.C. (one of the Six Hundred).
[Source: article posted 9.7.15 on The Lodge: Dunbar Castle Social Club website, http://dunbarcastlesocialclub.org.uk/the-balaclava-banquet-sergeant-john-penn (accessed 10.8.15).]
He was buried with military honours in the Dunbar Parish churchyard of St. Anne's.
[PB: A substantial cross was erected some years later, as a local newspaper reported on August 22nd 1890.]
THE LATE SERGT. JOHN PENN.
A handsome Ionian cross has been erected in the churchyard to the memory of this gallant soldier. To the Earl of Haddington belongs the credit of initiating the monument, and the subscribers included Major Robert Baillie Hamilton; the late sir Hew Dalrymple, Bart; Colonel Anderson of Bourhouse; Capt. Baird Hay of Belton; Mr Hunter of Thurston, &c.
[Source: article posted 9.7.15, on The Lodge: Dunbar Castle Social Club website, http://dunbarcastlesocialclub.org.uk/the-balaclava-banquet-sergeant-john-penn (accessed 10.8.15).]
[1983] From the inscription on the erected memorial cross, it would seem John Penn is the only one interred there. (There is a photograph in the 17th Lancer file, to be uploaded.) Now very much weathered, the cross bears the inscription:
John Penn
Late Sergeant E.L. & B. Yeo Cav.
A Brave Soldier
Served with the 3rd Dragoons in India at Moodkee,
Sobraon, Soodoolapore, Chilianwala and Goojerat
With the 17th Lancers at Alma, Balaclava and Inkerman.
Born 31 Dec 1820 — Died 31 Jan 1886.
[PB: "E.L. & B. Yeo Cav." is East Lothian and Borders Yeomanry Cavalry.]
[PB, August 2015: Photographs by Forrest Anderson, posted online more recently, show the stone to be in excellent condition. Presumably it it has been restored in the recent past.]
[Source: http://www.remthepast.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/jp-grave.html. The link to Forrest Anderson is broken, so it has not been possible to make contact.]
Extracts from The Haddingtonshire Courier, 5th of February 1886:
Death — At No. 41 High Street, Dunbar, on the 31st ult. Sergeant John Penn, late 17th Lancers and E.L.Y.C. (One of the Six Hundred.)
The Late Sergeant John Penn — A Balaclava Hero.
Sergeant John Penn's death has removed a well-known figure from our midst. Latterly he has been prostrated by a serious illness and he quietly breathed his last on Sunday afternoon. No man was better known in East Lothian than John Penn. From his connection with the East Lothian Yeomanry Cavalry he had long occupied a prominent position in the county. He was universally respected for his many excellent qualities, his obliging disposition amd his public spirit. The people of Dunbar were all proud of him as one of the heroes of Balaclava.
In Captain Nolan's interesting 'History of the Crimean War', it is stated that 'John Penn manages to go every year to London for the Balaclava Banquet. This he is enabled to do through the liberality of some of the neighbouring landed proprietors, and on these occasions, when making preparations to go, he may be heard recounting his adventures and fighting his battles all over again.' Speaking of the Balaclava Charge, Nolan says: 'The acts of individual courage during this so short but memorable charge were innumerable, nor were they confined to officers. Groom fought like noble; and this was especially exemplified in the case of Penn of the 17th Lancers. Seldom has such heroic courage equalled his. Had he been a soldier in any other army than that of England — humbly born though he was — he would have been promoted in rank and had other honours conferred upon him than the medals and clasp which cover his breast. He bears eleven honours in the form of such decorations.'
Besides detailing his gallant conduct at Balaclava, we shall give an outline of his military career.
He was born into the 14th Regiment of Light Dragoons, and was left an orphan before he was 8 years old by the death of his father, Farrier-Major John Penn. At fourteen he was taken into the service of Lady John Bethell but not content with that situation, and his whole wish being for a dragoon's life, he entered the cavalry as soon as he had reached the standard height.
He went through the Afghanistan campaign under General Pollock, for which he received the Cabul medal. He was also through the Sutlej campaign under Lord Gough. He was in the memorable action of Moodkee, was then severely wounded and received a contusion on the head by a blow from a sponge-staff by a Sikh artillery-man. In the capture of the guns he was un-horsed, and found in the field the next morning by a reconnoitring party, the poor fellow having lain there all night in great suffering. His wounds were dressed, and within two days of the battle of Sobraon he rejoined his regiment. For this he received a clasp.
He was with the army at Lahore and until the close of the war. He was again in the field at Ramnugger and also at the forcing of the passage of the Chenab. He was next in the brilliant action at Soodoolapore, where the Sikhs were driven from their position on the Chenab. He fought at Goojerat, where the Sikhs were again defeated, which was the last battle fought with that race of Indians.
The 3rd Light Dragoons were then ordered to England, which they reached in July of 1853. Penn was not many days at home, when hearing that the 17th Lancers were ordered for Turkey, he volunteered into that corps, and on the 23rd of June 1854 he embarked at Portsmouth with a detachment of the 6th Inniskillings, 13th Light Dragoons, 17th Lancers, and fifty-seven horses, under Captain the Hon. Hercules Rowley, the present Lord Langford. They arrived at Varna in the July following. On the 1st of September Penn proceeded to the Crimea, and there took part in the memorable charge.
The townspeople of Dunbar have shown all respect to the memory of the fine old warrior. On Sunday, when it became known that he was no more, the flags at the Coastguard Station and of the ships in the harbour were lowered to half-mast in a token of respect and remained in that position until after the termination of the funeral obsequies yesterday. The funeral procession to the churchyard at Dunbar was of a most impressive character. Representatives of the Yeomanry, Militia, and of the Volunteers, were present, as were a troop of the 4th Hussars from Piershill, who had come to assist in paying the last honours to a comrade-in-arms of former days. A large company of the inhabitants also joined in the procession, which, as it passed along the streets, attracted the sympathetic gaze of hundreds of the townspeople, who had assembled to see the remains of the gallant soldier carried to their last resting place.
Shortly after one o'clock the procession was formed in front of the residence of the deceased in the following order: a firing-party and Band of the 4th Hussars from Piershill; East Lothian Cavalry, under the command of the Earl of Haddington, Captain and Adjutant Waldron, Captain McDonald, Lieutenant Broadwood, Quartermaster Hood, and Surgeon Caverhill, Royal Coast Guards, under Chief Officer Williams, 1st Haddington Artillery Volunteers under Captain Kelly; and the Staff of the 2nd Brigade, Scottish Division, Royal Artillery, under the command of Major Pym, Captain Simmons and Dr. Napier. Then followed the Free Masons, and immediately after the coffin, rolled in a Royal Ensign, and on which lay the sword and helmet of the deceased, together with two beautiful wreaths sent by Miss Nisbet Hamilton of Riel. The coffin was carried shoulder-high fron the house to the Episcopal Chapel, by four sergeants of the Royal Artillery.
On emerging from the house, the firing-party had presented arms, then reversed arms, turned inwards, and marched, followed by the band, playing the Dead March in "Saul". The relatives of the deceased, including his daughter, came after the coffin as chief mourners: followed by a troop-horse, draped in black velvet, having boots and spurs reversed, hung from the saddle. The pall-bearers consisted of staff of the Yeomanry. The cortege was met at the chapel by the Revd. Ashley Broad, in his surplice. The church service, which was particularly impressive, having been read, the procession was reformed, four Free Masons carrying the coffin to near the town-house, when they were relieved by the Artillery. The shops were closed along the line of route.
Arriving at the cemetery, the firing-party were formed on either side of the grave, and after the service was read, the coffin was lowered by Mr. John Penn [this could possibly have been a son, John William Bethell Penn, who was born at Dunbar on the 25th of November 1867], the Earl of Haddington, Colonel Anderson, Major Pym, Captain Waldron, and other officers. Three volleys were fired over the remains of the deceased veteran — the band playing between each volley.
And thus, with all the solemn pomp of martial display, were the mortal remains of the Balaclava hero committed to the dust."
[PB: August 2015: John Penn's house was a destination for walking tours of Dunbar.]
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS — DISCOVER DUNBAR: SUMMER FOOT TOURS 2015
Lasting between 45 minutes and one hour, tours will be conducted by Roy Pugh, local author and historian who has published a major history of Dunbar...Tours will start from outside the Sparkly Frog boutique, No 92 High Street, highlighting important historic buildings such as the Tolbooth or Town House...The tour ends at the Crunchy Carrot, where Sergeant John Penn, survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava during the Crimean War resided from about 1864 until his death in 1886,
[Source: http://www.dunbar.org.uk/dunbar-history-tours/ (accessed 11.8.15).]
EJB: Much of what is known of John Penn's life and family after leaving the Army has been the result of joint research with his first cousin, three times removed, Mr H.L. Raymond, of Frodsham, Cheshire.
Census information for 1871 and details of the registration of marriage kindly provided by Chris Poole. The current editors are also very grateful to Chris for drawing attention to a number of images that he found online in East Lothian, e.g. at the John Grey Centre's Library, Museum and Archive, which has led to considerable further information becoming available.
See also the 17th Lancer file for an engraving and a full account of Penn's life in an article, "Private John Penn, 17th Lancers, with Eleven Honours From the Crimea", that appeared in the Illustrated London News, 26th of January 1856. This appears to be virtually identical to other accounts, e.g. Nolan's above, and an obituary below. Transcribe.
[PB, 11th August 2015 : Of exceptional interest is the reference in the catalogue of the John Gray Centre's Library, Museum and Archive to a manuscript account. I have contacted the Archivist.]
John Penn's Account Of His Life And Military Career, Particularly The Charge Of The Light Brigade
Ref No: EL146
Repository: East Lothian Archive Service
Date: c.1880
Description: Personal handwritten account of John Penn's Military career and his involvement in the Charge of the Light Brigade. The account was written for a solicitor who had rendered John Penn a service...
[PB, 9.09.2019: Did we get a response? Do we have a copy of the manuscript? I notice there is now an invitation online to request a digital version of JP's handwritten account. CONTACT THEM.]
HanitaR, 02/05/2019 at 11:18 am
Dear Mr Kilgour,
Thank you for your enquiry. There is a digital version of John Penn's handwritten account. Please email us at history@eastlothian.gov.uk if you have any further questions.
Best Wishes.
See more at: http://www.johngraycentre.org/collections/getrecord/ELCAS_EL146