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


IN PROGRESS - NOT FOR PUBLICATION.

HORSES, DOGS (& OTHER ANIMALS) &
THE CRIMEAN WAR



DOGS

RSM LOY SMITH'S CHICKEN

"Even sergeant majors could be tender-hearted. In the Crimea George Loy Smith took over 'a little Tartar chicken' from the RSM of the 1oth Hussars. It had been intended as dinner, but became a pet, living in the sergeant major's tent, coming when whistled and following him like a dog. Loy Smith made a perch for it on his tent pole, and it lived happily with him."

[Source: ?]

SHEEP

There is a report that when Soame Gambier Jenyns returned to England he brought with him a "ram, a magnificent and docile creature" that had " made friends with the soldier soon after it was found in the Crimea, and it followed him around just like a dog." It featured as the "Crimean Ram" in the celebrations in his home town of Bottisham in 1856:

"The Divisional Police — Crimean Ram [sic] — Brass Band — The carriage containing the gallant soldier — and about 30 other gentlemen in carriages. The ram, a magnificent and docile creature, made friends with the soldier soon after it was found in the Crimea, and it followed him around just like a dog."

[Source: Cambridge Independent Press, Huntingdon, Isle of Ely, Bedfont, Peterborough and Lynn Gazette, 6th of September 1856.]

To follow up

Gough Calthorpe's horse "Prodigy" — hoof made into a presentation box — in the Royal Armouries: blog.royalarmouries.org/tag/balaklava/ (13 September 2011).

Anthony Dawson (Letters, p.220) mentions a HORSE TOBY whose body was returned to England to be buried. Did anybody in the Light Brigade do the same?

Note 81. Probably Lieutenant John Glas Sandeman (1836-1922): gazetted to the 1st Royals as Cornet 10 June 1853. During the Charge of the Heavy Brigade, his horse Toby was killed under him. He had Toby's body shipped to England to be buried at Hayling Island where the Sandeman's resided.

Collecting to link us with time gone by

The preserved hoof of a horse that survived the charge of the light brigade is likewise not visible to the public for much of the year.

It is owned by Archie Graham-Palmer, who lives in Cefn Park, a historic house near the outskirts of Wrexham and belonged to a horse ridden by his ancestor Sir Roger Palmer.

Recounting the story, Mr Graham-Palmer told how Sir Roger escaped by the skin of his teeth after charging head-first into an artillery battery.

He said: "The only reason he survived was because, once he got past the Russian guns, the Russian officer assumed it was all over and the British had won.

"He handed Sir Roger his sword. In all the confusion of dust and gunfire, the officer hadn't realised how badly the Light Brigade had come off."

Thanks to the Russian officer's confusion, Sir Roger, and his horse Bob, survived. Bob's preserved hoof is now displayed in the billiard room and can only be seen when the house — which is still privately owned — is opened to the public on special days.

[Source: Rhian Waller, "Collecting to link us with time gone by", 12 November 2014, News North Wales, newsnorthwales.co.uk/news/140623/collecting-to-link-us-with-time-gone-by.aspx.]

For further information, or to express an interest in the project, please email the editors, Philip Boys & Roy Mills, via info@chargeofthelightbrigade.com