Alma, Inkermann, Balaklava, Sevastopol...

I took this photo because of the crisp easy to read writing. Here is his inscription below.

I have fought a good fight
ALMA, INKERMAN, BALAKLAVA, SEVASTOPOL
THOMAS RYAN,
A NATIVE OF KILKENNY, AND LATE TROOP SERGT MAJOR
IN H.M. XVII LANCERS,
"Whom God's high grace saved from death"
in the memorable light cavalry charge
at Balaklava, and during the perils
of the Crimean campaign, took his
final discharge on OCTr 20th 1908
AGED 88 YEARS

As you can read from the grave he has fought many battles and in addition not only survived the Crimean war but lived to be 88 years old.

This grave is in St Deniol's Churchyard, Hawarden. Initially I could find nothing and was about to give up when I found this in the Liverpool and Merseyside Military
" Troop Sergt Major RYAN, Wellington St, Shotton-in-Hawarden, enlisted 17th lancers at Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Sebastopol, Crimea medal, 4 bars, Turkish medal. At the charge of the light brigade at Balaclava he rode as Sergeant in D Troop of the famous, "Death or Glory Boys." his Capt being Hon Godfrey MORGAN [Lord TREDEGAR]. Sgt RYAN had 3 horeses killed under him in the charge and his 4th mount was so badly wounded that it dropped on his return to our lines."

Imagine what this guy went though in all these battles, having horses killed under him as he charged, and yet came through it all and living to the grand old age of 88 years.


There is some additional information about the 17th Lancers here Their cap badge is frightening enough! If you go down to the Crimean War bit you will see some info on the battles this guy fought although he is not mentioned here.

Just in case my link doesn't work here is the Crimean War bit below from Wikipedia

"The 17th had been stationed in Britain since 1823 when the Crimean War began in 1854. The 17th was part of a combined British and French expedition assembled to support the Ottoman Empire in its war with Russia. The intention of the expedition was to invade the Crimea (in present-day Ukraine) and capture the naval base of Sevastopol.

The 17th was part of the Light Brigade, under the command of Major-General Lord Cardigan, which landed with the British forces at a place known as Calamity Bay. It took part in a minor skirmish at the Bulganek River and subsequently took part in the Battle of Alma on 20 September.

During the Siege of Sevastopol (which began in September) the 17th Lancers took part in the Battle of Balaklava on 25 October. During the battle, the regiment took part in a cavalry charge that became known as the Charge of the Light Brigade, which spawned much controversy and indeed a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The Russians captured redoubts on the Causeway Heights, which held some British artillery. The army commander, Lord Raglan, issued an order for the Light Brigade to attack there before the guns could be taken away by the Russians. The order was sent via Captain Louis Nolan to Lord Lucan, commander of the Cavalry Division. It is believed, however, that Nolan misinterpreted the order as an order to attack Russian artillery in the valley between the Fediukhine Heights and the Causeway Heights. It has been speculated[18] that Captain Nolan, an authority on cavalry tactics, actually directed Lucan toward the wrong guns in order to test his tactical theories, although this view has not found wide currency.

'Charge of the Light Brigade', Painting by Richard Caton Woodville (1825–1855) (you will have to look at link to see this painting)

Lord Cardigan then ordered his Light Brigade to began the advance at a trot, with the 17th and 13th Light Dragoons leading the Brigade, heading into a concentration of Russian artillery, infantry and cavalry. The Light Brigade advanced to their objective and came under heavy artillery fire from all sides, which inflicted many casualties. The Brigade, upon nearing the enemy, then went into a full charge. The 17th Lancers, commanded by Captain William Morris, drove through the Russian artillery before smashing straight into the Russian cavalry and pushing them back. The Light Brigade were unable to consolidate their position, however, having insufficient forces (the Heavy Brigade had not advanced further into the valley) and had to withdraw to their starting positions, coming under artillery and musket fire and cavalry attack as they did so.

Despite the mistakes that culminated in unnecessary loss, the charge reasserted the renown of the British cavalry, to such an extent that Russian cavalry refused outright to confront them in battle for the duration of the war. The 17th Lancers suffered quite heavily. Of the 147 men of the 17th, just 38 were at the roll call the following morning. The Light Brigade as a whole suffered 118 men killed and 127 wounded out of a total of 673 men and 362 horses lost, effectively destroying the unit as a fighting force.

The 17th took part in the Battle of Inkerman on 5 November, although only in a minor role. It did not return home with the conclusion of the war in 1856.

After the inception of the Victoria Cross (VC) in 1856, three members of the 17th received the award for acts of gallantry in the charge: These were Troop Sergeant-Major John Berryman, Sergeant-Major Charles Wooden, and Sergeant John Farrell."