Charge of the Light Brigade Survivor
Posted in Trips, War Graves at 20:30 on 16 September 2020
In St Deiniol’s churchyard, Hawarden, I noticed a sign pointing to a Crimean War grave. Naturally I made my way to it.
Not only was Thomas Ryan, “a native of Kilkenny and late Troop Sergeant Major in HM XVIII Lancers,” present at the Battles of Alma, Inkerman and Sevastopol* he was at Balaklava* and was no less than a survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade!
Whom – as his gravestone has it – “God’s high grace saved from death in the memorable light cavalry charge at Balaklava.”
Strictly speaking this is not a war grave as Ryan came back from Crimea and, “took his final discharge on October 20th 1908, aged 88 years.”
A wonderful thing to come on out of the blue, though.
*As the spellings were then.
Tags: Battle of Alma, Battle of Balaclava, Battle of Balaklava, Battle of Inkerman, Battle of Sebastopol, Battle of Sevastopol, Charge of the Light Brigade, Crimean War, Hawarden, St Deiniol's Churchyard, War Grave
