First-hand account of the Charge of the Light Brigade

[Mark]

Does anyone know what happened to the original document?

First-hand account of the Charge of the Light Brigade unearthed

A graphic first-hand account by the last survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade, describing his ride 'in the valley of death' during the Crimean War, has been unearthed.

By Nick Britten
4:13PM GMT 04 Nov 2008

Pte James Olley, of the 4th Light Dragoons, who was in the van of the 1854 cavalry action, tells of how he relentlessly fought the Russians despite having an eye blown out and a chunk of his head torn off.

The three-page document is believed to be one of the only eyewitness accounts by a frontliner and is expect to fetch about £2,000 at auction.

Pte Olley, who was aged 16 at the time, recalled how he charged into battle against the Russians and was shot through the left eye.

He added: "I still rode on and fought through the lines of the enemy."

He wrote: "A little further on my horse was shot down - I caught one of the horses, which was coming back without its rider who had been shot out of his saddle.

"I turned it round facing the enemy - I mounted it and rode down to the Guns, when I was attacked by a Russian Gunner who I cut down with my sword.

"I received a severe wound on my forehead which went through the skull bone.

"The man I cut down."

The account is a sobering antidote to the romanticism that has grown up around the disastrous charge into the face of Russian artillery by British cavalry under the command of Lord Cardigan during the Battle of Balaclava.

With such lines as "All in the valley of Death / Rode the six hundred", Tennyson's poem The Charge of the Light Bridge is a typical example.

Despite his injuries, Pte Olley, from Holt, Norfolk, lived until 1920, when he died at the age 82.

He wrote how he had raised the alarm that morning, having spotted the Russians advancing, before "every man was called to his horse".

"All the Light Brigade were soon in their saddles ready to do their duty or die - order was given to advance and back up the Turks."

After a couple of advances and retreats, they were ordered to charge the Russians.

Pte Olley said all went well initially before they were suddenly overwhelmed.

He wrote: "After a time we prepared to return when, to our surprise we found that we were overpowered by the enemy.

"When we got through we rode into our encampment what few there were left of us."

The document, signed and dated 1897, goes on sale at Ludlow Racecourse on November 6.

SOURCE: The Telegraph 4th November 2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3379015 ... rthed.html

[L. Braden]

It was evidently sold at auction in 1997. For more info, Google and Google Books: "james olley" "dragoons". And incidentally, he was officially listed as only "slightly" wounded, which calls into question his account - not that official records were always accurate!
Best Regards!

[Swordswoman]

Interesting, Mark - thanks for posting.

I share some of L Braden's doubts, at least on the way it's been hyped. The 4th LD were NOT in the front line, or even in the next. They were in the support line under Lord George Paget. It's certainly misleading to describe it as 'one of the only eyewitness accounts by a frontliner' when we have so many from REAL frontliners in the 17th Lancers and 13th Light Dragoons.

But it is possible he was the first to raise the alarm. The 4th were indeed on picquet duty that morning (they were the lot who got jumped at Kamara because they'd gone to sleep), and he might have been one of the signalling vedettes. I hope whoever bought this will transcribe the full content for us all to read.

Louise