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

The Telegraph ^ | 11/4/08 | Nick Britten

[bruinbirdman]

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.

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.

[skeeter]

Now, THIS is cool.

[LasVegasMac]

Very nice!

Thanks for the post!

[arderkrag]

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.

I like how they tried to sneak this through, as though the account suddenly transforms an age-old tale of courage and the duty of soldiers into a piece of Vietnam war fiction written by a jaded, disgruntled amputee drafted Veteran living in an overpass.

[BGHater]

Not the same without Kipling or Tennyson

The Charge Of The Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The Last of the Light Brigade by Rudyard Kipling

[ottbmare]

How could he continue to fight if he had an eye shot out? Wouldn’t he be lying on the ground screaming and writhing? And especially if he got a saber cut that went through his skull—most people lose consciousness after a blow that’s not hard enough to fracture, much less cut through, their skull. It’s incredible, in both senses of the word. But I confess that I don’t understand the way men fight.

[uglybiker]

G³ ping.

[Zechariah11]

bookmark

[uglybiker]

One word:

Adrenaline.

[bruinbirdman]

Somebody was trying to kill him?

yitbos

[arderkrag]

Some thoughts -

I've heard, though I can't remember where, that woulds such as these, to exceedingly vital parts of the body near nerve centers can send the body into overdrive survival mode. He could have had the eye shot out from an angle, where the bullet would have whizzed just past the nose , punctured the eye, and kept going, then received a shallow puncture to the forehead. Also, consider that those blows that knock people out generally have to be delivered to certain parts of the head, despite what TV has taught us, and that by leaving the skull intact, those blows transfer enegry to larger parts of the brain than a puncture wound could. The human head can put up with a lot more punishment than people realize, especially when your adrenaline is already pumping at large levels.

[Only1choice____Freedom]

But I confess that I don’t understand the way men fight.

Some things are worth more than money.

Some things are worth more than my own life.

Some things are worth dying and killing for.

That's why men fight.

Some to gain. Others to defend.

In the end, everybody has their own battles. Nobody gets out unscathed.

The real question is: what side are you on?

-And are you willing to put yourself out there?

[TET1968]

This is what we in the trade refer to as an “ EPIC FAIL “

[RichInOC]

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Private James “Mongo” Olley.

[Tublecane]

Wheel right, damnit! You can’t assualt artillery directly with calvary.

By the way, Tennyson’s poem wasn’t romantic in the sense that he presented everything as rosy. The author of this article obviously has a very shallow sense of what the term “romantic” means. The poem is all about contrasting the beauty of duty against the horror of the suicidal charge.

“’Forward, the Light Brigade!’
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some one had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die”

Sure sounds “romantic,” doesn’t it?

[Eternal_Bear]

There was also a successful charge by the Heavy Brigade on the same day. Seriously.

[snippy_about_it]

Read “Lone Survivor” about our Navy SEALs in Afghanistan. You’ll learn and be amazed.

[KeyLargo]

Cooking house 8th Hussars.

[Grizzled Bear]

You'll take my life but I'll take yours too
You'll fire you musket but I'll run you through
So when your waiting for the next attack
You'd better stand there's no turning back

The bugle sounds as the charge begins
But on this battlefield no one wins
The smell of acrid smoke and horses breath
As you plunge into a certain death

The horse he sweats with fear we break to run
The mighty roar of the Russian guns
And as we race towards the human wall
The screams of pain as my comrades fall

We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground
And the Russians fire another round
We get so near yet so far away
We won't live to fight another day

We get so close near enough to fight
When a Russian gets me in his sights
He pulls the trigger and I feel the blow
A burst of rounds take my horse below

And as I lay there gazing at the sky
My body's numb and my throat is dry
And as I lay forgotten and alone
Without a tear I draw my parting groan

[TexasRepublic]

I can match that — below is a link to a unique recording (1890) of Kenneth Landrey, the trumpeter of the Light Brigade. He introduces himself and plays the charage on the very same trumpet!

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10204/10204-m/10204-m-001.mp3