Famous Deaths for the Week of May 17-23

by Siggurdsson

 

Sgt. Major Edwin Hughes (1830-1927)
Picture taken c. 1873 (probably on his retirement)
(Unless otherwiseINDICATED, all illustrations are courtesy of Wikipedia)

This Week in Military History

May 18, 1927 – Troop Sgt. Major Edwin "Balaclava Ned" Hughes

Edwin Hughes was the last surviving member of the Charge of the Light Brigade when he died – he had achieved that status as of 1923. Hughes had been a shoemaker before he joined the 13th Light Dragoons in November of 1852. He sailed with his regiment to the Crimea in 1854.

On October 25, 1854 Hughes rode in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the battle of Balaclava, where his horse was killed under him, trapping his leg. Of the Charge, he later said, "I was on duty that day from four o'clock in the morning until after the charge in the afternoon. We rode out at the command straight for the Russian lines. Before we reached them, my horse was shot, and in falling on its side I got partially pinned underneath injuring my leg. I was assisted away."

Returning to British lines after the Charge, Hughes was put in charge of the Russian prisoners. He was also present at the battle of Inkerman on November 5, 1854 and throughout the siege and eventual capture of Sevastopol. At the end of the war he was awarded the British Crimea Medal with clasps for the battles of Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Sevastopol.

On November 24, 1873 he was discharged from the Army at his own request. He was presented with a marble clock and also awarded the medal for long service and good conduct. The day after leaving the Army Hughes enlisted in a mounted volunteer unit, staying as Sergeant-Instructor until January 5, 1886. He was discharged onACCOUNT of 'old age' (he was in fact aged fifty-five years).

Hughes married a woman called Hannah; they had two sons and two daughters together. One of his daughters never married, and in 1910 he went to live with her. Hughes was a member of the Balaclava Commemoration Society, and attended the reunions for survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1895, 1910, 1912 and 1913. He received a pension from aFUND, which had been set up for Chargers who had fallen on hard times, and was also granted a pension from the Royal Patriotic Fund. By 1923 he was the only survivor of the Charge still alive and in 1925 the various relief funds ran out. The War Office made a special grant to him, which he continued to receive until his death at age 96.

Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935)
Photograph by Lowell Thomas c. 1919

May 19, 1935 – T.E. Lawrence, "Lawrence of Arabia"

T.E. Lawrence was born in 1888, the second-eldest of five children. His father was a minor lord, and his mother was a housekeeper. The family moved around a great deal in his early life.

He attended Oxford for several years, studying History. Between 1907 and 1913, he roamed the Middle East, includingWORKING on several archaeological digs. When the "Great War" began, he eventually enlisted and was assigned to the British intelligence staff in Cairo, Egypt.

In 1917, Lawrence was seconded (wonderful British word) to the Arab Bureau of the Foreign Office. His assignment was to help Arabs of the Middle East foment a revolt against their Ottoman Turkish rulers. Using his intimate knowledge of the Middle East and Levant, he was one of the primary keys in knocking the Turks out of the war.

After the war, Lawrence became involved in the fight to give Arabia back to the Arabians. He ran afoul, however, with British and French colonialism. Returning to England as a full colonel, Lawrence worked in the Foreign Office for a time, later in the Colonial Office with WinstonCHURCHILL. In 1923, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force under an assumed name. However, he was forced out of the RAF when his identity was revealed.

Lawrence in 1926 published The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which combined theACCOUNT of his participation in the Arab Revolt, as well as essays on philosophy, military strategy, Arabian culture, and geography.

An avid motorcyclist, Lawrence died in May of 1935, when he was thrown from his motorcycle. He was buried at a nearby cemetery. A bust of Lawrence was placed in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral, London. His involvement in the Great War and the Arab Revolt was fictionalized in the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabiastarring Peter O'Toole in the title role, Alec Guiness, Anthony Quinn, Claude Rains, and Omar Sharif.

Marquis de Lafayette by Charles Willson Peale

May 20, 1834 –Marquis de Lafayette

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette was born September 6, 1757. Born in the province of Auvergne in south central France, Lafayette came from a wealthy landowning family. He followed its martial tradition, and wasCOMMISSIONED an officer at age 13.

He became convinced that the American cause in its revolutionary war was noble, and travelled to the New World seeking glory in it. Congress voted him a commission as a major general (after the Frenchman agreed to serve withoutPAY). He met George Washington in August of 1777, and the two men became fast friends. Lafayette served as the American commander's aide and confidant. He served at numerous battles of the American Revolution, notably Brandywine, Monmouth, and Yorktown. Lafayette was also present during the Continental Army's winter encampment at Valley Forge.

At the end of the war, he returned to France to high acclaim. He served in the Estates General, which eventually led to the formation of a National Assembly. After the Paris mob attacked the Bastille on July 14, 1789, Lafayette was appointed commander of the National Guard. When war with Austria was declared, he was appointed to command one of three French armies.

However, as the radicals (called Jacobins) began to take control of the French capital and the government, Lafayette was overcome by events. He eventually decided to attempt to flee to America, but was captured by the Austrians. He was a prisoner from 1792 until October 1797.

Lafayette was for a time a personna non grata to the radical French government. It even went to far as to seize and sell hisPROPERTY in Auvergne. He was involved in a number of anti-government moves, but otherwise lived quietly in France. In 1824 he was invited back to the U.S. for the nation's upcoming 50th anniversary. Lafayette made a grand tour of the country, to wild public acclaim.

He returned to France, and after the Revolution of 1830, Lafayette opposed King Louis-Phillipe – after supporting him – after the new king refused to honor promises to make a number of reforms. Lafayette died May 20, 1834, a hero of two nations.