A Classic
“Light Brigade Charger” group of four.
Crimea Medal
(Alma, Balaklava, Inkermann, Sebastopol)
Indian Mutiny Medal
(Central India)
LSGC, & Turkish Crimea (British Issue)


SERGEANT & FARRIER MAJOR,
JOHN DYER, 8th HUSSARS
“Took Part in The Charge of The Light Brigade at Balaklava on 25th October 1854”


This is a Classic Light Brigade Charger’s Group of four.
Seldom does one see such a fine and historically important group.

[THE MEDALS)
CRIMEA MEDAL
(Alma, Balaklava, Inkermann, Sebastopol)
FAR. MAJ, JNO. DYER. 8th HUSSARS
-Superbly Privately Engraved in Seriffed Block Capitals-




INDIAN MUTINY MEDAL
(Central India)
FARr MAJOR. JOHN DYER, 8th HUSSARS.
-Officially Impressed-




LONG SERVICE GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL
431.FARr MAJOR JOHN DYER, 8th HUSSARS
-Officially Impressed-



TURKISH CRIMEA MEDAL (British Issue)
FARIER. MAJOR. JOHN. DYER. 8th HUSSARS.
-Privately Impressed in neat Seriffed Capitals-






[JOHN DYER] (Biography)
21st November 1817- December 1868 (51)
John Dyer was a Wiltshire born man from Westbury near Trowbridge. Prior to his enlistment in 1833 at Gloucester he had been working as a trainee Blacksmith. Being aged only 16 upon joining the army he is recorded on his papers as “underage”. The first two years of his service were thus not counted towards his total years with the colours. He served with distinction in both The Crimean War & The Indian Mutiny.

From the time of his final discharge at age 45 in 1862 after 29 years “actual” service, he lived in the village of Holt near Trowbridge where he died aged 51 in early December 1868. His wife was Matilda Dyer.

[LIGHT BRIGADE CHARGER CRITERIA]
John Dyer was one of 47 “missing men” whose participation in The Charge of The Light Brigade is now correctly confirmed. Many “missing men” who did indeed take part in The Charge had been previously overlooked and omitted from early reference works due to the lack of early research capability & resources, and even more were omitted through incorrect & over-restrictive criteria.

These gallant men have now been correctly recognised, identified & fully confirmed as chargers after many years of wrongful omission. From about 1999, access to newly available & previously unseen records via the internet have combined with open, non-restrictive and correctly applied criteria to correct these omissions.

The intensive research carried out by E.J Boys and A. Sewell, led to their names being published and their true service updated in the much revised 2007 book, “Forgotten Heroes, The Charge of The Light Brigade” by Roy Dutton” (Page 97.) See further details below:

As with very many of the now fully confirmed chargers, John Dyer was not originally listed as a charger in the very early book, “Honour The Light Brigade” by Lummis & Wynn.
This once revered early book appeared 51 years ago in 1973 and although once thought of as “The Charger Bible”, it was later found to contain many now corrected errors and omissions, with at least 47 chargers being missed out.
It was in fact a greatly flawed publication which had been based on greatly lacking early research coupled with some quite ridiculous early qualification criteria & incorrect assumptions.

For instance, the original inclusion of a Charger’s name was quite oddly & incorrectly based on:


(A) A man’s membership of the Balaklava Commemoration Society of 1879 ….of which very many Chargers were never members.

(B) Participant confirmation was further based on the later attendance of Charge survivors who appeared at the annual association dinners & banquets in London between 1890 & 1913, ….which many men, particularly those who died early or were from distant parts of the country did not attend.

(C) Thus, any man not known to the 1879 Committee or who had *died prior to 1879* was excluded. John Dyer, who lived 150 miles from London and died eleven years earlier in 1868 was just one of those perfectly valid chargers whose names were omitted.

Thus, approximately 47 chargers were totally ignored by Lummis & Wynn and as such their early listings were highly inaccurate and were at best a poor early guess based on very crude, greatly unreliable and ridiculously restrictive criteria which wrongly excluded many men like John Dyer who actually charged on 25th October 1854.






[JOHN DYER]
John Dyer’s participation in The Charge is without question and has been fully confirmed by much research only made possible in modern times due to the availability & access to many previously unseen archival records via the internet since the early 2000’s. *An Additional Note* He no doubt charged alongside 1079, Pte James Dwan who was one of the junior Farrier Privates under his supervision.

The following interesting and service confirming obituaries also appeared in John Dyer’s local newspapers at the time of his death.

[THE TROWBRIDGE & NORTH WILTSHIRE ADVERTISER]
Saturday, December 12th 1868.
“ Death of a Hero, Our obituary today announces the death of one of the few that came safely out of the never to be forgotten charge of Balaklava, vis, Sergeant John Dyer of the 8th Hussars. He was through the whole of the Crimean campaign and in actual engagement with the enemy at Alma, Balaklava, Inkermann and Sebastopol (for which he received a Crimean medal and clasps) the whole of which he escaped without a scratch. On his arrival home the Indian Mutiny broke out and although he could have claimed his discharge, he was one of the first to volunteer his services, which were immediately accepted. Landing in Bombay, December 18th 1857, he went through the whole of the Mutiny and engaged actively with the rebels in eight separate engagements. He re-landed in England on November 13th 1862, and immediately received his discharge with a good pension. Since that time he has been living at Holt, Trowbridge, and by his great kindness, affability, and gentlemanly conduct, he gained the confidence and the esteem of the whole of the neighbourhood.”

[BATH CHRONICLE]
Thursday, December,17th 1868
HOLT - Death of a Veteran-
There has recently died in this village, Sergeant John Dyer, late of the 8th Hussars. The deceased went through the battles of Alma, Balaklava, and Inkerman, and was at the siege of Sebastopol. He was also in the memorable death charge at Balaklava, the whole of which he passed through without a scratch. On the conclusion of the Russian war, and the return of the regiment to England, he volunteered for the Indian mutiny, which he survived, and returned to his native village in 1862, where he resided till his death.

(PEDIGREE)
Glendining’s 2nd March, 1989. Lot 552, £2,100
DNW. 12th May, 1993. Lot 326. (unsold) est £2500-£3000

[ Note]
*Both these auctions took place 35 and 31 years ago, and were both 18 & 14 years before confirmation by E.J Boys and A. Sewell*

[SUMMARY]
If you have always wanted to own a really excellent Light Brigade Charger group, this is truly a “must have” and greatly desirable item to add to your collection.
Most Charger arrivals only ever appear as a ‘single’ Crimea medal, and after 170 years many of those have condition problems, so to see such a magnificent, intact and correctly named “four clasp”, four piece medal group is a greatly unusual situation.

One or two very minor edge bruises and contact marks.
Overall Good VF/EF with an excellent and original time developed patina. With service papers.







An exceptionally rare & good looking group.

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