Edit .... sorry I put this on the wrong thread !!
As my Dad is at Widnes cemetery ... I thought I would look for Thomas Wright !!
Widnes has been home to many old soldiers, but few were more distinguished than
Private Thomas Wright........ He took part in the famous charge of the Light Brigade, and this year is the 100th anniversary of his death.
Gordon Barker's grandmother was Private Wright's cousin, and Gordon now possesses the few remaining items that tell his story.
Private Thomas Wright was born in Warrington on December 3, 1830, and in 1851 enlisted in the 17th Lancers, 'The Death or Glory Boys'.
At the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War the British cavalry of the Light Brigade, including the 17th Lancers were ordered to retake the Causeway Heights from the Russians.
The 673 men were cut down by artillery and musket fire and only 195 men escaped unscathed. From the 17th Lancers, only 35 out of 145 of them made it back. French soldier General Bosquet commented: "It's magnificent, but it is not war."
After campaigning in the Indian Mutiny and in numerous other battles in the Crimean war, Private Wright returned home and eventually settled at 1 Luton Street in 1896.
He worked for a time as a night watchman at the Widnes Corporation, the forerunner of Halton Borough Council.
After his death in May 1902 a special head stone was unveiled, and there was a service in 1954 to celebrate the centenary of the battle.
Gordon,of Ganton Close in Farnworth, said: "I will pass these books and medals on to my grandchildren, not because they are valuable, but because they are a bit of history.
"It's just nice to know someone in your family was associated with such a historical event."
http://archive.messengernewspapers.co.uk/2002/6/26/193496.htmlCan't find a picture of the headstone yet - but heres the cemetery .....
