Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Captain Edward Stanley 57th Foot, killed in action at the battle of Inkermann

Crimea 1854-56, 3 clasps, Balaklava, Inkermann, Sebastopol (Captn. Edward Stanley 57th Foot) contemporary Hunt & Roskell style engraved naming; Turkish Crimea 1855, British issue (Captn. Edwd. Stanley 57th Regt.) with replacement rings for suspension, some edge bruising, otherwise good very fine £900-£1,200

Edward Stanley, Senior Captain of the 57th Regiment, was killed in action at the battle of Inkermann, 5 November 1854 (London Gazette 22 November 1854, refers). He was commissioned Ensign in the 57th Foot on 8 May 1835; Lieutenant, 10 June 1838; Captain, 29 December 1845.

‘On arriving at the scene of action, Sir George Cathcart's small force [approximately 1700 men] was at once split up and sent in different directions, the 57th and a wing of the 20th advancing, under Brigadier-General Goldie, by the ruined camp of the 2nd Division, all torn up and devastated by the Russian artillery, on to the right of the Ridge.

The fight had been raging now with the greatest fury on both sides for some time, the troops of the light and 2nd Divisions, although greatly outnumbered, fighting desperately amid the brushwood with which the sides of the Ridge were covered, against the masses of Russians that from time to time advanced against them.

Brigadier-General Goldie, on reaching the Home Ridge, at once advanced with the wing of the 20th and gallantly charged a body of Russians advancing against the right of it, while the 57th were ordered to lie down in front of the centre of the breastwork erected on the crest, and protect the guns there which fired over their heads. Whilst here several casualties occurred.' (History of the 57th Regiment, refers).

After more intense fighting the British managed to reach the summit of the Ridge, and once in position were ordered to hold to the last, 'the state of affairs was now very critical, as there were only some 600 infantry left to hold the Ridge, and protect the guns there, and the Russians were preparing for a concentrated attack on this important point. Their guns opened a heavy fire on the troops holding the breastwork, and caused great havoc among them. Within a short period Brigadier-General Goldie (who had already been slightly wounded and had his horse killed), Captain Stanley, Lieutenant Hague, Colour-Sergeant Hewitt, Sergeant Gree, and many men of the 57th were struck down.’ (lbid).

The following memoir was published in James Gibson’s Memoirs of the Brave, London, 1889:

‘Stanley (Edward), Senior Captain of the 57th Regiment, is deeply lamented. His death on the field of Inkermann, nobly sustaining the high reputation of his country, was a fit termination of a life devoted to military enterprise. Captain Stanley, who claimed descent from the illustrious house of Derby, was son of John Bacon Stanley, Esq., of Dublin; and nephew of Sir Edward Stanley, High Sheriff of that city, who was knighted at Dublin Castle, on the occasion of the jubilee of the 50th year of the reign of George III. When very young, being fond of a military life, he entered the service of the Queen of Portugal, and distinguished himself in action at Oporto, in July 1833, where he received a severe wound in the arm. He continued to serve in Portugal and Spain until 1835, when the order of the Tower and Sword (if Portugal) was conferred on him as a reward for his gallantry.

‘The following anecdote connected with his appointment to the British army is authentic:- Prince William Henry, when a midshipman, was present at a ball in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and, being struck with the charms of a young lady present, selected her for his partner in a country dance, at the conclusion of which he laughingly told her that if he should ever attain power, she need only send him a copy of the music of that dance, accompanied by a request, and that he would, if possible, attend to any demand so authenticated. Years rolled on. The lady married, became a widow, and a grandmother. Prince William Henry became King William IV. On the return of Mr. Stanley from Spain, in 1835, he expressed a wish to join the British Army, on which his grandmother forwarded a copy of the music to His Majesty, accompanied by a letter reminding him of his promise, and concluding by asking for an Ensigncy, without purchase, for her grandson. In a very few days she was honoured with an autograph letter from the King, stating his perfect remembrance of the dance and the promise referred to, and his intention to accede to her wish with respect to the nomination of her grandson to an Ensigncy, which accordingly took place in May 1835. Captain Stanley joined the 57th Regiment at Madras, the same year, and served with it ever since. Had he survived the battle of Inkermann, he would have succeeded to a Majority without purchase. He married, 22nd April 1851, Jeannette Edmiston, fifth daughter of William Balfour, Esq., Captain R.N., of Trenaby, Orkney, who survives him.’