Michael
Julien's Family History
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A
further piece
of information about my family background arises on my mother's side of
the family. Her grandfather Edward Richard Woodham was at
Balaclava
(Balaklava in the Ukraine) and survived the Charge of the Light Brigade
on 25th October 1854
where,
as a private in the 11th Hussars Regiment, he was one of the
glorious
"Six Hundred" who charged the Russian guns at Balaclava with the loss
of
some 450 men.
The "Charge" was immortalised by Tennyson in his poem: The Charge of the Light Brigade
Edward Richard Woodham went on to become Chairman of the Balaclava Committee who held a reunion dinner on Monday 25 October 1875 at Alexandra Palace in London to celebrate the 21st Anniversary of the Charge. The Illustrated London News of Saturday 30th October 1875 carried a full report of the proceedings and transcripts of the speeches which can be downloaded here: The Balaclava Banquet The file is in pdf format and is 2.89mb.
In the
report, there are also included recollections of the Charge by some of
the people who attended the reunion dinner. The recollections of
the Charge by Edward Richard Woodham are reproduced in the attached
file: Recollections
of the Charge by ERW . My great
grandfather Edward
Richard Woodham died on 12th December 1886 aged
55 and is now buried in Highgate Cemetery,
London
(Located
in “Square 121” number 27283).
Further
information about Edward Richard
Woodham
The
Hussars' museum has confirmed
that Edward Richard Woodham had enlisted in the 11th Hussars
in June
1847 and that after the "Charge" he had spent a short period in
hospital. The Bristol Town Council archive office has confirmed that
Edward
Richard Woodham was born on 20 February 1831 and his father (a cooper)
was born
on 18 November 1798. Both were born in
Edward
Richard Woodham and Maria Jane Blizard were married on 5 October
1864. They had four children including my grandmother Emma Maria
Woodham whose only son, Frederick Woodham Evans, served in the First
World War and died in action on the 26th May 1917. Frederick
Woodham Evans was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 21st
Middlesex Regiment and died whilst attached to the Royal Flying
Corps.. See citation here.
Birth
certificates obtained from the
General Register Office
at St. Catherine's House showed the following children:
Name
Born
District
Edward Richard Woodham
20
January 1862
Pancras
William Charles Woodham
14
December 1863
Emma Maria Woodham
02
August 1865
Alfred Cossham Woodham
04
December 1866
Other links of interest are:
