Description
Indian Mutiny, no bar, William Cuthbert, 52nd Light Infantry, Regimental Tailor who was shot whilst cleaning his Officers Pistol in 1857 after returning from the Battle of Trimmu Ghat.
“That evening one of our poor fellows shot himself; he was cleaning one of the officers’ revolvers, and in showing the mechanism to a brother soldier the pistol went off and killed him instantly. As I was on duty that day I had to bury him.
He was sewn up in his bedding, a grave was dug, the firing party told off, and I took the funeral, the first but not the last on service.
It was a solemn scene – the wide desolate plain deserted by everything except the gorging vultures and the howling jackals.
I read part of our beautiful burial service, beginning at ‘Man that is born of a woman;’ then 3 volleys were fired, and all was over; we marked the place by a wooden cross, but next year when I passed by even this little record was gone.”
A young Reginald Garton Wilberforce (1838-1914), recalls the sombre event as a serving officer in the 52nd in his book, “An unrecorded chapter in the Indian Mutiny”.
Officially impressed: “W. Cuthbert 52nd L.I.”
Confirmed on the medal roll which confirms his presence at Trimmu Ghat noting “Actions at Trimmu”, and remarks: “Accidentally Shot on 16th July 1857”.
One of 781 medal to the regiment, however due to his early death he never took part in the Siege of Delhi, being one of only 45 recipients of the no bar medal, he was one of the 52nd’s first casualties and was noted by Wilberforce as the first burial ceremony.
Provenance, ex DNW 14th April 2021 £650 + fees, the medal being sold from the Collection of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum.
The 1895 Regimental Chronicle recalls;
“The man here referred to accidentally lot his life thus; On the 16th July 1857 (not the 15th as given in that book), after returning from an engagement on an island in the Ravee, an officer gave his revolver to Private William Cuthbert (D, or Captain Crosse’s Company), to take home.
During the day, Cuthbert, who was sitting down in the corner of the tent at the time, handed the revolver to Bartholomew Ryan to look at; while he (Ryan) was examining it, the weapon went off accidentally and shot Cuthbert dead.
Those two men were Regimental Tailors, and strong comrades for years. Indeed, poor Ryan never did much good in the corps after the deplorable occurrence, for he seemed ever after to take the affair very much to heart.
William Cuthbert had a sister married to R. McChesney, as Sergeant of F (Capt Bayley’s) Company and drill instructor; he is not long dead, he was on the Militia Staff of the Chatsworth Rifles.
If any of his friends or relations should ever read the ‘Unrecorded Chapter etc’ I wonder what they will think of the new version. The author goes on to tell in a most pathetic manner how he read the burial service on the 15th, over the man who was a much in…”
William served in the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot, later known as the Oxs and Bucks.
The regiment had not fought a battle in many decades before seeing deployment into action in the Indian Mutiny in mid 1857.
They saw much fighting against rebels on the Ravee from 12-16th July taking part in the Battle of Trimmoo Ghaut or Trimmu Ghat.
The regimental history makes special note of the gallant men from Captain Crosse’s Company, with whom Cuthbert served with in their report of the battle:
“On the 14th July the rest of the regiment marched back in the evening back to the Ravee, to attack the remainder of the rebels on the Island.
On the 16th two boats having some difficulty been procured, the regiment crossed the river at daybreak, and formed in the following order –
2 Companies extended, 2 in support, 2 in reverse.
The advance was made over swampy ground, covered with high rushes, and on approaching the gun which the enemy had now brought to bear on the advancing skirmishers, they succeeded in discharging two grounds of grape, but without effect.
As they were in the act of reloading CAPTAIN CROSSE’s company charged and took the gun, bayoneting some 10 or 12 of the enemy who remained to defend it.
The remainder fled, pursued by the 52nd, and were shot down or drowned in the river. The village which they had occupied was then burnt, and the troops returned to camp and marched back to Goordasepore at 2 o’clock the next morning…
.. This utter rout of the Sealkote mutineers was looked upon as the consummating stroke to quash any rebellion in the Punjab.”
In the aftermath of the battle, it was when Cuthbert needed to clean his Officers pistol which had been used in the fighting when he died.
