Photograph by Tim Willasey-Wilsey.
William Pearson was born on 2 October 1826 (the blue plaque shown on the right is not quite accurate in this respect) at the former Mitre Hotel on King Street, Penrith, Cumbria. Having grown up into an adventurous young man, he left his job in the leather trade and made his way to London, where he joined the 4th Light Dragoons in 1848. He is recorded as having been "five feet eight inches tall, with a fair complexion, hazel eyes and light brown hair" (Bancroft 38). A few years later, the Brigade was sent off to fight in the Crimean War.
Pearson survived the battles of Alma and Inkermann, to fight his last battle at Balaclava, where he was one of those who advanced in the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade on 25 October 1854:
During the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava his horse stumbled over another that had fallen and he had to mount a rider-less horse of the 8th Hussars. He had an epaulette shot from his shoulder and returned from the affair with a wound to his forehead. The severe Crimean winter left Pearson with frost-bite. He spent Christmas Eve 1854 having four toes amputated. He was nursed by Florence Nightingale at the hospital in Scutari before being invalided home. [Bancroft 38].
Florence Nightingale Receiving the Wounded at Scutari — 1856 — The Mission of Mercy, by Jerry Barrett (1824-1906).
Pearson's letter to his parents was published in the Kendal Mercury of 2 June 1855, and tells how he hopes to be in England soon: "yesterday there was a board of doctor examined me and several more of my poor comrades who had been wounded. We expected to have left here this week, as they have returned us not fit for service; so, dear parents, I hope to be in Old England this month if God spares me so long" [qtd. in "Shadows of Time"]
Discharged from service and granted a pension, Pearson got married in 1855, having met his future wife at a ball in honour of Crimean heroes. He settled down in Cumbria again, and raised a family, retaining his interest in the army and picking up his trade in the leather business. Having had the honour of being presented to the Queen in the year of his marriage, he was, and still is, celebrated locally. He was living in Kendal when he died at the ripe old age of 82, and was buried as a soldier hero in Parkside Cemetery. The Penrith and Eden Museum has some memorabilia in its collection, including his service medals, one with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkermann and Sebastopol.
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Bibliography
Bancroft. James W. The Light Brigade at Balaclava. Eccles, Manchester: The House of Heroes, 2001.
"Local Personalities." Penrith and Eden Museum. Web. 24 August 2024. https://www.eden.gov.uk/leisure-culture-and-events/penrith-and-eden-museum/museum-collections/local-personalities/
"Shadows of Time: Genealogical Services and Information. Web. 24 August 2024.
Created 24 August 2024