Charles Lumley

He stormed the Redan and led his men despite his deep wounds

Charles Henry Lumley (1824 to 17 October 1858) was an officer of the 97th Regiment of Foot, later the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment. He entered the Army in 1844, became a lieutenant in 1848 and a captain in 1854. During the Crimean War his regiment served in the trenches before Sevastopol, the Russian fortress city that British, French, and Ottoman forces besieged for nearly a year.

On 8 September 1855, British troops stormed the Redan, a heavily defended Russian earthwork on Sevastopol’s outer line. Lumley was among the first soldiers to enter the work. Three Russian gunners were reloading a field-piece; he shot two with his revolver. The third struck him with a stone, briefly stunning him. Lumley recovered, drew his sword, and urged his men forward, but a bullet struck him in the mouth and severely wounded him. The assault cost the British heavily and became one of the final major attacks before Sevastopol fell.

Lumley received the brevet rank of major and France’s Légion d’honneur for his Crimean service. His Victoria Cross was announced in the first major group of awards published in February 1857. At the inaugural VC investiture in Hyde Park on 26 June 1857, Queen Victoria presented him with the decoration. Promoted to major later that year, he was posted to St Mary’s Barracks at Brecknock, near Brecon, Wales. He died there in October 1858, aged 34, and was buried in Brecon Cathedral churchyard. His medals are held by the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum in Maidstone.

Victoria Cross citation (excerpt)

“For having distinguished himself highly by his bravery at the assault on the Redan”...

Source: The London Gazette, 24 February 1857, issue21971, page661. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/21971/page/661/data.pdf