Hastings Edward Harington

Bengal Artillery | Indian Rebellion of 1857 | Victoria Cross

He was wounded repeatedly, twice believed dead, and still returned to his guns.

Captain Hastings Edward Harington VC was one of the young Bengal Artillery officers whose courage was tested in some of the fiercest fighting of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. His military career lasted less than a decade, yet it carried him through Delhi, Lucknow and a succession of actions that left him scarred by bullets, illness and relentless campaigning.

Harington was born at St Peter Port, Guernsey, on 9 November 1832. Educated at Reading School and the East India Company Military Seminary at Addiscombe, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Bengal Artillery on 12 June 1852. He sailed for India later that year and began the demanding life of an artillery officer in the service of the East India Company.

When rebellion spread across northern India in 1857, Harington was drawn into a campaign marked by siege warfare, forced marches, close-range artillery fighting and extreme heat. He served during the operations around Delhi and later advanced with Greathed’s column through northern India. His campaign carried him through Bulandshahr and Agra before he joined Sir Colin Campbell’s force moving towards the besieged British position at Lucknow.

Between 14 and 22 November 1857, Harington served during the Relief of Lucknow. The fighting forced British and Indian troops through fortified buildings, enclosed compounds and narrow approaches swept by enemy fire. Artillery had to be brought forward at close range, often under direct fire from concealed defenders.

It was during these operations that Harington earned the Victoria Cross.

His award was made under Clause 13 of the original Victoria Cross Royal Warrant. This provision allowed a body of servicemen to elect one of their number when all had displayed conspicuous gallantry and it was impossible to distinguish one man above the others through the normal recommendation process.

Harington was selected by his fellow Bengal Artillery officers for conspicuous gallantry during the Relief of Lucknow. His official citation was brief:

“For conspicuous gallantry at the Relief of Lucknow, from the 14th to the 22nd of November, 1857.”

The words reveal little of what those days demanded. Later accounts describe Harington serving his guns under exceptionally close enemy fire and risking his life to assist a wounded soldier. Major General Sir George Bourchier believed that his conduct during the campaign could have justified more than one Victoria Cross.

The Relief of Lucknow did not end his service. Harington continued campaigning during the later operations for the capture of the city and in the pursuit of rebel forces. He was wounded several times during the rebellion, including injuries to his foot, thigh and upper body. One bullet remained lodged in him and eventually required surgery in Britain.

Harington returned home in 1859 to recover from his wounds. On 8 June that year, Queen Victoria personally presented him with the Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace. He had survived repeated injuries and some of the hardest fighting of the rebellion, but he was still only twenty-six years old.

After treatment and partial recovery, Harington returned to India in October 1860. He could have remained safely in Britain, yet he chose to resume his military career. He later accompanied the Sikkim Field Force and was appointed Adjutant of the 6th Battalion, Bengal Artillery, at Agra. He was promoted captain in February 1861.

His complete recorded medal entitlement was small but historically powerful: the Victoria Cross and the Indian Mutiny Medal 1857–1858 with the clasps Delhi, Relief of Lucknow and Lucknow.

The Indian Mutiny Medal traced the course of his campaign from the recapture of Delhi to the relief and later capture of Lucknow. The Victoria Cross recorded something greater: the judgment of fellow officers who had witnessed his courage under fire and considered him worthy of Britain’s highest award for gallantry.

There were no Jubilee medals, Coronation medals, long-service awards or later Orders. Harington did not live long enough to receive them. The strength of his ribbon rack lies in its restraint: one supreme decoration for valour and one campaign medal carrying three clasps from a brutal and defining conflict.

After surviving bullets, artillery fire and repeated wounds, Harington died from cholera at Agra on 20 July 1861. He was buried in Agra Cemetery. He was only twenty-eight years old.

Captain Hastings Edward Harington VC lived a short life, but not a small one. His courage was tested in the smoke, confusion and close-quarter fighting of Lucknow. His Victoria Cross was not only awarded by authority. It was confirmed by the judgment of those who had shared the danger beside him.

Forgotten by too many. Never by us.