Hastings Edward Harrington

Captain Hastings Edward Harington VC

Bengal Artillery | Indian Mutiny | Victoria Cross

Captain Hastings Edward Harington VC was one of the young artillery officers of the Bengal Army whose courage was tested in some of the hardest fighting of the Indian Mutiny. Born on 9 November 1832, he was educated at Reading School and at the East India Company Military Seminary at Addiscombe before entering the Bengal Artillery. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 12 June 1852 and went out to India as a young officer in the service of the East India Company.

When the Indian Mutiny broke out in 1857, Harington was drawn into a campaign of extraordinary hardship and violence. He served through the Siege of Delhi and, after the fall of the city, marched with Greathed’s Column toward Cawnpore. He was present in the fighting at Maligurh Fort, Aligarh, and Agra, and later served during the operations for the Relief of Lucknow.

It was at Lucknow, between 14 and 22 November 1857, that Harington earned the Victoria Cross. The award was not made in the usual way for one isolated act witnessed and recommended by a commander. Instead, Harington’s VC was one of the early awards made under Clause 13 of the original Royal Warrant of 29 January 1856. That clause allowed the Victoria Cross to be awarded by election when a whole body of men had shown conspicuous gallantry and it was difficult to single out one individual above the rest. In such cases, the men who had shared the danger chose the recipients themselves.

Harington was therefore not merely decorated by authority; he was chosen by the judgment of those who had served beside him. Alongside Edward Jennings, Thomas Laughnan, Hugh McInnes, and James Park of the Bengal Artillery, he was elected for conspicuous gallantry during the Relief of Lucknow. For a soldier, there can be few higher forms of recognition than the vote of comrades who had seen the fire, the fear, and the courage for themselves.

During the campaign Harington was wounded more than once. One wound left a bullet lodged in his back, forcing him home to England for surgery. After the bullet was removed and his health partly restored, he returned to duty in India in October 1860. He could have remained safely at home, but instead chose to resume service.

His medal entitlement was simple but powerful: the Victoria Cross and the Indian Mutiny Medal with three clasps: Delhi, Relief of Lucknow, and Lucknow. There were no Coronation medals, Jubilee medals, Crown orders, or long-service decorations. His life was too short for such honours. The strength of his rack lies in its restraint: one supreme award for valour and one campaign medal marking the brutal road through Delhi and Lucknow.

Harington was later appointed Adjutant of the 6th Battalion, Bengal Artillery, at Agra. After surviving Delhi, Lucknow, repeated wounds, and the long campaigning of the Mutiny, he died not in battle but of cholera at Agra on 20 July 1861. He was buried in Agra Cemetery. He was only 28 years old.

Captain Hastings Edward Harington VC lived a short life, but not a small one. His Victoria Cross was earned in the smoke and chaos of Lucknow, and confirmed by the men who knew best what courage had cost.

Forgotten by too many. Never by us.