Clement Walker Heneage, VC (6 March 1831 – 9 December 1901) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

officer and a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

forces. In later life he was a justice of the peace and

High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held '' ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local G ...

Early life

Heneage was born in 1831, the eldest son of George Heneage Walker Heneage, the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between St ...

from 1838 to 1857.

Army career

In August 1851, by purchase, Heneage was commissioned as a

Cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...

into the

8th Light Dragoons The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, ...

and on 3 September 1854 was promoted to Lieutenant. He was soon serving in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

and was present at many engagements of that campaign, including the battles of

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...

, Balaclava,

Inkerman Inkerman ( uk, Інкерман, russian: Инкерман, crh, İnkerman) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is ''de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but '' de jure'' within Ukraine. It ...

, Tchernaïa, and the Siege of Sevastopol. He rode in the

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimea ...

at the

Battle of Balaclava The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), an Allied attempt to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russia's principal naval base on the Black Sea. The en ...

. In May 1857, he was promoted to Captain. At the end of the Crimean War, Heneage proceeded to India with his regiment, which took part in suppressing the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

(1857–1858) in

Rajputana Rājputana, meaning "Land of the Rajputs", was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, as well as parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and some adjoining areas of Sindh in modern-day ...

and Central India. He was present at the capture of Kotah, the reoccupation of Chundaree, the battle of Kotah ke Serai, the capture of Gwalior and of Powree, the battle of Sindwaho, and the action of Koorwye and Naharghur

Victoria Cross

Heneage was 27 years old, and a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the 8th Hussars, during the Indian Mutiny when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 17 June 1858 at

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, Captain Heneage took part in a charge by a squadron of the 8th Hussars. Four men in this action, Heneage,

Joseph Ward Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and Uni ...

George Hollis George Hollis VC (October 1833 – 16 May 1879) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Details ...

and John Pearson were awarded the

, the joint citation reading as follows:

Later life

Heneage retired from the army in 1868. He succeeded to the family estates on his father's death in 1875, and "devoted himself to the life and duties of a country gentleman" in Wiltshire. He was appointed

for 1887. He lived at Compton House,

Compton Bassett Compton Bassett is a village and rural civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of approximately 250. The village lies about north of Cherhill and east of the town of Calne. Parish church The Church of England parish churc ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...

, and in the

1901 United Kingdom census The United Kingdom Census 1901 was the 11th nationwide census conducted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and was done on 31st March 1901 "relating to the persons returned as living at midnight on Sunday, March 31st". The total ...

his occupation was stated as justice of the peace. At that time he had thirteen servants, including a butler, a cook, a coachman, a groom, and two footmen. Clement Walker Heneage died suddenly at Compton House on 9 December 1901, and is buried in St Swithin's churchyard, Compton Bassett.

Family

In 1865, Heneage married Henrietta Vivian, daughter of John Henry Vivian, of Singleton, Glamorgan, with whom he had one daughter and four sons. Their son

Algernon Algernon may refer to: * Algernon (name), a given name (includes a list of people and characters with the name) * Algernon Township, Custer County, Nebraska See also * Treaty of Algeron, an agreement signed by the United Federation of Planets and ...

became a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

admiral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker-Heneage, Clement 1831 births 1901 deaths People from Wiltshire People educated at Eton College 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars officers British Army personnel of the Crimean War British recipients of the Victoria Cross Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross Deputy Lieutenants of Wiltshire Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford High Sheriffs of Wiltshire British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross