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

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, 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. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

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 Go ...

Early life

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

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

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. There is also a soprano cor ...

into the

8th Light Dragoons The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. ...

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

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

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'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' ( ...

, Balaclava,

Inkerman Inkerman (; ; ) 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 the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within Ukraine. It lies 5 kilometres (3 miles ...

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

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a military action undertaken by British light cavalry against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, resulting in many casualties to the cavalry. On 25 October 1854, the Light Br ...

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, Russian Empire, Russia's principal naval base on the Bl ...

. 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 form ...

(1857–1858) in

Rajputana Rājputana (), meaning Land of the Rajputs, was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the entire present-day States of India, Indian state of Rajasthan, parts of the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and adjo ...

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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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 (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, 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 New Zealand Liber ...

, George Hollis 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 to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, 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 31 March 1901 "relating to the persons returned as living at midnight on Sunday, March 31st". The total pop ...

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.

"Compton House: Clement W. Heneage"
ancestry.co.uk, accessed 29 June 2022 Clement Walker Heneage died suddenly at Compton House on 9 December 1901.

Family

In 1865, Heneage married Henrietta Vivian, daughter of John Henry Vivian, of

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance ...

, Glamorgan, with whom he had one daughter and four sons. Their son Algernon became a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

admiral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heneage, Clement 1831 births 1901 deaths Military personnel 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 Burials in Wiltshire English justices of the peace