Lacy Walter Giles Yea (May 20, 1808–June 18, 1855) was a British Army

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, known for his role 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 ...

, where he was killed in action.

Early life

Born in Park Row,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, on 20 May 1808, he was eldest son of Sir William Walter Yea, second

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Pyrland, near

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

, Somerset, who married, on 24 June 1805, Anne Heckstetter (d. 1846), youngest daughter of Colonel David Michel of Dulish House, Dorset. Lacy Yea was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. He was commissioned as ensign in the 37th foot on 6 October 1825, obtained an unattached lieutenancy on 19 December 1826, was appointed to the 5th Foot on 13 March 1827, and exchanged to the 7th (

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

) on 13 March 1828. He served with it in the Mediterranean and America, becoming captain 30 December 1836, major on 3 June 1842, and lieutenant-colonel on 9 August 1850.

Crimean War

In 1854 he went out in command of the Royal Fusiliers to Turkey and the Crimea, with a reputation as martinet. At the

battle of Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) took place during the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septe ...

his regiment was on the right of the Light Division, and became engaged with the left wing of the Kazan Regiment, a deep column of fifteen hundred men. The Fusiliers held their own against this column when the rest of Sir William Codrington's brigade had fallen back, and at length forced it to give way. The regiment lost twelve officers and more than two hundred men. Yea received a letter of congratulation from Sir Edward Blakeney, who had led the regiment at Albuera, and was now its colonel. At the

battle of Inkerman The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, and w ...

the Fusiliers, as part of Codrington's brigade, were on the slope of Victoria ridge, acting on the right flank of the Russians, but not very heavily engaged. Yea was mentioned in despatches of 28 September and 11 November, and was made brevet-colonel on 28 November. During the hardships of the winter his care of his men was exemplary. In the summer he had command of a brigade of the Light Division during the

Battle of the Great Redan The Battle of the Great Redan (or the ''Storming of the Third Bastion'';Konstantin Staniukovich, Staniukovich K. M. ''Севастопольский мальчик'': Издательство "Cоветская Россия"; Moscow; 1985 ) w ...

. In the assault of the Redan on 18 June 1855, he led the column directed against the left face. It consisted of a covering party of a hundred riflemen, a ladder party of about two hundred, a storming party of four hundred men of the 34th, and a reserve of eight hundred men of the 7th and 33rd. Leaving the latter under cover for the time, he went forward with the rest. They had a quarter of a mile of open ground to cross under

grapeshot In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of a collection of smaller-caliber round shots packed tightly in a canvas bag and separated from the gunpowder charge by a metal wadding, rather than being a single solid projectile ...

. Yea reached the

abattis An abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a field fortification consisting of an obstacle formed (in the modern era) of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy. The trees are usually interlaced ...

with the wreck of his parties, but there he was shot dead. His body was brought in next day, and he was buried on the 20th. Yea was praised by

Lord Raglan Baron Raglan, of Raglan in the County of Monmouth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 October 1852 for the military commander Lord FitzRoy Somerset, chiefly remembered as commander of the British troops ...

, in his despatch of 19 June; and by Sir William Codrington, then commanding the Light Division, to Yea's sisters. His eldest sister put up a marble monument to him in his parish church of Taunton St. James's, Somerset.
headstone
marked his grave in the cemetery at

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

. Yea was unmarried. His father survived him, dying on 20 May 1862, when the baronetcy passed to Lacy's younger brother, Sir Henry Lacy Yea (d. 1864), third and last baronet. The township of

Yea, Victoria Yea ( ) is a town in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia north-east of the state capital Melbourne at the junction of the Goulburn Valley Highway and the Melba Highway, in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. In an area origina ...

, Australia, was named in honour of Colonel Yea

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yea, Lacy Walter Giles 1808 births 1855 deaths British Army colonels British military personnel killed in the Crimean War People educated at Eton College Military personnel from Bristol Royal Fusiliers officers Heirs apparent who never acceded British Army personnel of the Crimean War