Reminds me of the old poem Chap. "The great Gaels of Ireland are the men that God made mad, For all their wars are happy, and all their songs are sad."
your never too old to learn something new great that you cover these forgotten parts of history thank you. I live 10 miles from the church and never knew he was buried there I will stop by soon and say thank you to a brave man.
Wow incredible video. An incredibly distant relative (my 3rd cousin 7 times removed or something ridiculous like that) was killed in 1858 serving with the Royal Navy in the "Baltic Campaign". When I was searching for anything on him (mainly his first name) I found your channel, I have been binge watching your videos for the past week, production quality is incredible as well as your narration skills.👏👏
Glad to see this channel getting more subs, he's definitely earned it. If I could request/suggest something. I know the channel deals mostly (or has lately) with topics related to British Colonial battles but I was wondering if any Napoleonic Wars content is on the horizon. There is a video on Trafalgar but I figured the Peninsular Campaign would be very fertile ground for content on this channel. Anyway, I Iook forward to whatever topics are upcoming. Cheers!
Jon, thanks for taking the time to comment. Yes, I want to "expand the envelope" towards the Napoleonic wars in one direction and WW1 in the other. So watch this space!
Another great story from you Chris. My military history knowledge is expanding everyday thanks to you. You bring these characters to life so well. Thank you!
Wow, that puts a new meaning having a medal pinned to your chest! Literally by Queen Victoria! Lucas was a brave man who deserved his place in history. Well done, amigo y nnos vemos pronto.
If I remember correctly there is a village in Northumberland named Bormundsland which is very near Ashington. Its the home of both the Rutherford Cancer Centre and also Earth Balance
Yous are correct about the village although I didn't know about Rutherford Cancer centre and Earth Balance. I understand it was named after this campaign.
@@TheHistoryChap thank you for your kind words. As i studied history to S level under my tutor Mr Jolly, a misnomer if anything was, I enjoyed his forthright comments and obtuse facts. May you go on and make further vlogs about Military History.
Bomarsund may be forgotten in Britain but it’s certainly not forgotten in Åland. Ruins of the fort still stands today and there is a small museum at the site.
Hi Chris the Cannon which supplied the metal for the VC's are at Woolwich Arsenal,They are Chinese and have there CASTICALS CUT OFF, i HAVE SEEN AND TOUCHED THEM ,THERE ARE TWO OF THEM.Cheers
And thank you Chris - most interesting - I have just subscribed as I have learned a lot from you about some amazing people who's names and deeds have been lost in time - cheers mate
Really enjoying watching your work. Yet another interesting video and well presented. Have you thought about doing one on Noel Chavasse? He was the only man to be presented with two VC’s during the Great War. If you get a chance read ‘Chavasse double VC’ by Ann Clayton. I stumbled upon this book by chance and couldn’t put it down. An amazing man from an interesting family.
Thank you! - Half a mile from where I live in Northumberland, there is a village called Bomersund (pr by the locals 'Boomersund' - I now know why it was named so!
My grandfather found an old newspaper in the roof of an old house he was renovating, it was from the mid 1800's, in it there was an article describing how a navy ship found a floating metal sphere and hoisted on to the deck to inspect, the captain had no idea what it was and hit it with his cane, which set off the mine and killed everyone around it 💥.
Great one again Chris . I'm really glad that I found your channel. By way of a request I think that the Yangsi incident and H M S Amythyst would be worth a go.
The importance of the Baltic campaign is consistently underrated by historians. It was of far more strategic importance from the Russian point of view than the little irritation in the Crimea, which then was of little economic significance and very remote from Moscow or St Petersburg. As the King of Sweden said when he heard that the Crimea was where the greater effort was being made by Britain and France, "why tread on the Tsar's toe when you can punch him in the head?". The Russian realisation that Sveaborg had been flattened without the loss of a single man on the Allied side - let alone a ship - made them recognise that despite the "torpedoes" as mines were called then, Kronstadt would fall in 1856 which left St Petersburg completely defenceless against bombardment or invasion. Time to sue for peace. In a way it was an early example of a politically correct war - it achieved its aims with hardly any loss of life, certainly on the Allied side. But the British public being the British public, they have preferred ever since to dwell on the incompetence of the army in the Crimea and the tales of heroic but pointless derring-do such as the Charge of the Light Brigade.
Well done with the video as usual. First off, nice photo you had in there of Constantinople. A Beautiful looking city, in contrast to the complete drab it looked like back in 1854. Second, I would like to point out as for the picture of the Charge of the Heavy Brigade, the helmets the British cavalrymen wore looked identical to the pickelhaubes the Prussians and later the Germans used. Lucas should have been given the first Victoria Cross at Hyde Park. The British had a ridiculous system back then. It was so nice of Hole to ask Lucas to look after his daughter when he died. It just showed how much he owed him for saving all those lives and the ship. It was so beautiful he married and had three kids with her. That is a very strong bond. It was amazing Lucas lived to see the beginning of the First World War, the first European war Britain had fought since the Crimean War which Lucas had fought in. As for the Admiral Napier and Captain Hole, I should say, overall not too bad. It could have turned out a whole lot worse if inexperienced commanders had been involved. Chris, I cast my vote for a video on the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir.
@@TheHistoryChap I am trying to identify him but his name escapes me presently but I think there was an Irish doctor that was awarded a VC during the Maori Wars of the 1860's and then was awarded a French decoration as a volunteer in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.
Really interesting, as always, Chris ,did you know about the soldier who had his Victoria Cross taken away from him? No it's not a joke, it happened. And the Irish soldier, who was awarded the VC due to his actions at the Battle of the Somme .
My father was interested in the Battle of Navarino because one of our relatives was there. In Worthing, West Sussex, there is a Navarino Road in its memory. Would be interesting to see a piece on the battle
An idea for you is to cover the British role in the Boxer rebellion and the siege of Peking that was made into a movie 55 Days at Peking with Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner.
How did the navies communicate back then and in particular the Royal Navy to the Admiralty back in London? Again how did the Royal Navy coordinate with the French Fleet to meet up and sail together? What was their mode of communication?
George, I think Michael Campin has given a good answer. Technology would have meant telegrams were possible between London and Portsmouth and vice versa, but after that it would be messenger ships, flags and semaphore lamps.
Excellent presentation, like always ! Not only do we learn what it takes to get a Victoria Cross, but also about Bomarsund - never heard of today, but actually of some importance not only for Sweden or Finland, but for Russian military thinking as well.. The Russian occupation of Fårö and indeed all of Gotland in 1808 was just a foreshadow of what Stalin was to do with Hangö and Porkkala, which stayed occupied by the Soviets until 1956. We also have the matter of the Soviet occupation of Bornholm in 1945, short-lived and almost farcical, like it was. Bomarsund, and Åland however was much more in earnest, as far as old, tsarist Russia goes. Less talked about today is that the Anglo-French actions during the Criean war ultimately would lead the Swedish Social Democrats and foreign affairs minister Richard Sandler to the "1921 Åland Convention" in which the Åland islands and archipelago was supposedly de-militarized for all time, and as in 1917, the Swedish Government gave up every attempt to intervene on behalf of the Swedish speakers on Åland, and indeed all of Finland, where at least some 100 000 non-bilingual citizens remain to this very day. Since of 1945, Finland has posted so-called "border guards" on Åland, and de-militarisation is no longer an issue, should both Finland and Sweden become full NATO members - something which still hangs in the balance, even as this comment is being written. Thus, the actions of the Royal Navy during the Crimean War, let alone those of Charles Davis Lucas, are well worth remebering... see Wikipedia "Bomarsund" entry for details, or en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_%C3%85land
Great Job ! Reminds me of how I earned the respect / loathing of my Regiment in Germany . I singlehandedly lured an extremely attractive but wanton & expensive Frau out of our Pub in Germany in 1984 ( " Katie's Pub , Butzweiler Germany ) ! I picked her up , and carried her outside to a waiting cab and took her to a secure location . God only knows how many of my buddies I saved that night ? Chris , sometimes we have to sacrifice ourselves for the good and Honor of the Regiment . I'm getting a little misty in the eyes right now ( Sneezed and crying Boo Hoo ) and my back still hurts from that night ( bending over and moaning , moan moan moan ) , so take care and if you want to use my story ( just make me British / Irish / Scottish , Aussie or any combination of the four ) you have my permission . Thanks again !
Just a note...No on 'win's these awards...the are recipients of the VC/MOH. As I was informed by the MOH society...it's not a game and no one is a winner. Recipient is the proper term.
Interesting video. There’s a situation in one of the Horacio Hornblower novels that I wouldn’t be surprised was inspired from how Lucas was awarded his VC. You made me curious about who was the first Canadian to be awarded the VC. Turns out it was Colonel Alexander Roberts Dunn who was the first Canadian to command a British Army regiment. He was part of the Charge of the Light Brigade and it was his actions helping to rescue a couple other soldiers that he was awarded the VC during the same ceremony as Lucas. Died pretty young unfortunately in mysterious circumstances. Murder? Suicide? Clumsy handling of his weapon?
@@TheHistoryChap Yes, kind of surprised me to find out a Canadian was part of that infamous charge. Now I’m wondering how many more Canadians were involved with the Crimean war.
@@TheHistoryChap I thought I should clarify my first post. Dunn was a LT at Crimea. It wasn’t until 1868 that he became a Colonel and commanded a British Regiment at Abyssinia. I didn’t realize Canada created its own Victoria Cross in 1993 and so far it hasn’t been awarded to any recipients.
There is a fabulous captured Russian gun from the Crimean War in Armagh. I had often wondered why it had been awarded to Armagh. Perhaps this was the reason.
@@TheHistoryChap There are Brunswick and Blucher estates in Newcastle. I suppose Brunswick after the Brunswick regiment at Waterloo, together with the Prussian field-marshal, if that was his rank.
Thank you for another great video , but why show a maroon ribbon for hi VC when in the RN as with the RM ie Corporal John Prettyjohns VC who ha a BLUE ribbon ????
I know I shouldn't, but I can't help laughing at Sardinia being involved. "It was a war between this super power and other super powers, oh and Sardinia was there too." I know they would soon go on to form Italy, but it just seems so out of place listing them alongside such huge nations.
@@TheHistoryChap Aye, it was a nice diplomatic move to get what they wanted. A participation reward in a way. It reminds me a little of Japan in WW1. They had a minor participation (compared to the others). Then in the peace talks their reward for participation is they get to keep German territories they had captured (which is what they had wanted).
Judging from the amount of MOH’s awarded at Gettysburg, I think the proper criteria for nominating recipients was originally much less restrictive. I was going over some of the recipients citations and noticed 6 Union NCO’s awarded the MOH for the same reason. Volunteering to deal with a house that had Confederate sharpshooters who were engaging the 6th Pennsylvania Reserves. Wasn’t really much details in their citations that seemed to justify the MOH so I bought a few books that I hoped would have more information. I found very little mentioned about the incident. I then corresponded with one of the Gettysburg Rangers/Historians who saId he looked into this himself some years ago and again, found very little additional information. He’s positive it happened but it seems pretty odd that unit records didn’t elaborate more. Doesn’t seem like there was much of a fight. More like they persuaded the Confederates to surrender. They all received the MOH’s around 30 years after the battle. By contrast Joshua Chamberlain, who’s actions at Little Round Top are well known also had to wait 30 years before receiving his MOH. Later the rules tightened up enough that I believe it’s pretty similar to what’s required for the VC.
@@mako88sb at sometime way after the CW, they tightened the rules, and reviewed a bunch of cases, a bunch of Mow were withdrawn. Not sure when that was though.
As you said he was only fourth in line to get the medal on the day, but by date, he was the first. Am I correct when I say this? Judging by the Queen's attempt of pinning the medal maybe just as well, lol.
The Scots Guards won The first Army VCs first due to Lt Lindsay, 2nd Lt Scott and L/Sgt Mckechnie by saving the. Colours tab from the Russians at Alma with some other Guardsmen. although he was awarded when returned after being hospitalised, he was charged by his colleague Lt Lindsay of not being properly dressed as his tunic was Collarvif tunic not properly fitted, hi kerb chain was pinned up on his bearskin and his trousers legs were turned up, for which he was punished. The first to get the VCs were Navy Men.
Every time I hear the name Lucas , I think of the joke. “Why do the British drink warm beer?” Because Lucas makes their refrigerators. No disrespect to this brave man
I thought the VCs were made from a cannon ball recovered in the Crimea War ?? I remember Jeremy Clarkson doing a documentary on the VC and he had something in there about a cannon ball in the jewelry store vault.
