Description
Crimea Medal, Clasp: “SEBASTAPOL”, officially impressed to “LIEUT. W.P. BROWNE. ROYAL FUSILIERS.”. VICTORIA REGINA, Diademed Head of Victoria left, date below / CRIMEA, Roman Warrior stands forward, head turned right, being crowned with a laurel wreath by winged Victory.
William Pryce Browne served with the Royal Fusiliers of the British Army, being formally known as the 7th Regiment of Foot after 1751 until being changed once more during Childers Reforms of 1881. Originally raised in 1685 by George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth, it was first named the ‘Ordnance Regiment’ and was tasked with being an escort for the artillery – as a consequence they were armed with flintlock fusils over the traditional matchlock muskets of the time to remove the risk of igniting the open-topped barrels of gunpowder. The regiment would serve throughout the centuries in many campaigns of note such as the Battle of Vigo Bay during the War of the Spanish Succession, the American War of Independence and the Napoleonic Wars.
After a period of roughly 40 years of inaction (following the Battle of Toulouse 1814), the Victorian Era saw the Royal Fusiliers amongst the first regiments ordered to be brought up to war strength for service in Crimea. The early Spring of 1854 saw the Regiment raising to full establishment and drilled into a smart and strong military force, consisting of 8 Captains, 14 Lieutenants, 5 Staff, 46 Sergeants, 15 Drummers, 850 Rank and File, and 25 women – under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Walter Lacy Yea. They embarked from Southampton aboard the transport ‘Orinoco’ to Scutari, where they formed the Light Division with several other brigades, later embarking aboard the HMS Megaera toward Crimea.
Although the Royal Fusiliers saw action at the Battle of Alma in September of 1854 and the Battle of Inkerman in November 1854, William Pryce Browne was only present at the siege of Sebastopol. On the 9th of March 1855, Browne was promoted to Ensign (a rank later replaced by ‘second lieutenant’) and had at this point served for 4 years in the Army.
Following the death of Lord Raglan, the commander of the British troops in Crimea, on the 28th of June, reinforcements were sent to the front; several officers, including Brevet-Lieutenant Colonel J.R. Heyland, and Lieutenants C.E. Hope, J. Gardiner, O. Colt and William Pryce Browne, joined the Royal Fusiliers on the field on the 7th of July. A few days later a draft of 4 sergeants, 2 Drummers and 82 Rank and File, under Lieutenants Beauchamp and H Plummer, also arrived in camp. The Baron’s death was a combination of severe dysentery and depression – the declining mental health of the commander an unfortunate result of several failures such as the fateful Charge of the Light Brigade and the current poor standings at Sebastopol. The war effort progressed very little from the monotonous back and forth of trench warfare until the 5th of September in which the allies started their last and most severe bombardment of the fortress; three hundred and seven cannons fired 150,000 rounds over the course of several days, with the Russians suffering 2,000 to 3,000 casualties daily. The advance commenced thereafter, with victory only achieved after French forces seized the Malakoff redoubt, making the Russian defensive position untenable. The fall of Sebastopol would ultimately lead to the Russian defeat in the Crimean War, although at the heavy cost of Allied casualties. Following these events, William Pryce Browne would be formally promoted to Lieutenant on the 19th of August 1855.
The Royal Fusiliers would return to England from the Crimea on the 27th of June 1856 and immediately be deployed to India on the 21st of July the following year. It is recorded that Browne later served in 1860 during the Second Opium War with the 11th Punjab Infantry, a British Indian infantry regiment raised in 1857. It is unclear when Browne transferred to the 11th and therefore unknown if he served with the 11th as early as 1857-58 during the Indian Mutiny, or later in what capacity during the close of the war in China in 1860. Browne’s service records are needed to confirm details.
Medal loose, quite field marked from circulation/wearing. Service records required. Credit to Royal Fusilier documentation compiled by J.P. Kelleher 2013 for specific regiment information and Hart’s Army List (1839-1915). Assuming Kelleher’s information about Browne later serving in China is correct, he would be eligible for an additional service medal – this offers an opportunity for the future collector to complete the group. Very Fine or better.