Tribute to survivor of Charge of the Light Brigade
WALKING through Cathays Cemetery in Cardiff, the sheer size and number of gravestones can be overwhelming.
The assortment of people buried in the city’s largest cemetery reflects the colourful history of its diverse population.
Amongst the rows of headstones is one particular example that exemplifies this, the grave of John Henry Harding.
For decades, nothing more than a small wooden cross marked Harding’s grave, making it easy to miss. In spite of its simplicity, it contained a fascinating story linking Cardiff to one of the most infamous chapters in the history of the British army – the Charge of the Light Brigade.
Now, 135 years since his death, a special memorial to Harding has been unveiled at his resting place in Cathays Cemetery, reigniting interest in his story.
Born in 1831 in Somerset, Harding spent most of his early life in Bath, where he worked as a servant, before he enlisted in the army in 1850 aged 17. From here, Harding went on to fight in the Crimean War, which the British were fighting against Russia at the time. Fighting in Alma, Balaclava and Sepastopol, Harding saw all of the conflict’s major engagements with his regiment – the 13th Light Dragoons.
It was serving with the Dragoons, a cavalry regiment, that Harding was ordered to charge the Russian army at an artillery post they had recently captured and prevent them from taking the guns.
What happened next was one of the most infamous military blunders in history.
Unbeknownst to the more than 600 men who charged down the valley toward the guns, someone in command had botched the orders – the Light Brigade were galloping towards the Russians, but they were heading towards the wrong artillery battery.
Vastly outnumbered and faced with fire from heavy Russian guns, it was a suicide mission. Only 195 men out of the original 670 returned on horseback. In total, 118 men and 335 horses were killed, 127 men were wounded, and another 60 were taken prisoner.
In the weeks afterwards, the doomed attack was immortalised in the famous poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Harding, one of the survivors that day, remained in the army for several years, arriving in Cardiff in around 1870 and joining his father and brother who already lived in the city.
He went on to run some of the city’s pubs, initially taking over the Gardeners Arms on City Road, which he renamed the Military Canteen, and later running a similar pub on Wyverne Road in Cathays. However, Harding was struggling.
After 16 years in the city, he died in poverty in 1886, aged 55. Despite his death’s sad circumstances, Harding’s funeral was a big occasion, with his funeral cortege led by around 70 soldiers from the Welch Regiment. However, marked only by a small wooden cross, his story has remained relatively well hidden over the years, familiar mostly to those in the know.
But on Tuesday, a special headstone was unveiled at the site of Harding’s grave after the Friends of Cathays Cemetery were approached by a retired Light Dragoons officer to see if it would be possible to provide a more permanent memorial.
“This memorial to John Henry Harding will not only preserve his story and his memory which were at risk of being lost, but also links Cardiff to one of the most well-known military engagements of the 19th century,” said John Farhill, treasurer of the Friends of Cathays Cemetery.
He added: “It is said that Cathays Cemetery is the history of Cardiff set in stone and that each stone has a story to tell.”