Indian or Royal Navy, or neither?

Most accounts, albeit from Newspapers, have him leaving England for India in March of 1855. His entry in the Register of Certificates of Competency for Masters and Mates at Kew seems to confirm his departure from these shores on 22^nd March 1855, from Irvine, Ayrshire, on a voyage to Madras on the "Hastings", the second of his two trips to Madras in the Spring of that year. His Register entry appears also to confirm his leaving the English merchant service in the statement (admittedly not too clear) "Dis^d Calcutta 25/7/55", from the "Hastings". The Newspaper accounts seem to have him then joining the Indian Navy, as a Master or Sailing Master.

We hear nothing then till he is "Appointed into the Service by Captain Campbell, borne on the books of H.M.S. "Calcutta" on 31^st July 1858"¹⁸. What was he doing in that interval - 3 years? The Indian Mutiny started in May 1857, yet the same accounts have him "....... joining Peel's Naval Brigade as soon as the fighting started", not 15 months later. He is also variously referred to as "Acting Master" or "Acting 2^nd Master" in allusions to the Indian Navy (which ceased to exist in 1863).

Again, the newspaper accounts have him in action at various places, before the action leading to his V.C. - one goes so far as to say he was promoted to "Master I.N." as a result of his "bravery under the walls of Delhi, and was frequently mentioned in the Bombay and other Journals". Even allowing for media hyperbole and exaggeration of the day, there must be some underlying truth here.

His file at the War Office²³ has three pencil notes in the margins of the papers therein, by E Pennington, apparently a Civil Servant in the War Office concerned with ascertaining the veracity of claims for the Victoria Cross. These notes clearly state that he was NOT in the Indian Navy, at least at the time of the action at Suhejnee. One such note states "This is a mistake. I have ascertained that he is not in the Indian Navy. EP". This of course led to his being awarded the V.C. under Queen Victoria's "civilians" warrant of December 1858 (enacted incidentally AFTER his Deed of Bravery for which he was granted the medal), in that he was a Civilian Volunteer acting under military command.

However, in March 1860, he was "given command of H.M. Schooner "Emily" 90 tons (2 guns)", which was an Indian Navy ship according to Colledge²¹. So by then he must have had some official status within one of these armed forces, most likely the Indian Navy rather than the Royal Navy, although command of a 90-tonner must have been a bit of a come-down for someone who had previously been Master of the "Hastings", a 595-tonner. Perhaps his lack of experience in Naval ships as opposed to merchantmen persuaded his masters not to allow him a more substantial or prestigious Man-of-War.

Another problem is in the time gap between his Gazetting in April 1860 and the "posting" of his medal to his father at Shadwell TWO years later in March 1862. Why the long wait? They knew he was dead, lost on or with the "Emily" in May 1860. Were they waiting to sort out Baker, his colleague in the action at Suhejnee, whose status under the royal warrants was not sorted out until February 1862? Or perhaps they could not locate his next-of-kin, who has proved to be most elusive in that time period.

The Deed of Bravery:

The Area:

Although I have not yet found either Suhejnee or Dahree on a modern atlas of Eastern India, Buxar and Jagdispur are clearly there, about 30 miles apart, and 10 miles to the south of Jagdispur is a place called "Piro", which is likely to be the Peroo mentioned in the despatches. Indian place names were often spelled phonetically by the British at the time. Buxar is about 65 miles east of Benares, on the River Ganga (Ganges), and the area where the particular action took place is in a sort of peninsula between the Rivers Ganga and Son, with its tip just west of Dinapore where those two rivers meet.

A Captain (later Commander) Batt appears to have been in charge of operations at Buxar, having relieved Sotheby's "Pearl" Naval Brigade, and he describes several actions around the villages of Dumraon and Chaugain in August 1858 wherein he used "the two Naval Brigade guns" to disperse large numbers of the enemy. These two villages are midway between Buxar and Jagdispur. It would appear that Captain Batt was in charge of No.3 Detachment, presumably of a Naval Brigade, or maybe Indian or British Army.

The records seem to say that Chicken was appointed "into the Service" (which??) by a Captain Campbell on the 31^st July 1858 on the books of H.M.S. "Calcutta", although I have yet to find the source of this statement. Accounts then go on to say that Chicken was doing duty at Fort William (near Calcutta) for eight months, and then, on the 23^rd March 1859, he left for Buxar to join No.3 Detachment, taking with him a party of seamen to replace the sick and dead of No.7 (Detachment of the Naval Brigade?) stationed at Dehree (Dahree). I have not yet located Dahree, but presumably it was close to Buxar.

These dates introduce a serious anomaly - if Chicken did not leave Fort William till March 1859, eight months after being "signed up", how did he manage to win a Victoria Cross in an action in September 1858?

Also, I think it is fairly clear now that Chicken did NOT serve with Peel's Naval Brigade. The latter's men were from the "Shannon", operating largely in Western India, whereas Chicken was apparently acting amongst men from the "Pearl", to which he had seemingly attached himself. I have found no references to clarify under whom he was actually serving, or from whom he was receiving his orders. It appears to me that he was a bit of a loose cannon, but he must have been subject to some military hierarchy somewhere, if only to receive his pay, clothing and rations. For instance "doing duty at Fort William" would imply he was under the jurisdiction of whoever was Commanding Officer there. I wonder if there are any records extant which would reveal who this person was, and whether there was a Muster Roll for that post which may give clues to Chicken's movements during this period.

BUT, the eight months of duty quoted does not tally with the other dates. If he only "joined the Service" aboard the "Calcutta" in July 1858, he could not have done eight months duty at Fort William before leaving Buxar to join the detachment which led to his involvement in his V.C. action in September 1858! But, an eight month duty may well have given him time to commit the various deeds of bravery "around Delhi" and elsewhere mentioned in the Bombay and other journals.

The Action:

At this time (presumably the summer of 1858), Brigadier Douglas C.B. was engaged with his field force keeping open the communications on the Grand Trunk Road to the westward of Dinapore, and a Lieutenant-Colonel Turner was in command of a small column, which on the morning of the 27^th September 1858 halted at the village of Khurona for breakfast before attacking the enemy, who were encamped in force at a small village called Suhejnee, near Peroo.

Chicken happened to be just then at Dahree, on his way to Buxar, and when Colonel Turner detached his cavalry, 54 troopers of the 3^rd Sikh Irregular Cavalry under Lieutenant Broughton, and 68 men of Rattray's mounted police, under Lieutenant Baker, Chicken attached himself to the column. On encountering the enemy, the action began, and Baker's tactics caused the mutineers to break off and flee. This was not ideal cavalry country, but Chicken pursued the fleeing rebels, swam his horse across a deep and wide nullah, galloped through the village of Kussowlie, and on through two miles of sugar-cane and jungle into the deep tangled recesses beyond. Some of the best mounted sowars (native troops) accompanied Chicken, but when he had plunged 500 yards into the jungle he found himself alone facing about 20 armed and desperate mutineers. The accounts do not reveal whether or not the mutineers were mounted too, although the term "sowar" was used to denote native cavalry soldiers, whereas "sepoy" referred to native infantry. The mutineers are generally referred to as "Sepoys".

Chicken immediately fell into the middle of them, and he killed four and desperately wounded a fifth before being felled by blows and thrusts from musket stocks and bayonets. Just as he fell from his charger, severely wounded, four of the native troopers dashed into the melee, killed several more mutineers and dispersed the rest, and then rejoined the column at the skirts of the jungle, taking Chicken with them

Chicken and the four sowars were all wounded in the action, as were their horses, and the sowars received for their bravery the 3^rd Class "Order for Merit". As we know, Mr Chicken and Lieutenant Baker received the Victoria Cross for their deeds, Colonel Turner speaking of the charge as being "as gallant as any made during the war". However, Baker's part in this action is problematic, and controversial - he wrote his own account, on which the award of his V.C. was based, and about which substantiation appeared to be somewhat lacking. Perhaps this was why it took two years for the award of his medal to be confirmed, only after which was Chicken awarded his!!

The Aftermath:

Mr Chicken returned to Calcutta on the 30^th November 1859, presumably having been treated for and recuperated from his wounds in some unspecified place, and in the following March 1860 was appointed to the command of the "Emily", of ninety tons and three guns. What had he been doing for the eighteen months between September 1858 and March 1860? "He proceeded to sea in May, but soon after leaving the Sandheads (presumably off Calcutta) the little schooner was overtaken by one of those tremendous gales that periodically strew the shores of the Indian Peninsula with a thick fringe of wrecks; a steamer was sent to look after her, but neither the gallant Commander, nor his ship, nor his crew, was ever heard of more, and there can be little doubt that she foundered at sea with all hands on board". Only Low ¹⁸ mentions this unsuccessful search by a steamer for the wreck, and his source is regrettably not given. If the ship was "lost with all hands" in a tremendous gale, how did anyone know where to look? Or even when? There was no radio or SOS system available at that time. Were bodies subsequently washed up off Sandheads? Was Chicken's body ever recovered from these shark-infested waters and buried ashore somewhere? Does he have a grave??

And what about the mysterious comment attributed to Mrs Pratt in his Imperial War Museum file? ".... Chicken was the missing and unknown name of the 4^th person drowned, as would be revealed in the book when published." Although Winton inherited his mother's research work, there would appear to be no indication amongst it as to where she found that astonishing piece of information. And of course she did not live long enough to publish her book.

Strangely, the despatch from the Government of India conveying the recommendation of Lord Clyde in favour of granting the V.C. to Chicken was not forwarded to the India Office in London until 21^st December 1859, some 15 months after the action took place. Since Chicken reportedly did not return from his sojourn up-country till the end of November 1859, could it be that he or his superiors had to do a bit of arm-twisting at the highest level to get the proposal pushed through channels? After some correspondence between the India Office and the War Office over the early months of 1860 establishing his status under the Warrants relating to the award, his claim for the Victoria Cross was finally accepted for submission to Queen Victoria by Sir Edward Lugard on 7^th April 1860, and she accordingly approved the award under her own signature on 13^th April 1860. It was Gazetted on the 27^th April.

Even then, as mentioned above, his actual medal was not forwarded to his next-of-kin until March 1862, when Sir Edward Lugard allegedly sent it to his father George Chicken, Master Mariner, at 35 King David Lane, Shadwell, East London. Another two years down the line. It is said the medal "was posted to his father". POSTED? Such a high honour, even though it was posthumous? Surely a personal presentation would have been more appropriate? Perhaps there were difficulties establishing the whereabouts of the next-of-kin, but surely not just "posted".

NOTE: the superscript numbers in the text refer to the references listed on the Reference Page

George Bell Chicken References/Sources Page

Discussion:

There are some fundamental questions to be clarified in this confusing and frequently misleading tale of heroism in the Indian outback.

There is to me another puzzle in this tale. It appears circumstantially that he never married or left any known descendants. Yet from the flavour of the character of this individual which one can see behind the official records, I find it hard to believe a lusty and outgoing young fellow like this should have lived like a monk during the 5 years or so he spent in India. He was 22 when he left the "Hastings" in Calcutta, and only 27 when he met his death in 1860 - the prime years of his life! Of course he was busy soldiering through much of this period, but he must have had some sort of social life in the years he spent out there both before and after the Mutiny. But the record at the moment is silent!

And, by no means least, how on earth did his Victoria Cross medal, in its original box and containing personal correspondence, end up in a battered suitcase buried beneath basement stairs in an old house in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada??? And further, after its auction in Red Deer, Alberta, who is now the anonymous owner of this priceless piece of histroy. Will it ever be possible to see and photograph it, along with the letters accompanying it? More importantly, would the present owner be sufficiently magnanimous and public-spirited to allow it to be loaned to a museum or similar repository in George Bell Chicken's home county, Northumberland, so that it could be on permanent display to the public??? One can only wish..........

Click Here for the Family Tree of George Bell Chicken

Back to George Bell Chicken's First Page