The Errol Flynn Blog

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1. Maria

   February 20, 2017 at 4:56 pm

   I think Errol would have appreciated this information:

   Lieutenant Alexander Roberts Dunn
   Alexander Roberts Dunn was born in what was then York, now Toronto, Ontario, on September 15, 1833, the first son of John Henry Dunn, Receiver-General of Upper Canada. He first attended Upper Canada College, in Ontario. Following the death of his mother, and after his father moved the family to England, he attended Harrow School.

   In March 1852, Dunn joined the British Army’s 11th (Prince Albert’s Own) Hussars as a junior officer. At the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854, the 11th Hussars were sent to Russia, to join other elements of the British Army and an allied force made up elements from France, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire.

   Dunn, now a lieutenant, was in action on October 25, 1854, the day of the Battle of Balaclava, and took part in the infamous “Charge of The Light Brigade”.

   “For having in the Light Cavalry charge on the 25th October, 1854, saved the life of Serjeant Bentley, 11th Hussars, by cutting down two or three Russian Lancers who were attacking him from the rear, and afterwards cutting down a Russian Hussar, who was attacking Private Levett, 11th Hussars.”

   – Victoria Cross citation, The London Gazette, February 24, 1857.

   Dunn is considered the first Canadian to have been awarded the Victoria Cross. In fact, not only was he Canada’s first recipient, he was also the only officer to win a Victoria Cross for bravery during the “Charge of The Light Brigade,” and among the very first group of recipients to be awarded the newly created medal, generally believed to be made from Russian cannons captured during the Crimean War.

   I know his education was spotty-but I wonder if Errol studied the Charge in history class?

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   • Gentleman Tim

     February 21, 2017 at 3:24 pm

     Thank you for that great information, Maria. I’m sure you’re right that Errol would have appreciated knowing this. Regarding whether Errol ever studied The Charge, I cannot fathom that he did not, in both history and literature classes throughout out his years in various schools, perhaps most certainly at Shore, in Sydney, and when he was in Barnes, London for two years or so during his mid-teens. If he was not taught about it, surely “Some one had Blunder’d!”

     Heck, even us Americans learned to recite the poem in elementary school, and got quite a good charge out of doing so:

     www.youtube.com…

     [img]http://www.medalsofwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/DSC_0001-1.jpg[/img]

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