Page 121 - Light Dragoons 2022 CREST

The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
A strong attendance by Association members at this service
A 13th Light Dragoon survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade remembered
It was a simple but dilapidated wooden cross with a virtually unreadable inscrip- tion. The Covid lockdown prompted me to explore new areas and after some investi- gation, I found the grave of John Henry Harding, 13th Light Dragoons. Cathays cemetery is the 3rd largest cemetery in the United Kingdom. It is full of fascinat- ing memorials, but this badly overgrown grave was hardly a fitting memorial for a member of our regiment who survived the Charge of the Light Brigade.
After contacting the local charity Friends of Cathay’s Cemetery, I was told that it would be possible to erect a new memo- rial but only with the permission of the descendants of John Henry Harding. After a somewhat convoluted process his great grandson was found, and a meeting arranged. Fortunately, there was consider- able enthusiasm for recognising the survi- vor appropriately. After navigating various local organisations, including the council, the charity, a local stonemason, Mossfords,
kindly volunteered to donate a new memo- rial stone. This suddenly made the project possible without incurring major cost for the Regimental Association.
With the helpful support of Home Headquarters advice was sought from Brigadier Alan Mallinson as to the suit- able badge for the given historical period. Alan Johnson, the erstwhile BSM was an enthusiastic and early supporter of the project and provided invaluable advice and
The headstone prepared for the service
The unveiled headstone
The reverse side of the headstone
119