William Brydon
William Brydon | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | British Army |
| Rank | Assistant Surgeon |
| Battles / wars | First Anglo-Afghan War |
William Brydon CB (10 October 1811 – 20 March 1873) was an assistant surgeon in the British Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War and is famous for being the only (European) survivor of an army of 16,500 men.
He studied medicine at University College London and at the University of Edinburgh.
The war
The British army began its retreat from Kabul in January 1842 following the killing of the British representative there. The nearest British garrison was in Jalalabad, 90 miles away, and the army would need to pass through mountain passes with the January snow hindering them.
16,500 British and Indian soldiers, civilians, wives and children set out for Jalalabad on 6 January with the understanding that they had been offered safe passage. The Afghan soldiers however intercepted them and proceeded to massacre them during the next seven days. A small number of prisoners were, however, taken and returned to the British at a later date. Many of the Indian soldiers and camp followers captured were enslaved and few probably found their way home again.
On 13 January, Dr. Brydon rode, alone, up to the gates of Jalalabad. He became famous for being the only European survivor of the entire contingent to have escaped the Afghan guerrillas.[1] Part of his skull had been sheared off by an Afghan sword. In fact, he only survived as he had stuffed a copy of Blackwood's Magazine into his hat to fight the intense cold weather. The magazine took most of the blow, saving the doctor's life.[2]
The episode was made the subject of a famous painting by the Victorian artist, Lady Elizabeth Butler, who portrayed Dr. Brydon hobbling to the gates of the Jalalabad fort perched on his dying horse.[3] The painting is titled Remnants of an Army.
In 1857, he was a regimental doctor at Lucknow and survived the his second siege, that of the Lucknow residency (June - November 1857), being badly wounded in the thigh at one stage. His wife published a memoir of the siege.
Sources
- Claire E. J. Herrick, "Brydon, William (1811–1873)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 26 Aug 2006
References
- ^ "Transcripts from CNN". Retrieved August 24.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Article in theaustralian.news.com". Retrieved August 24.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Mention at theestimate.com". Retrieved August 24.
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