'Officers of the 51st Regiment on Sultan Tarra, showing different service uniforms worn', 1878. National Army Museum, Out of Copyright.
A soldier's poem from 1878 India and the Second Afghan War
My Great, Great, Great Uncle John Hunston was born in 1850 in North Scarle, Lincolnshire, to parents George Hunston and Sarah Wells. In 1861, the Hunston family lived at a farm called Slacks Hill, Eagle Hall, Lincolnshire, where his father and oldest brother, Robert, were agricultural labourers. His mother died when he was a young teenager, in 1865.
By 1871, John’s father had remarried and all but the youngest child, George, had left home, which was now Caskgate Street, Gainsborough. His stepbrother, William, was born in 1872, but sadly died in 1874.
At the same time, in 1874, and at the age of 23, John was stationed in Fyzabad, India.
John may have travelled to India with the 51 King’s Own Light Infantry (KOLI), who left Queenstown, Ireland on 17 October 1872, and arrived in Bombay on the 15 November 1872. They sailed on the ship Euphrates, but may have also travelled some part overland as it was before the Suez Canal was built (garenewing.co.uk/angloafghanwar).
John sent his parents a letter in the form of a poem from Fyzabad, commenting on his experiences of being a soldier in India. His oldest brother Robert, brother George, half-brother William, and friend Sarah Brett are all referred to by name in the poem (but not in the extract below). The letter is signed John Hunston, B Coy 51st L.I.
An extract from John's poem
My time is so much taken up
I have hardly time to write
For mostly drilling all the day
Then up on guard at night.I’m glad to say my health is good
I am growing stout and tall
I’ve nothing to complain of yet
But very content with all.The climate now is getting hot
As the days are getting longer
The moon and stars are growing dim
While the sun is growing stronger.We have fifty men now going home
On the 27th day
Home alas! Have they all a home
Tis something sad to say.These are sick and unfit to serve
All invalids you see
A soldier’s life hath ruined them
And gave them liberty.Sick and pale they now go home
And with an empty purse
No friend to give them welcome
Which makes their going worse.Many I know are going thus
With sad prospects in view
They never learned a useful trade
And know not what to do.They have parents in the workhouse
And friends not to be found
Their names are scratched from the Parish book
They are forsaken and disowned.No pension to prolong their lives
The militia won’t take them in
They’re invalids unfit to serve
And all through wilful sin.Through love for drink and love for lust
And gambling half the night
Sleeping out in villages
From evening till day light.Some are mad through sun stroke
While some have lost their speech
Some broke their limbs in hunting birds
Which they vainly tried to reach.Some lost their sight in sand storms
Some are dead through cannons’ roar
Some scorched their feet on burning sand
And can never use them more.May God spare me from all these things
Which carelessness will bring
A serpent is bright to look upon
But it bears a deadly sting.The time is swiftly passing now
And I long for my return
Though I dearly love a soldier’s life
Yet my heart for my home doth burn.
During the summer of 1878, John was stationed in Murree, a summer station for the British army, from where his regiment had moved to Subathoo (now Subathu) near Shimla, India, before returning soon afterwards to the mountain area.
The railway connection with Lahore, the capital of the Punjab Province, made Murree a popular resort for Punjab officials, and the villas and other houses for English families gave it a European aspect. The houses crowned the summit and sides of an irregular ridge, the neighbouring hills were covered during the summer with encampments of British troops (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murree).
John wrote a letter to his parents on 17 October 1878 (sadly only two months before his death), saying that he expected to be on the battlefield soon.
Extracts from John's letter
“Dear father and mother, I did not receive your letter as soon as I should have, had it come direct to where I was, but it went to Murree, where I was last summer; but as soon as the weather set in, the Depot was broken up, and we went to our Regiment.
“We have only been in this Station a few months, not properly settled yet and now we have got orders to march back where we came from, and we march on Friday next.
“Dear father and mother, I am sorry to tell you that we have to march to the battlefield, and, by the time you get this letter, I expect to be fighting against the enemy.
“Dear father and mother, you told me you thought of going to live in the country. I cannot give you any advice, for you know best yourselves; but, as for lending you any money, I am sorry I cannot, at present, for I have had a deal of marching about, and it cost me a great deal to support myself, and besides, if a soldier drinks his beer he cannot save any money.”
Letter signed Pte J Hunston, address no. 2217, B Company 51st KOLI.
John Hunston took part in the Battle of the Ali Musjid on 21 November 1878 in the Khyber Pass, which was the opening battle in the Second Anglo-Afghan War between the British forces and the Afghan forces.
During the Second Anglo-Afghan War, the British-Indian forces fought to ensure that Afghanistan remained free from Russian interference.
The Khyber Pass was one of the key locations in this war - a mountain pass that connects Afghanistan and Pakistan. It has been a strategic location for centuries, serving as a gateway for trade and invasions between the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia.
In November 1878, three British columns, consisting of 40,000 men, invaded Afghanistan. One column marched through the Bolan Pass and seized Kandahar, a second occupied Ali Masjid fortress to secure the Khyber Pass before advancing to Jelalabad, while the third advanced along the Kurram Valley towards Kabul (nam.ac.uk).
For his involvement, John was entitled to a medal for the Second Afghan War, and a clasp for his involvement in the Battle of the Ali Musjid.
However, John died on 28th December 1878, aged 27, of enteric fever (also known as typhoid fever), before being awarded his medal and clasp. He was buried at St John’s Church (now called The Cathedral Church of St John), Peshawar, West Bengal by the Chaplain of Peshawar, A W Rebsch.
Paul Newton
Paul is Associate Director of Strategic Communications and Brand at Keele University, with responsibility of the University’s press office, internal communications, social media engagement, web development, and design functions.