Sir Henry Barnard

On the floor of the north transept of Westminster Abbey is a memorial stone to six soldiers, including General Sir Henry Barnard, who served and died in the Indian Mutiny. The brass letters have been renewed but some are now missing again. The inscription reads:

To the Glory of God and in memory of Major Genl. Sir Henry W. Barnard K.C.B., Lieut. Col. Charles J. Woodford, Rifle Brigade, Capt. William F. Thynne, Rifle Brigade, Capt. W.R. Moorsom 13th Lt. Inf[antry] D.A.Q.M.G., Lovick Emilus Cooper, Ensn [Ensign], Rifle Brigade, William G.H. Bankes, Cornet 7th Hussars, who died in the service of the Queen and their country in India in 1857 and 1858. The six lancet windows of this transept were enriched with stained glass by their relatives or comrades of Sir James Outram's division 1860.

The stained glass windows referred to were destroyed during bombing in the second world war. The figures in them represented chosen men and warriors of the Old Testament. Moses was shown in the window erected by Lady Barnard. Joshua was shown in the window erected by General Sir Alexander Woodford to his son. Caleb was in the window erected by the Reverend Lord John Thynne, Canon of Westminster, to his son and the fourth depicted Gideon, erected by the comrades of Captain Moorsom, Deputy Assistant Quarter Master General. The fifth window erected by Reverend T. Lovick Cooper to his son was David and the next showed Jonathan, erected by Cornet Bankes' mother. In the west aisle of the north transept was a seventh window to Brigadier the Hon. Adrian Hope.

Sir Henry William Barnard was the great grandson of Bishop William Barnard and son of Revd. William Barnard. He was educated at Westminster School and the Military Academy at Sandhurst. He made his way through the ranks and served on his uncle's staff in Paris, and also in Jamaica and Canada. In 1828 he married Isabella Crauford and they had children. He was Major General by 1854 and he served at Sebastopol in the Crimea and was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath for his distinguished services. In India he took charge of the force to relieve Delhi. He died of cholera on 5th July 1857 and was buried in Rajpur cemetery. He is also remembered on the memorial column to former members of Westminster School who died in the Crimea and Indian Mutiny opposite the west door of the Abbey.

Charles Woodford was a son of Sir Alexander Woodford (d.1870), army officer who served at the battle of Salamanca and received the Waterloo medal, and his wife Charlotte (Fisher).

William Moorsom was born in 1834, a son of Captain William Moorsom, railway engineer and army officer, and his wife Isabella (Morris). His grandfather was Admiral Sir Robert Moorsom. Two brothers were in the army also, Colonel Henry Moorsom and Major General Charles Moorsom, both of whom served with distinction. Serving in India William surveyed the city of Lucknow and served in various engagements in the Indian Mutiny. At the relief of Lucknow he was important as a guide and became quartermaster general to Sir James Outram. He was killed leading an attack on 11th Marcy 1858 and was buried in the cemetery of the residence at Lucknow. A memorial was also erected in Rochester cathedral in Kent.

William George Hawtrey Bankes was awarded the Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny. He was the fifth son of George Bankes, government official who lived in a house near Poets' Corner, and was born on 11th September 1836 and educated at Westminster School and Cambridge university. He died at Lucknow 6th April 1858 from wounds received at Raptee. He is remembered on the column outside the west door of the Abbey. There is a memorial to him in Wimborne Minster, Dorset.

Further reading for Barnard and Moorsom

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004

Further reading for Bankes

"Recollections of a Town Boy at Westminster" by F. Markham 1903