Heroes and Rebels in the Family Tree--Alfred Ablett, VC

 

Heroes and Rebels in the Family Tree--Alfred Ablett, VC

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Alfred Ablett ( 3 August 1830 – 12 March 1897) was a British Army soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. A soldier with the Grenadier Guards during the Crimean War, he was awarded the VC for his actions on 2 September 1855, during the siege of Sebastopol.

Early life

Alfred Ablett was born on 3 August 1830 at Weybread, Suffolk, the tenth of thirteen children of Samuel Ablett and Elizabeth Crockford. He was baptised just over a month later on 3 September at St. Andrew’s church in Weybread.  Samuel and Elizabeth’s children were:

1.      John Page Ablett 1816–1817

2.      James Ablett 1818–1819

3.      Samual Ablett 1819–1888

4.      George Ablett 1823–1883

5.      Eliza Ablett 1824–1902

6.      Anna Ablett 1826–1915

7.      Elijah Ablett 1827–1869

8.      James Ablett 1827–1902

9.      John Ablett 1829–1883

10.  Alfred Ablett VC 1830–1897

11.  Charles Ablett 1832–1897

12.  Elizabeth Ablett 1835–1902

13.  Joseph Ablett 1837–1837

Military service

Ablett joined the army on 20 February 1850 at the age of 19 years and five months, and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards. He served in the Crimean War, seeing action at the battles of the Alma, Inkerman and Balaclava.  These battles earned him the Crimean Was service medal with three clasps .  In early September 1855, while still a private, he performed the deed which would earn him a Victoria Cross for bravery while in the trenches at the siege of Sebastopol at the age of 25 years. While the troops were in the trenches, a live shell from one of the Russian forts fell among the men of Ablett’s company.  A moment’s delay and death was certain, but without a moment’s hesitation Alfred Ablett picked up the shell and hurled it out of the trench.  He was not an instant too soon, for scarcely had the shell touched the ground when it exploded.

His VC citation in the London Gazette dated February 24, 1857 reads:

On 2 September, 1855, seeing a shell fall in the centre of a number of ammunition cases and powder, he instantly seized and threw it outside the trench; it burst as it touched the ground.

He was nominated for the award by his company captain who witnessed the event, and was among 29 men to be presented with the medal in Hyde Park, London, on 26 June 1857 by Queen Victoria. While in the Crimea he also received the Distinguished Conduct Medal and gained the rank of sergeant.

He was one of two members of the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards who earned the Victoria Cross during the Crimean War, the other being Private Anthony Palmer.

Family Life

Alfred married Caroline Emer Wheeler 1837–1861 at Trinity Church, Marylebone, Middlesex, England on December 10, 1856.  Alfred and Caroline had two children before her death in 1861.

1.      Alma Samuel Ablett 1858–1927

2.      Alfred Inkerman Ablett 1860–1861

It is interesting to note that Alfred used the names of the battle campaigns when naming his children.

Alfred’s first son followed in his father’s footsteps and served in the military for a full career.  Trooper Alma Ablett, Royal Horse Guards, retired on pension after completing twenty-one years’ service;  he served in the Egyptian Campaign, 1882, and the Nile Expedition, 1884 and 1885.  He was awarded the Campaign Medal with Clasps for Tel-el-Kebir, Abu Klea, and Nile; the Egyptian Bronze Star; and the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct.

After the death of his first wife, Alfred married Sarah Pearce 1841– at St. Mary’s church, Redenhall, Norfolk, England on April 10, 1864.  They had seven children:

1.      Arthur Inkerman Ablett 1864–1876

2.      William Henry Ablett 1869–1891

3.      Annie Sevastopol Ablett 1870–1876

4.      Kate Agnes Balaklava Ablett 1872–1952

5.      Ada Louise Ablett 1874–1919

6.      Anthony Charles Ablett 1877–1930

7.      Albert Edward Ablett 1880–1917

Alfred’s youngest son, Albert Edward Ablett was 37 years old when he was killed on December 6, 1917 during World War I in France & Flanders.  He was serving as a Private in the 15^th Battalion (P.W.O. Civil Service Rifles, London Regiment.

Later life and legacy

Alfred Ablett was invalided out of Army in October 1862 suffering from rheumatism, the result of frostbite and fever contracted in Crimea.

After leaving the Grenadier Guards he became a Police Inspector at Millwall Docks and lived in that area of London with his wife and four children.

In 1868, he was accused of attempting to kill himself with a rifle, but was found not guilty by a jury at a court in Norwich.

From 1871 he served for 26 years in the London Dock Police, leaving as an inspector. Alfred died on March 12, 1897, aged 66, at his home on East India Road, Poplar, London, England, but was buried in his 'home' parish in St Andrew's churchyard of Weybread.

The London Standard carried a tribute in its edition of Saturday March30, 1897:

“At Weybread, Suffolk, on Thursday, (18th March) were interred the remains of the late Sergeant Ablett, one of the earliest recipients of the Victoria Cross, which he gained whilst serving in the Grenadier Guards in the Crimea. The Rev. H. S. Oriel, vicar, conducted the service, and four Sergeants of the Guards from London acted as pall-bearers. On the coffin were wreaths sent by the 3rd Battalion Grenadiers.”

His Victoria Cross was sold for £62 in 1903, and is now held by the Grenadier Guards Regimental Headquarters, Wellington Barracks, London. His family is in possession of a replica.

Genealogy:  Alfred Ablett VC 1830-1897 was the son of Samuel Ablett 1796-1868 and his son was John Ablett 1829-1883 and his son was James Ablett 1859-1924 and his daughter was Ruth E Ablett 1898-1934 and her son was Chester Charles Moore 1922-2006 and his wife was Mavis Doreen Thurston 1928-2012 and her father was Edward James Thurston 1895-1984 and his son was Anthony Alfred Thurston 1931-1965 and his wife was Jean Maud Adams 1932-2014 and her father was Frederick James Adams 1906-1982 and his father was James Frederick Adams 1869-1915and his father was William Frederick Adams 1848-1907 and his son was George "Pikey" William Welch-Adams 1867-1940.