Born in the parish of St. Mary's, Dublin.
Enlisted at Dublin on the 16th of November 1846.
Age: 18.
Height: 5' 11".
Trade: Labourer.
Appearance: Fresh complexion. Grey eyes. Brown hair.
From Private to Corporal: 8th of May 1852.
Corporal to Sergeant: 10th of May 1854.
Wounded in action at Balaclava.
Sent to Scutari on the 26th of October and invalided to England on the 26th of December 1854.
At Chatham Invalid Depot from the 13th of January 1855 till the 30th of June, when he was sent "on furlo until discharge" to Sandymount [sic] Dublin.
Finally discharged from Chatham Invalid Depot on the 8th of January 1856, as:
"Disabled from canister-shot wound of upper right arm received in the cavalry charge at Balaclava. Ball appears to have broken the outer surface of the humerus. Arm is weak. Found unfit for further military service."
Served 8 years 351 days.
Conduct: "very good". In possession of one Good Conduct badge when promoted.
Aged 27 years on discharge.
Granted a pension of 1/3d. per day on discharge, but this increased to 2/3. per day from the 24th of August 1886.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava and Sebastopol, and the Turkish medal.
His entitlement to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaklava and Sebastopol was noted on his documents, dated the 4th of December 1906 and signed for and on behalf of the Director of Recruiting and Organisation.
Attended the first Balaclava Banquet in 1875.
Member of the Balaclava Commemoration Society in 1879.
Signed the Loyal Address to the Queen in 1887.
Attended the Annual Dinners in 1892-92 [?]-1895-1906.
His picture appeared in a publication entitled "The Picture Magazine" about the mid-1890s. (See copy in the 13th Hussar file.)
He received some help from the "Roberts' Fund" during his lifetime.
Was a warder in the Military Prison at Chatham in 1856, in the Military Prison in Barbados in 1857, Hongkong from the 1st of October 1866 and at Chatham again from the 1st of April 1872. He later served as a Military Stores Clerk until the 24th of August 1886.
1871 Census
Sheerness Barracks & Officers Quarters, Minster, Sheppey.
Fred Peake, 40, unmarried, Military Store Clerk, born Ireland.
Marriage, registered
Frederick Thomas Peake married Ellen Margaret Bassett, September Quarter 1872, St George Hanover Square.
1881 Census
128, High Street, Minster in Sheppey, Kent. The 1881 Census Return shows him as aged 50, a Clerk, Ordnance Depot, (C.S.) born in Ireland, with his wife, Ellen, born in Ipswich, Suffolk, and three children, aged from 6 years to 1 year. [CP: Frederick, William and Georgina, all born Sheerness.].
1891 Census
Crescent, Edward Street, Minster, Sheerness.
Frederick Peake, 60, Retired Clerk Army, born Ireland.
Ellen, 43, born Ipswich.
Three children shown: William 14 (born Sheerness), Georgina 11, and Kate 9.
Also 3 boarders.
The eldest sibling, Frederick, aged 16 was at that time a boy soldier, a sapper in the Royal Engineers based at Brompton Barracks.
1901 Census
37 Alma Road, Sheerness.
Frederick Peake, 70, Ordinance Clerk Retired. born Ireland.
Ellen, 53, born Ipswich.
Georgina, 20, Music Teacher, Sheerness.
Kate, 18, Assistant in Boot Shop.
Death registered
Ellen Margaret Peake, 59, September Quarter 1906, Sheppey.
Died at Thornton Heath, Surrey, on the 18th of December 1906. His youngest daughter, Georgina, was the beneficiary of his will when he died.
From an unknown newspaper report:
"Mr. Frederick F of Sheerness, died recently at Thornton Heath, Surrey, whilst on a visit to some relatives for the benefit of his health. Mr. Peake, who was seventy-seven years of age, served in the 13th Light Dragoons, and at the time of his death was still in possession of his non-commissioned officer's uniform that he wore at Balaclava and which is perforated in one sleeve by shot. After leaving the Army on pension, he was employed in a civil capacity for some years at Sheerness Garrison."
See copy of a photograph of his funeral procession, taken from an unknown newspaper, in the 13th Hussar file.
Formerly of No. 37 Alma Road, Sheerness, Kent, he died at No. 8 Carew Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey. In his will he left his personal estate of £109 to his daughter, Georgina Marguerite.
Extract from the "United Services Gazette" for the 26th of December 1907:
"On the 17th inst., and in the presence of public bodies of Sheerness and of a Detachment of the Royal Garrison Artillery whose buglers sounded the 'Last Post', the memorial erected in the Isle of Sheppey to the late Mr. Frederick Thomas Peake, who was a sergeant in the 13th Light Dragoons in the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, in which he was wounded, was unveiled by Mr. J. Copland, the Chairman of the Sheerness Urban Council. The ceremony took place on the first anniversary of Mr. Peake's death, the memorial having been erected by public subscription."
There is a photograph of the memorial stone erected to him in Halfway Cemetery, Sheerness, Kent (Grave No. 83FF) in the 13th Hussar file. The inscription reads:
"To the memory of Frederick Thomas Peake, Late Sergeant, 13th Light Dragoons. He was a survivor of the Balaclava Charge. Died December 18th 1906, aged 77 years."
Death registered
Frederick Thomas Peake, 77, December Quarter 1906, Croydon.
In May 1954 a Crimean Centenary Lunch was held in the Connaught Rooms, London, to which the sons and daughters of the Crimean veterans were invited. Among those present, and who made the reply to the toast, was ex-C.Q.M.S. Frederick J.S. Peake of Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, who was the son of Frederick Peake of the 13th Light Dragoons.
F.J.S Peake was then aged 80. He had served in the Royal Engineers in South Africa during the Boer War at Ladysmith, and was also an Old Contemptible. The medal record cards for World War One at the P.R.O. show his number as 27008 (Sapper) and that he was awarded the 1914 Star (issued 1/4/1920), and British War and Victory medals. His service in France counted from the 9th of August 1914. Those for South Africa show him as being entitled to the clasps for the Defence of Ladysmith, Transvaal, and S.A. 1901 and 1902.
Registration of marriage and deaths, and Census information for 1871, 1891 & 1901, kindly provided by Chris Poole.