Born in Abbeylieux, Co. Queen's.
Enlisted at Dublin on the 12th of January 1848.
Age: 20.
Height: 5' 7".
Trade: Carpenter.
Features: Swarthy complexion. Grey eyes. Brown hair.
Wounded in action at Balaclava (Is shown in the Casualty Roll in the "London Gazette" as "Severely", and sent to Scutari on the 8th of November 1854.
Returned to the regiment on the 15th of January 1855. Was with the Ambulance Corps during the remainder of the month and during the month of March was at Balaclava.
Attached to the Land Transport Corps during July to September of 1855.
Tried by a Regimental Court-martial and imprisoned for "absence" from the 22nd of June — 28th of August 1857.
Embarked for India from Cork aboard the S.S. "Great Britain" on the 8th of October 1857.
The musters for July-September 1858 show him as being "On Field Service" from September of the period.
In action against the rebels at Zeerapore on the 29th of January 1858 and at Baroda on the 1st of January 1859.
Re-engaged at Secunderbad, India, for a further 12 years service.
Appointed Shoeing-Smith on the 6th of June 1865.
Tried for "absence," reduced to Private and imprisoned from the 24th of July -7 of August 1865.
Again tried for "absence" and imprisoned from the 22-25 of March 1866.
Tried by a Regimental Court-martial for "being drunk" and imprisoned from the 2-6 of March 1868.
Discharged from Ballincollig on the 4th of June 1873, at "Own request, free to pension after 24 years service."
Served 24 years 217 days.
In Turkey and the Crimea: 2 years. East Indies, 7 years 108 days.
Aged 44 years 11 months on discharge.
Conduct and character: "good".
In possession of one Good Conduct badge.
Twenty times entered in the Regimental Defaulter's book. Three times tried by Court-martial.
Was granted a pension of 10d. per day.
Documents confirm the award of the Crimean and Turkish medals and also the Indian Mutiny medal.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman, Sebastopol, and the Turkish medal.
Mutiny medal without clasp.
A "J. Phelan" was included in the list of members of the Balaclava Commemoration Society in 1877 but not in the 1879 revised list. As this man obviously rode in the Charge, he may have died sometime between this period.
To live, C/o. Mr. J. Maxwell, Longford, Ireland on discharge.
Living in the Cork Pension District up to 1873.
In September of 1873, at the age of 50, he applied for admission to the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, his application although showing much of what is already known, shows that he was then "Unfit for any kind of labour", he was a widower, but had a son in the 108th Foot, (this would have been the son William J., born in India in 1862, A William Phelan was serving with the 108th Foot at Deesa, India as No. 137 in 1873). His conduct report by the Staff Officer of Pensions was "Good", that he had been paid at Cork up to October of 1873 before transferring to Dublin, he had lost his Turkish Crimean medal and had been "Slightly wounded in the leg at Balaclava."
Entered the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, on the 1st of November 1873 and died there on the 3rd of October 1878. (This would explain why he was not shown on the 1879 revised list of members of the Balaclava Commemoration Society.)
Died 3rd October 1878 at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham.
Was buried in the Kilmainham Hospital Cemetery (Bully's Acre section) on the 5th of October 1878 in Grave No. 217 at the age of 54 years. No headstone was erected but his grave-space probably originally had a cast iron "marker" although these have now all been removed for easier maintenance.
The India Office records show a son, William John, as being born at Secunderbad on the 26th of January and being baptised on the 28th of January 1862, by the Revd. B. Fulton, Chaplain. They further show his wife, Ellen, as dying at Secunderbad, aged 33 years, from "Dissent Act" on the 25th of February 1862. She was buried on the following day by the Revd. T. Barbero, Chaplain.
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