Many soldiers of the period enlisted under names that were not their own. Some were deserters from another regiment re-enlisting; some were escaping debts, family or the law; some simply wished not to be found. A few were later permitted to resume their real names, and others took new names after leaving the army.
This page lists the men of the five Light Brigade regiments whose pages on this site record another name. It was compiled on 9 October 2026 by searching the men’s pages, so a man whose alias is not yet written on his page will not appear here. Spelling variants of the same name (for example Cheshire/Chesher, or Beetham/Beettam), and a man known by his middle names (for example Richard Owen Glendwr, sometimes called Owen), are not aliases and are not included. It is a working page and will grow.
Names in quotation marks are believed to be aliases. Where it is not known which name was the real one, neither is marked. Words quoted from records in the Notes column are in single quotation marks.
Men whose page records that they joined, or served, under a name not their own — often deserters re-enlisting, or men hiding from family or the law. Several were later allowed to “revert to” or “resume” their real names.
| Name on this site | No. | Regiment | Other name(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “John Brooks” | 1516 | 13th Light Dragoons | John Withers | real name |
| “James Williamson” | 1609 | 11th Hussars | Oliver James Johnston | reverted to real name 1858 |
| “Thomas Taylor” | 1091 | 17th Lancers | Alfred Styan | permitted to resume real name |
| David James Taylor | 999 | 17th Lancers | “David James” | enlisted as David James; reverted |
| “Richard Parker” | 1122 | 17th Lancers | Richard Porter | reverted to real name on promotion to Sergeant 25 Aug 1855 |
| “Charles Jones” | 1270 | 17th Lancers | Thomas Smith | reverted to real name 1 Apr 1864 |
| “James Harvey” | 1433 | 11th Hussars | James Fletcher | reverted to real name |
| “John Williams” | 1399 | 13th Light Dragoons | Isaac Sankey | Horse Guards 1854: real name to be noted on attestation |
| “George Wilson” | 1553 | 13th Light Dragoons | Raphael Charles Lovell | muster rolls ‘alias R. C. Lovell’ |
| “George Harris” | 1268 | 8th Hussars | Richard Simpson | ‘alias Simpson’ in rolls |
| “George Gibson” | 1471 | 13th Light Dragoons | George Gibson Pilmer | real name (used it in Royal Navy) |
| “Abel Darlington” | 1629 | 11th Hussars | Thomas Shaw (1227 6th Dragoons) | deserter from 6th Dragoons |
| Edward Chapman | 1070 | 17th Lancers | James Watson | ‘James Watson alias Edward Chapman’ a deserter (1853); which name is the alias is uncertain |
| “William Baker” | 749 | 17th Lancers | William Bacon | real name Bacon; brother of 828 |
| “John Baker” | 828 | 17th Lancers | John Bacon | real name Bacon; brother of 749 |
| Charles Mitton | 881 | 17th Lancers | “Christopher Meekins” | enlisted 17L as Meekins while a deserter from 56th Foot; resumed real name |
| Martin McGrath | 925 | 17th Lancers | “Gray” or “McDonald” | deserted and re-enlisted under assumed name; pardoned in own name |
| Edward Thomas Sewell | 1104 | 8th Hussars | “Davis” | enlisted into 8H as Davis while a deserter (1852) |
| Thomas Irwin (Lieut.) | 13th Light Dragoons | “Edward Hall” | enlisted 17L 1827 as Edward Hall; some mystery about real name | |
| Ernest Vane Tempest (Lord) | 4th Light Dragoons | “Ernest Smith”; “Colonel Stewart” | enlisted as Ernest Smith 1853; US Civil War as Colonel Stewart | |
| Joseph Gough | 740 | 8th Hussars | “Donoghue” | also used the alias Donoghue |
| “Robert Ridge” | 1125 | 17th Lancers | George Ridge; “Robert Roe” | real name George Ridge, also known as Robert Ridge; alias Robert Roe |
| “Wilson Firth” | 1612 | 11th Hussars | William Flather | probable real name (RM) |
| “Joseph Priestley” | 1176 | 13th Light Dragoons | Pickard (William?) | family say real name Pickard |
Men whose page suggests, but does not prove, another name.
| Name on this site | No. | Regiment | Other name(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “William Henry Spring” | 1608 | 11th Hussars | William Pilkington | possible real name |
| “Henry Young” | 1078 | 17th Lancers | Lewis Esquilant | possible alias |
| “William Oliver Purvis” | 868 | 17th Lancers | William Thompson | real name possibly Thompson |
| “John Dryden” | 1617 | 11th Hussars | John Dagliesh | said to be real name (Dryden his mother’s name); to be confirmed |
| Hendry Wilson | 1514 | 8th Hussars | Henry Wilson; William Hutton | real name to be determined; which name is the alias is uncertain |
| Henry Warner | 1225 | 17th Lancers | “Fisher” | ‘Alias Fisher?’ |
| “Walter Canning” | 1604 | 11th Hussars | William Henry Cory; “William Henry (Gaston) Tyson” | possible identity |
| John Davis / James Edwin Dray | 1400 / 1528 | 4th Light Dragoons | each other | gravestone: ‘John Davis alias James Edwin Dray’; which name is the alias is uncertain |
| George Clarke | 1196 | 8th Hussars | ? | PB asks whether ‘George Clarke’ was an alias; which name is the alias is uncertain |
Men who took another name in later life: re-enlisting, emigrating, or on pension records.
| Name on this site | No. | Regiment | Other name(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Millington | 1664 | 13th Light Dragoons | “John Heywood” | re-enlisted 12th Lancers 1859 as John Heywood |
| Joseph Lane | 1502 | 13th Light Dragoons | “Joseph Francis” | North-West Mounted Police (Canada) as Joseph Francis |
| George Clout (and brother James) | 1491 | 4th Light Dragoons | withheld | aliases in later life; researcher asked for details to be withheld until her publication |
| Name on this site | No. | Regiment | Other name(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Thistle | 1680 | 11th Hussars | also recorded as John Thistle; ? | page quotes convict George Woodcock’s many aliases; connection unclear |
Prisoners of the Russians, which includes several of these men (Spring/Pilkington, Young/Esquilant). For Walter Canning, see also the commentary on William Henry Cory’s memoir.
If you know of another alias, or can confirm or correct any of these, please contact the editors.