THE HERO IN VICTORIAN POPULAR MYTHOLOGY 23
from a waggon under very heavy fire, a shot having disabled the horses.
On 5 November at the Battle of Inkermann he, as ADC to the captain,
remained by his side throughout a long and dangerous day. On18 June
1855 he was again with his captain in the first scaling party at the assault
on the Redan binding up his superior officer’s severely wounded arm and
taking him back to a place of safety.^69
Yet Henty passed up the opportunity to lionize two stalwarts for the price
of one, and in fact never mentioned Daniel at any point during the story.
The problem was that Daniel had forfeited his Victoria Cross just four years
after it was awarded.^70 Accused of taking homosexual liberties with subor-
dinates, Daniel deserted rather than answer formal charges and his name
was erased from the Register of the Victoria Cross at the War Office (the
subject of forfeiture will be dealt with fully in Chapter 5). Such a figure
could hardly be held up as a role model for the growing boys of England,
so Henty simply made him an unperson. Instead, credit for being the loyal
aide-de-camp was given to a Midshipman Wood of HMSQueenat the storming
of the Redan.^71 As it would be impossible to report the actions of Captain
Peel in any detail without mentioning the midshipman that accompanied
him, Henty elsewhere remained purposely vague on Peel’s conduct.^72
The reality of war and heroism were thus not an exact fit with society’s
conception of the phenomenon. For the British public, the military consisted
of the Officer Corps, a sort of modern incarnation of the paladin, riding
forth to bring light to the darkness, and the Other Ranks, consisting of
rogues with hearts of gold. War was a grand game to be played with good
sportsmanship. The following passage comes from newspaper accounts of
the storming of Dargai Ridge, 20 October, 1898:
Stepping forward to the head of his regiment, Colonel Matthias addressed
a few words to his men in loud, clear tones. The task before the troops was
practically a forlorn hope. Four hours and more had been spent in similar
attempts without success. Words to be a value in such an emergency must
be well chosen. Colonel Matthias pitched his that afternoon in the right
patriotic spirit. Having ordered the regiment to ‘charge magazines, fixed
bayonets,’ Colonel Matthias said: – ‘men of the Gordon Highlanders,
listen to me. The General says this position must be taken at all hazards,
and we will take it in front of the whole division; let every man follow
his own officers and section leaders, and don’t stop.’
Loud huzzas greeted their colonel’s words, and with eager faces the
first company of the Highlanders formed up on the edge of the terrible
lily
(lily)
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