Crimean War diary discovered in attic

by ADRIAN JENKINS

A DIARY detailing the horrors of one of the most famous wars in history is set to go under the hammer after being found in a dusty Burton attic.

The chronicle of a year in the 1853-56 Crimean War may fetch £6,000 when it is sold at Richard Winterton's auction rooms, in Hawkins Lane, next week.

Buyers may also be tempted to put in a bid for several postcard albums, one of which contains previously unseen shots of late Victorian-era Burton.

Discovered during a house clearance in Waterloo Street, the albums, like the diary, are set to generate huge interest and may command up to £500.

Mr Winterton said the diary, written by Lieutenant Colonel Sir George Chetwode, was discovered in the corner of an attic of a derelict house.

The couple who found the book lying at the bottom of a metal trunk covered in newspapers dating back to the early 1950s initially thought it was 'rubbish'.

They were prepared to accept £50 until Mr Winterton said the diary was 'of national importance' and likely to send historians weak at the knees.

It is easy to understand the reasons underlying the auctioneer's assessment, given that Lt Col Chetwode, a horseman with the 8th Hussars from Oakley, west Staffordshire, describes the Battle of Inkerman, Siege of Sevastopol and, perhaps most importantly of all, the Charge of the Light Brigade. In one entry about this battle from October 25, 1854, which describes the clash between Turkey, Britain, France and Sardinia on one side, and Russian on the other, he writes: "The Russians were advancing with 6,000 cavalry, 30 guns and some 10,000 infantry.

"It was an anxious moment for the Russians outnumbered us three to one, but nothing could stand the dash of our gallant fellows."

Mr Winterton said of the diary, found with a letter to the horseman's sister, Laura, said: "It's of national importance, and history from somebody who was actually there in one of the most famous battles of modern times."

He said that, like the diary, bidders were likely to be 'fighting' over the postcard albums, which depicted Burton in the 1880s and 1890s, as well as scenes in other Staffordshire centres such as Tamworth and Lichfield.

One shows a tram crossing Stapenhill Bridge, another a horse and cart in Guild Street and, in a third example, picnickers in Market Square.

Breweries including Salt and Company, Allsop's, Worthington and Ind Coope are also depicted, as is the public baths and the building now occupied by Sainsbury's.

Mr Winterton said the pictures were particularly interesting as they were 'intense' and offered views that had never before been seen, adding: "They are wonderful. It's Burton's history."

Both lots can be viewed from noon to 6pm on Tuesday next week at the saleroom, the day before they are auctioned at the same venue at 10.30am.