John Arthur Bayley


John Arthur Bayley was a British Army infantry officer and grandson of a baronet, who wrote a personal account of his time as an officer on campaign in India. His regiment the 52nd Regiment of Foot took part in quelling the Indian Mutiny and specifically were part of a British assault force that forced a breach at the Kashmir Gate during the Siege of Delhi.
John Bayley was born in Bedford Square London, England on 13 July 1831. He married Elizabeth Sterling of Belfast on 5 June 1853, they had no children. Little is known about what John Bayley's occupation was after he retired from the Army. He died on 4 February 1903 in the Paddington area of London, England.

School years

John Bayley's memoirs records that from 1839 he attended schools in Rottingdean, Sevenoaks and Tonbridge. In January 1845 he attended Eton College, leaving the college in Easter 1849 and preparing for his pre-commission army exams. He recorded that these were "jolly days" at Eton. He spent some time in Germany studying German and military affairs in Hannover. He passed his commissioning exams at Sandhurst in February 1851.

Military career

According to his own memoirs:
According to John Bayley's memoirs for much of his regiment's early service in India was fairly uneventful and he spent time in a number of garrison and detachment locations. In January 1856 his unit his unit was ordered to march from its garrison in Meerut to join a force at Lucknow; this force was being assembled to annex one of the last remaining independent provinces in India Oudh. The Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was deposed in February 1856 and the British East India Company absorbed the province.
On 27 December 1856 Bayley and his regiment leave their quarters at Lucknow and marched for Sealkote passing Agra on their way, arriving at their new station on 18 March 1857. Bayley recorded the beginnings of the Sepoy Mutiny and it was clear that the British regiments were not able to adequately track the beginnings of the revolt or its causes. On 5 June 1857 the regiment moved to Lahore at a time when native regiments were being disarmed and dismissed from East India Company service, and tensions were growing. He even witnessed a number of executions of mutineers and saw the effects on native regiment officers, who still trusted their men.
The 52nd of Foot were part of a 'flying column' commanded by Brigadier John Nicholson who suspected correctly that most of the native regiments in the vicinity of his command were planning to revolt and attack the European units. The regiment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Campbell who was one of the most experienced officers of the column should have been made brigadier in charge. At this stage of the Regiment march toward Delhi they were camped at Amritsar.
On the day of the attack against the Kashmir Gate Colonel George Campbell had arranged for native Bengal Engineers, commanded by Lieutenant Duncan Home, to place explosives next to the gate, a very risky undertaking. The 52nd Regiment gave covering fire during this combat engineering task, but the Bengal Engineers were very exposed to fire from the rebels inside the city walls and several of the sappers were killed. However, the engineers succeeded in blowing a hole in the gate. The 52nd were able to force their way through the gate and on into the city. Captain Bayley was part of the storming party and during the attack was wounded in the arm, he fought on with his regiment into the city. He was eventually recovered to a field hospital and his wound treated successfully. He was one of the lucky ones of the regiment as casualties during the assault on the city through the Kashmir Gate were high:
Out of a 52nd assault contingent of 240.
Brigadier Nicholson would be mortally wounded in the assault on the Kabul Gate.
Historian John William Kaye wrote a history of the mutiny published in parts from 1864 to 1876 which claimed that the 52nd was hesitant to attack after the explosives blew a hole in the Kashmir Gate. In 1876, Bayley wrote a pamphlet countering that claim, citing the bugler and numerous officers present and claiming that the 52nd were at the gate within a minute of the bugler sounding the attack.

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