Colonel Francis Strange, Royal Horse Artillery, 1869

Oil on canvas attributed to Emily Henrietta Ormsby (1845-1901), 1869.

Emily Ormsby probably painted this portrait of her husband in 1869, to mark his promotion to the rank of Colonel. He died the following year at the age of 48 years old.

Born in May 1822, Henry Francis Strange (1822-1870) was commissioned second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on 19 June 1841. He saw service in Canada from 1842 to 1843, in St Helena from 1846 to 1849, and fought in the Crimean War (1854-1856) where he took part in a number of actions, including the Battles of the Alma and Inkerman and the Siege of Sevastopol.

For his service in the Crimea, Strange was mentioned in despatches and was awarded the Crimea Medal with three clasps, the Turkish Crimea Medal, the Order of the Medjidie and the Legion d'Honneur. Strange was also made a CB (Companion of the Order of the Bath).

He was stationed in Gibraltar in 1861-1862 having been promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, before becoming Assistant Adjutant General Royal Artillery (AAG RA) in Ireland from 1863 to 1865. Strange reached the rank of colonel in 1869 and died in London on 16 December 1870.