'Memorial of the Cawnpur Massacre over the well at Cawnpur'

Photograph, India, 1903 (c).

The sculpture of an angel by Baron Carlo Marochetti (1805-1867) was erected at Cawnpore (now Kanpur) in the 1860s. The memorial was subsequently moved to the Memorial Church at Cawnpore.

On 6 June 1857, during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859), rebel forces under Nana Sahib laid siege to Cawnpore. The garrison of British and Indians, half of whom were women and children, held out for 20 days before surrendering on the promise of a safe conduct. As they embarked on the boats which were to carry them to safety, almost all the men were murdered, the remnant were later shot.

The women and children were returned as captives to Cawnpore, where they were later massacred on the approach of a British relief column. Major George Bingham of the 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was one of the first soldiers to visit the scene after the capture of the city on 17 July 1857:

'The place was literally running ankle deep in blood, ladies' hair torn from their heads was lying about the floor; poor little children's shoes lying here and there, gowns, frocks and bonnets belonging to these poor creatures scattered everywhere. But to crown all horrors, after they had been killed, and even some alive, all were thrown down a deep well in the compound. I looked down and saw them lying in heaps. I very much fear there are some of my friends included in this most atrocious fiendish of murders'.

Extract from the diary of Major George Bingham, 1857. (NAM. 1959-03-105).

From an album of 116 photographs compiled by Lieutenant Hugh Stephenson Turnbull, 57th Wilde's Rifles (Frontier Force) in India and Egypt, 1903-1906.

According to the Hodson Index of Indian Army officers, Turnbull was commissioned in 1902 but only served in India for six years due to the climate being unsuitable for his health. He joined the Irish Constabulary in 1912 but returned to the Army during World War One (1914-1918), serving with the Gordon Highlanders. He was appointed Chief Constable of Cumberland and Westmorland in 1922, and became Commissioner of the City of London Police in 1926. He retired in 1950 and died in 1973.