Sergeant James Bunnell

1819 – 17 October 1864

James Bunnell was a career soldier of the British Army whose service spanned nearly two decades, encompassing prolonged colonial garrison duty and active service in the Crimean War. Born about 1819–1820 in the parish of Carlow, in or near the town of Carlow, County Carlow, Ireland, he enlisted in the British Army at Carlow in March 1838, aged eighteen, joining the 19th Regiment of Foot. His regimental number was 1164, and his stated trade was servant.

Marriage and Family
James Bunnell married Ann Cook (born 1816, died 1872) before 1840. The marriage predates surviving civil registration and almost certainly occurred while he was stationed in Ireland during his early service. Ann accompanied him on overseas postings, a privilege generally afforded only to steady, well-conducted soldiers.
James and Ann Bunnell had a large family, their children’s places of birth mirroring the regiment’s movements across the British Empire:

James Bunnell – born 1840, Hacketstown, County Carlow, Ireland
Mary Ann Bunnell – born about 1844, Zakynthos (Zante), Ionian Islands
Penelope Bunnell – born 1846, Barbados, British West Indies
Francis Bunnell – born about 1849, British North America (Canada)
John Bunnell – born July 1851, Stoke Damerel (Devonport), Devon, England
Thomas Bunnell – born 12 July 1855, Portsmouth, Hampshire
Jane Bunnell – born 1 July 1857, Portsea Island, Hampshire
Henry Bunnell – born 21 September 1861, Portsea, Hampshire

The geographical spread of these births reflects the life of a married non-commissioned officer on continuous overseas duty, with family residence authorised at several long-term garrison stations.

Military Career and Overseas Service

Early Service and Ionian Islands (to 1845)
Following enlistment, Bunnell rose steadily through the ranks. He served as a Private from September 1838 and was stationed in Ireland and then overseas. By the early 1840s, the 19th Regiment of Foot was posted to the Ionian Islands, a British protectorate, with headquarters at Corfu and detachments on neighbouring islands including Zakynthos. It was during this posting that the Bunnell family resided on Zante, where their daughter Mary Ann was born.
After nearly three years’ service in the Ionian Islands, the regiment embarked on 5 December 1845 aboard the Java for the West Indies.

West Indies: Barbados and St Vincent (1846–1847)
The regiment disembarked at Barbados on 20 January 1846, later maintaining detachments across the Caribbean. During this arduous tropical deployment, James Bunnell was promoted to Corporal on 23 September 1846, a clear indication of trust and competence. His daughter Penelope was born in Barbados in 1846.
In February 1847, regimental headquarters and two companies moved to St Vincent, while detachments remained at Grenada and Barbados. The family’s continued presence with him points to his good standing within the regiment.

British North America (1848–1851)
On 1 April 1848, the regiment sailed from the West Indies for Canada, arriving at Montreal on 20 May 1848. During cholera outbreaks the regiment encamped on Île Sainte-Hélène, and Bunnell remained on active duty throughout. His son Francis was born during this North American posting, about 1849.

The regiment returned to England in mid-1851, arriving at Plymouth on 25 July and taking up quarters at Devonport. Shortly afterwards, in July 1851, Bunnell’s son John was born at Stoke Damerel.

Promotion and Home Service (1852–1853)
In the early 1850s the regiment moved between Winchester, London, and Portsmouth, performing both garrison and ceremonial duties. Bunnell was promoted to Sergeant on 1 April 1853, entering the senior non-commissioned ranks after fifteen years of service.

Crimean War Service (1854–1856)
In 1854, the 19th Regiment of Foot was mobilised for the Eastern Expedition following Britain’s declaration of war against Russia. The regiment embarked for Turkey in successive detachments, assembled at Scutari, and joined the Light Division.

The regiment endured extreme hardship due to heat and disease during the march through Varna, where cholera inflicted severe losses. James Bunnell’s later discharge for chronic rheumatism, partly attributed to service, must be understood against this background of prolonged exposure.

In September 1854, the regiment landed in the Crimea and fought at the Battle of the Alma, suffering heavy casualties. It later took part in the siege of Sebastopol, including trench duties, the Battle of Inkerman, and the major assaults on the Redan in 1855, where the regiment again suffered crippling losses. Although Bunnell’s individual actions are not specified in his service papers, his continuous service and promotions confirm that he endured the campaign with the battalion.

Peace was concluded in 1856, and the regiment returned to England later that year.

Final Service, Discharge, and Civilian Life
In 1857, the regiment occupied Clarence Barracks, Portsmouth, where Bunnell is recorded as a serving Sergeant. That year he was awarded the Good Conduct and Long Service Medal, together with a £5 gratuity, recognising nearly twenty years of exemplary service. His daughter Jane was born in Portsea Island in July 1857.

Later in 1857 the regiment embarked for India, arriving at Calcutta in December and occupying Fort William, with detachments at Alipore. Bunnell’s long service concluded soon thereafter. In October 1858, a Regimental Board at Barrackpore found him unfit for further service owing to chronic rheumatism, and his discharge was finally approved at Chatham in March 1859.
His final description, recorded at about age thirty-nine, noted him as 5 feet 8 inches tall, with blue eyes, brown hair, and a fresh complexion.

Following discharge, James Bunnell settled permanently in Portsea, Hampshire. In the 1861 census he appears at 7 Sun Street, head of household, with his wife Ann and their younger children, including Henry, born in 1861. By 1864 he was working as a beer retailer, a common occupation for retired senior NCOs.
James Bunnell died at Portsea on 17 October 1864, the cause of death recorded as carcinoma of the stomach. He was forty five years old. Ann Cook Bunnell survived him until 1872.

Overall Assessment
James Bunnell represents the archetypal Victorian professional soldier of the ranks: Irish-born, steadily promoted by merit, repeatedly entrusted with overseas family residence, and tested by colonial service and modern industrial warfare. His family’s movements across Ireland, Greece, the Caribbean, Canada, and England provide a rare, human dimension to the operational history of the 19th Regiment of Foot, illustrating the lived reality behind the regiment’s campaign records

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