We now come to Richard Ramsay Armstrong's service in the Crimea. RRA had two brothers in the Army who served alongside him at the siege of Sevastopol, and it is the elder of the two who is covered first.
Robert Philip Armstrong was the eldest surviving boy in the Armstrong family. He was born in Jersey on 10 February and baptized on 13 March, 1825. He was presented by Philippe de Quetteville Esq. and Dlle. Esther Nicolle.
He joined the Army on 25 February, 1848, by purchase as an Ensign in the 67th Foot - the South Hampshire Regiment. By the time of the invasion of the Crimean he was a Lieutenant (seniority 06.06.1854). Below is a scan of the December 1854 Hart's Army List for 67th showing RPA located at the regimental depot. At some point in early 1855 he transferred to the 77th Foot - the East Middlesex Regiment - and went to the Crimea.
He served throughout the campaign with the 77th, being 'wounded, slightly' on 17 August, 1855. [Frank & Andrea Cook, Casualty Roll for the Crimea, Hayward & Son, London, 1976.] He received the Crimea Medal with 'Sebastopol' Clasp and the Turkish Medal.
After the war RPA returned to Jersey. However, the rest of his life is poorly recorded. At some point, not at this moment clear, he transferred to the 23rd Regiment - The Royal Welsh Fusiliers. He was promoted Captain on 26 March, 1858. From the pages of The Times it appears he either did, or was about to go to India with his regiment, and may have got as far as Malta, where the 23rd were part of the garrison in March 1859. He was still there in July 1860.
However, at some point in 1861 he got married to Clara Ann Malet, a younger sister of Eliza Susanna Malet, RRA’s wife.
Robert Philip Armstrong died in 1863, in the first year of their marriage.
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