Florentia Sale, Lady Sale (née Wynch; 13 August 1790 – 6 July 1853)[1][2] was an Englishwoman who travelled the world while married to her husband, Sir Robert Henry Sale, a British army officer. She was dubbed "the Grenadier in Petticoats"[3] for her travels with the army, which took her to regions such as Mauritius, Burma, Afghanistan, India, and various other areas under the control of the British Empire.
Florentia Wynch was born on 13 August 1790,[1] in Madras, during Company rule in India, the daughter of George Wynch, a member of the civil service.[4] George's father Alexander Wynch was the Governor of Madras for a time during the 1770s.[4] It is possible she is named after her paternal grandmother, Florentia Craddock, wife of Alexander.[5] She was raised by her uncles and received a good education as a child.[6]
Marriage and adult lifeedit
Portrait of Lady Sale from Prison Sketches. Comprising portraits of the Cabul prisoners, and other subjects by Vincent Eyre
In 1809, Wynch married Sir Robert Henry Sale of the British Army. She accompanied him on his numerous postings, raising their children while he fought. The couple's first child, daughter Mary Harriet, was born a year after their marriage, on 17 February 1810 in Walajabad.[7] By the time of the birth of her second child, she had moved to Mauritius, where Sale was stationed; George Henry was born in 1811 in Port Louis, Mauritius.[7] Five of the couple's other children were born in Port Louis too, the last being in 1818.[7] On 1 October 1820, she bore her eighth child, Henrietta Sarah, in Montluel, France.[7] Her last child, Alexandrina was born nearly three years later, on 2 January 1823 in Calcutta, India.[7] All her children married into families with associations with India including Bruere, Holmes, Dysart, Hill and Brind.
During the First Anglo-Afghan War, Lady Sale, along with other women and children, as well as soldiers, were taken prisoner in 1842 during the British Army retreat from Kabul and detained for nine months.[8] The group were taken hostage by Akbar Khan following the massacre in the Khurd Karbul Pass. Amongst the hostages with Lady Sale was her youngest daughter Alexandrina, along with her husband Lieutenant John Sturt.[9] Sturt was fatally injured by a severe wound to his abdomen, in an attack in which Lady Sale was shot in the wrist and Mrs Sturt's pony was shot in the neck and ear. The two women nursed him his final hours.[10] Upon his death, she secured him a Christian burial. After nine months, the party managed to negotiate the Afghan captors into releasing them; they were then rescued by Sir Richmond Shakespear on 17 September 1842.[11] Throughout her time as a captive, Lady Sale kept a diary, detailing the events of the ordeal in a very straight forward and thoughtful manner. She sent parts of her diary through her captivity to her husband and he sent it on to the authorities in England and it was quoted by the papers at the time. She was unimpressed by how the newspapers had reported her actions. A year later, she published this as A Journal of the Disasters in Afghanistan, 1841–42, which documented her experiences throughout the Afghan War,[12] and the book received critical acclaim. During her time in Afghanistan Lady Sale collected some ancient coins and donated 20 of them to the British Museum.[13] One of the coins is on display today.[14]
Lady Sale's husband died in action in 1845, leaving her widowed. From 1846-1848 she had a grace and favour apartment at Hampton Court Palace, just outside London.[9] She remained in India for most of the rest of her life.[15] After her husband's death she received a pension of £500 per annum in light of her conduct as a prisoner and her husband's military services.[9] Sale took a trip to the Cape of Good Hope in 1853 for her health,[9] though she died not long after her arrival, on 6 July 1853, in Cape Town, South Africa.[2] Lady Sale was originally buried in the Somerset Road Cemetery. After the leveling of this cemetery the monument for Lady Sale and her remains were re-erected in the Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town,[16] where her grave exists to this day. Her tombstone reads "underneath this stone reposes all that could die of Lady Sale".[17]
Worksedit
Sale, Florentia (1843). A Journal of the Disasters in Afghanistan, 1841–42. London: John Murray.
^ ab"Sale, Sir Robert Henry". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24533. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ ab"India during the Raj". Adam Matthew Publications. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
^"Gifford Lodge: Twickenham". The Twickenham Museum. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
^Omrani, Bijan (2006). . Bijan Omrani. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
^ abcde"Florentia Wynch". Family Tree Maker. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
^"British Empire primary sources: Diary, Lady Florentia Sale". Women in World History. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
^ abcdParker, Sarah E. (2005). (PDF). Surrey: Historic Royal Palaces. p. 18. ISBN1-873993-50-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
^Sale, Florentia Wynch (2009). Lady Sale's Afghanistan : an indomitable Victorian lady's account of the retreat from Kabul during the First Afghan War. Leonaur/Oakpast Ltd. ISBN9781846777325. OCLC 547500668.
^Adam Matthew. . Adam Matthew Publications. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
^Sale, Florentia (1843) A Journal of the Disasters in Affghanistan, 1841–42. Baudry's European Library, Paris.
^"Lady Florentia Sale - 21 related objects". British Museum. from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
^Jansari, Jansari (16 March 2018). "International women collectors". British Museum. from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
^Adam Matthew. "Lady Florentia Sale on retreat from Kabul". Online Galleries. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
^(PDF). Chowkidar Journal. 4: 63–65. 1986. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2019.
Biographical article on Lady Sale by Bijan Omrani.
April 10, 2024
florentia, sale, lady, sale, née, wynch, august, 1790, july, 1853, englishwoman, travelled, world, while, married, husband, robert, henry, sale, british, army, officer, dubbed, grenadier, petticoats, travels, with, army, which, took, regions, such, mauritius, . Florentia Sale Lady Sale nee Wynch 13 August 1790 6 July 1853 1 2 was an Englishwoman who travelled the world while married to her husband Sir Robert Henry Sale a British army officer She was dubbed the Grenadier in Petticoats 3 for her travels with the army which took her to regions such as Mauritius Burma Afghanistan India and various other areas under the control of the British Empire Florentia SaleSale by Richard Thomas Bott 1844BornFlorentia Wynch 1790 08 13 13 August 1790Madras Tamil Nadu IndiaDied6 July 1853 1853 07 06 aged 62 Cape Town South AfricaNationalityBritishNotable workA Journal of the Disasters in Afghanistan 1841 2SpouseSir Robert Henry Sale 1809 1845 Contents 1 Early life 2 Marriage and adult life 3 Works 4 References 5 External linksEarly life editFlorentia Wynch was born on 13 August 1790 1 in Madras during Company rule in India the daughter of George Wynch a member of the civil service 4 George s father Alexander Wynch was the Governor of Madras for a time during the 1770s 4 It is possible she is named after her paternal grandmother Florentia Craddock wife of Alexander 5 She was raised by her uncles and received a good education as a child 6 Marriage and adult life edit nbsp Portrait of Lady Sale from Prison Sketches Comprising portraits of the Cabul prisoners and other subjects by Vincent EyreIn 1809 Wynch married Sir Robert Henry Sale of the British Army She accompanied him on his numerous postings raising their children while he fought The couple s first child daughter Mary Harriet was born a year after their marriage on 17 February 1810 in Walajabad 7 By the time of the birth of her second child she had moved to Mauritius where Sale was stationed George Henry was born in 1811 in Port Louis Mauritius 7 Five of the couple s other children were born in Port Louis too the last being in 1818 7 On 1 October 1820 she bore her eighth child Henrietta Sarah in Montluel France 7 Her last child Alexandrina was born nearly three years later on 2 January 1823 in Calcutta India 7 All her children married into families with associations with India including Bruere Holmes Dysart Hill and Brind During the First Anglo Afghan War Lady Sale along with other women and children as well as soldiers were taken prisoner in 1842 during the British Army retreat from Kabul and detained for nine months 8 The group were taken hostage by Akbar Khan following the massacre in the Khurd Karbul Pass Amongst the hostages with Lady Sale was her youngest daughter Alexandrina along with her husband Lieutenant John Sturt 9 Sturt was fatally injured by a severe wound to his abdomen in an attack in which Lady Sale was shot in the wrist and Mrs Sturt s pony was shot in the neck and ear The two women nursed him his final hours 10 Upon his death she secured him a Christian burial After nine months the party managed to negotiate the Afghan captors into releasing them they were then rescued by Sir Richmond Shakespear on 17 September 1842 11 Throughout her time as a captive Lady Sale kept a diary detailing the events of the ordeal in a very straight forward and thoughtful manner She sent parts of her diary through her captivity to her husband and he sent it on to the authorities in England and it was quoted by the papers at the time She was unimpressed by how the newspapers had reported her actions A year later she published this as A Journal of the Disasters in Afghanistan 1841 42 which documented her experiences throughout the Afghan War 12 and the book received critical acclaim During her time in Afghanistan Lady Sale collected some ancient coins and donated 20 of them to the British Museum 13 One of the coins is on display today 14 Lady Sale s husband died in action in 1845 leaving her widowed From 1846 1848 she had a grace and favour apartment at Hampton Court Palace just outside London 9 She remained in India for most of the rest of her life 15 After her husband s death she received a pension of 500 per annum in light of her conduct as a prisoner and her husband s military services 9 Sale took a trip to the Cape of Good Hope in 1853 for her health 9 though she died not long after her arrival on 6 July 1853 in Cape Town South Africa 2 Lady Sale was originally buried in the Somerset Road Cemetery After the leveling of this cemetery the monument for Lady Sale and her remains were re erected in the Maitland Cemetery Cape Town 16 where her grave exists to this day Her tombstone reads underneath this stone reposes all that could die of Lady Sale 17 Works editSale Florentia 1843 A Journal of the Disasters in Afghanistan 1841 42 London John Murray References edit a b Vetch R H 1885 1900 Sale Robert Henry Dictionary of National Biography London Smith Elder amp Co a b Sale Sir Robert Henry Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 24533 Subscription or UK public library membership required Hugh Williams 2008 Fifty Things You Need to Know About British History HarperCollins pp 302 303 ISBN 978 0 00 727841 1 a b India during the Raj Adam Matthew Publications Retrieved 15 September 2011 Gifford Lodge Twickenham The Twickenham Museum Retrieved 15 September 2011 Omrani Bijan 2006 Will we make it to Jalalabad Bijan Omrani Archived from the original on 23 September 2015 Retrieved 15 September 2011 a b c d e Florentia Wynch Family Tree Maker Retrieved 14 September 2011 British Empire primary sources Diary Lady Florentia Sale Women in World History Retrieved 16 July 2010 a b c d Parker Sarah E 2005 Grace amp Favour A handbook of who lived where in Hampton Court Palace 1750 to 1950 PDF Surrey Historic Royal Palaces p 18 ISBN 1 873993 50 1 Archived from the original PDF on 20 March 2012 Retrieved 15 September 2011 Sale Florentia Wynch 2009 Lady Sale s Afghanistan an indomitable Victorian lady s account of the retreat from Kabul during the First Afghan War Leonaur Oakpast Ltd ISBN 9781846777325 OCLC 547500668 Adam Matthew India during the Raj Adam Matthew Publications Archived from the original on 6 October 2008 Retrieved 16 July 2010 Sale Florentia 1843 A Journal of the Disasters in Affghanistan 1841 42 Baudry s European Library Paris Lady Florentia Sale 21 related objects British Museum Archived from the original on 16 July 2020 Retrieved 15 July 2020 Jansari Jansari 16 March 2018 International women collectors British Museum Archived from the original on 17 November 2020 Retrieved 15 July 2020 Adam Matthew Lady Florentia Sale on retreat from Kabul Online Galleries Retrieved 16 July 2010 BACSA Photographs PDF Chowkidar Journal 4 63 65 1986 Archived from the original PDF on 4 August 2019 Dalrymple William 2013 Return of a King the Battle for Afghanistan London Bloomsbury ISBN 978 1 4088 1830 5 OCLC 955470310 External links editWill we make it to Jalalabad Biographical article on Lady Sale by Bijan Omrani Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Florentia Sale amp oldid 1217134116, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
