Walter Savage Landor Dickens (8 February 1841 – 31 December 1863) was the fourth child and second son of
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
novelistA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens FRSA , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print...
and his wife
CatherineCatherine 'Kate' Thomson Dickens was the wife of English novelist Charles Dickens, with whom he fathered 10 children.-Marriage:...
. He became an officer cadet in the
East India CompanyEast India Company was a historical English company, founded in 1600, and chartered with the monopoly of trading with Southeast Asia, East Asia, and India...
's
Presidency armiesThe presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the Empire of India within the British Empire.The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Indian Mutiny, when the British Crown took over all three presidencies...
just before the Indian Mutiny. The mutiny resulted in the British Crown extending direct rule to India, and Dickens continued to serve in what was now becoming the
British Indian ArmyThe Indian Army , now sometimes called the British Indian Army to distinguish it from the modern army of the Republic of India, was the principal army of the British Raj in India during the last half-century before the partition of India in 1947.The Indian Army served both in India and,...
until his death.
Named after his
godfatherA godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. Judaism has this equivalent in the circumcision ceremony. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
Walter Savage Landor Walter Savage Landor was an English writer and poet. His best known works were the prose Imaginary Conversations, and the poem Rose Aylmer, but the critical acclaim he received from contemporary poets and reviewers was not matched by public popularity...
, Walter Dickens was
christenedInfant baptism is the Christian religious practice of baptising infants or young children. In theological discussions, the practice is sometimes referred to as paedobaptism or pedobaptism from the Greek pais meaning "child." The practice is sometimes contrasted with what is called "believer's...
at St Marylebone parish church on 4 December 1841, after which Charles Dickens held a celebratory party.
Walter Savage Landor Dickens (8 February 1841 – 31 December 1863) was the fourth child and second son of
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
novelistA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens FRSA , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print...
and his wife
CatherineCatherine 'Kate' Thomson Dickens was the wife of English novelist Charles Dickens, with whom he fathered 10 children.-Marriage:...
. He became an officer cadet in the
East India CompanyEast India Company was a historical English company, founded in 1600, and chartered with the monopoly of trading with Southeast Asia, East Asia, and India...
's
Presidency armiesThe presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the Empire of India within the British Empire.The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Indian Mutiny, when the British Crown took over all three presidencies...
just before the Indian Mutiny. The mutiny resulted in the British Crown extending direct rule to India, and Dickens continued to serve in what was now becoming the
British Indian ArmyThe Indian Army , now sometimes called the British Indian Army to distinguish it from the modern army of the Republic of India, was the principal army of the British Raj in India during the last half-century before the partition of India in 1947.The Indian Army served both in India and,...
until his death.
Biography
Named after his
godfatherA godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. Judaism has this equivalent in the circumcision ceremony. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
Walter Savage Landor Walter Savage Landor was an English writer and poet. His best known works were the prose Imaginary Conversations, and the poem Rose Aylmer, but the critical acclaim he received from contemporary poets and reviewers was not matched by public popularity...
, Walter Dickens was
christenedInfant baptism is the Christian religious practice of baptising infants or young children. In theological discussions, the practice is sometimes referred to as paedobaptism or pedobaptism from the Greek pais meaning "child." The practice is sometimes contrasted with what is called "believer's...
at St Marylebone parish church on 4 December 1841, after which Charles Dickens held a celebratory party. The guests included
ElliotsonJohn Elliotson was an English physician, born in Southwark, London.He studied medicine first at the University of Edinburgh , where he was influenced by Thomas Brown, M.D...
,
LandorWalter Savage Landor was an English writer and poet. His best known works were the prose Imaginary Conversations, and the poem Rose Aylmer, but the critical acclaim he received from contemporary poets and reviewers was not matched by public popularity...
,
MacliseDaniel Maclise , Irish painter, was the son of a Highland soldier and was born in Cork City, working for most of his life in London.-Early life:...
,
MacreadyWilliam Charles Macready was an English actor.-Life:He was born in London, and educated at Rugby.It was his intention to go up to Oxford, but in 1809 the embarrassed affairs of his father, the lessee of several provincial theatres, called him to share the responsibilities of theatrical management...
, Stanfield and
TalfourdSir Thomas Noon Talfourd, SL , was an English judge and author.The son of a well-to-do brewer, he was born at Reading, Berkshire ....
. Walter was educated at
WimbledonWimbledon is a suburb in south west London, part of the London Borough of Merton and located from Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
. Nicknamed 'Young Skull' by his father, Walter Dickens showed early signs of aspiring to be an author like his father, but Charles Dickens instructed Walter's tutor to encourage him to not write, stating "The less he is encouraged to write the better, and the happier he will be." Instead, through the influence of
Angela Burdett-CouttsAngela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts , born Angela Georgina Burdett, was the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet, an MP, and the former Sophia Coutts, who was the daughter of Thomas Coutts, the wealthy banker who founded Coutts & Co.In 1837 she became the wealthiest...
, Walter became a cadet in the
East India CompanyEast India Company was a historical English company, founded in 1600, and chartered with the monopoly of trading with Southeast Asia, East Asia, and India...
, leaving
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
in 1857 aged 16 at the start of the Indian Mutiny. At this time there was no single unified army in India. Each of the three Presidencies of India had its own army, and, in addition, a limited number of
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
units were also stationed in India.
After seeing Walter off at
SouthamptonSouthampton is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
with his oldest son
CharleyCharles Dickens, Jr, born Charles Culliford Boz Dickens , was the first child of the novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. A failed businessman, he became the editor of his father's magazine All the Year Round, and a successful writer of dictionaries...
, Charles Dickens was very upset for a few days but soon recovered and was satisfied that he had provided a career for his son, even though Walter was not suited to the life his father had chosen for him. Charles Dickens wrote, "A sad trial, thank God it is over. The dear boy bore it a great deal better than we could have hoped." Walter never returned home and his father was never to see him again.
Following the introduction of direct rule in India in the wake of the mutiny, the armed forces were reorganised. A notice published in the
London GazetteThe London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the UK, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
dated 1 March 1864 granted all those serving with "Her Majesty's Indian Forces on the 18th February 1861" rank in the British Army; Walter Dickens was amongst those listed with the rank of
lieutenantLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
. He served in the 26th Native Infantry Regiment, and was attached to the
42nd Regiment of FootThe 42nd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment's lineage could be traced back as far as the 1660s, when independent companies of men were formed to police the Highlands by the local clan chiefs....
(The Black Watch) with that rank when he fell heavily into debt causing his health to break down. He was due to be invalided back to England but died of an
aortic aneurysmAn aortic aneurysm is a general term for any swelling of the aorta, usually representing an underlying weakness in the wall of the aorta at that location...
on New Year's Eve at the Officers' Hospital in Calcutta in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. He is buried in Alipore Cemetery.
His father did not receive the news of Walter's death until his own birthday on February 7 1864. Later, he received Walter's unpaid bills.
Walter Dickens's name appears with those of his nine siblings on the monument next to his mother
Catherine DickensCatherine 'Kate' Thomson Dickens was the wife of English novelist Charles Dickens, with whom he fathered 10 children.-Marriage:...
's grave in
Highgate CemeteryHighgate Cemetery is a cemetery located in Highgate, London, England. It is designated Grade II* on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.-History and setting:...
in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. His brother
Sydney DickensSydney Smith Haldimand Dickens was a Royal Navy officer; the fifth son and seventh child of English novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine.-Biography:...
, who was buried at sea in the
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
, is also commemorated there. His sister Dora Dickens is buried with her mother.
External links