BOXED CRIMEA MEDAL TO ROBT LEEDER 4TH FOOT

Robert Leeder was a native of Norfolk. While serving with the 4th Foot in the Crimea, he sent the below letters home, published in the 'Norfolk News':

The 18th of November 1854, Norfolk news.

Brother and Sister—Your most welcome letter was brought to me in the trenches last night at ten o'clock, and if I did not pass a joyful night, I at least passed a cheerful one after reading it by the light of a burning stick. I was glad to hear you were all in good health. I am most thankful to God that I am, and still am, spared amidst the work of death that is continually going on around me. I have deferred writing longer than I should have done, wishing to give you some decisive information, but as your letter assures me you are all most anxious to hear from me, I thought it better to write at once. Sebastopol is still in the hands of the Russians, and we find it fully deserves the name it has of being the strongest fortification in the world. This is the twelfth day we have been bombarding it, both night and day. We have set it on fire in several places on several occasions, but the resources of the besieged seem to be inexhaustible, for as fast as we set it on fire, they extinguish it, and the works we demolish during the day, they repair at night. We should have carried the place by storm long ago, but the whole place is undermined, and it is said to be the determination" of Prince Menschikoff, rather than it should fall into the hands of the allies, to blow himself, his army' and the place into the air. This is what is deterring our Commander-in-Chief from storming it, but it is believed that it will have to be done. They have 700 guns pointing towards the land and 800 towards the sea. A most harassing life it is. I have not had an hour's sleep except amidst the roar of artillery and musketry since the siege commenced. You would scarcely credit that last night after I received your letter, I slept soundly for four hours between two 68-pounders that were firing without intermission, so much for fatigue. We remain 24 hours in the trenches at a time; we are then replaced by others, return to our tents just out of the range of guns, and cook and recruit our exhausted strength. I have no idea when Sebastopol will fall but fall it must, and will for a certainty, for we will never leave it now till we take it. We are very much annoyed by a body of Russians in our rear. They make night attacks, which make it very harassing to our men. When we snatch a sleep, it is with loaded rifles in our hands. I wish you had sent me a newspaper with an account of the Alma battle in it. We had ten wounded in our regiment—five have since died. Some regiments suffered much more. We were fighting in skirmishing order with their light troops; those who fought in line suffered most. I have just heard that letters do not go away before tomorrow, so I shall write no more today. The 27th of October.—Still the same—l am finishing this in the greatest possible hurry: kind love to everybody that inquires for me - our own family in particular. Goodbye: God bless you all; I am sure you will be glad to hear I have got promotion, with a promise of further advancement if I live. I must now conclude and remain your most affectionate brother, "ROBERT LEEDER, Corporal. Grenadier Company, King's Own Regiment." Sebastopol' 

A letter he sent home to his sister, published in the Norfolk News on the 6th of January 1855;

'A Letter from a Norfolk Soldier. Before Sebastopol, the 2nd of December, 1854.

 My dear Brother and Sister, I am still spared to write once more, but I cannot boast any longer of buoyant hopes and cheerful prospects. Neither can I say a word of my good health, for the winter has set in with extreme severity, and we are neither clothed, nor housed, nor fed for it. We are in tents when off duty, but they are afloat, and we have to lay down in mud with nothing but a blanket. I need scarcely say the men are dying by hundreds. I have had wet clothes on for the last week. Today, thank God, there is some prospect of the rain abating. There is no blame to be attached to any of the authorities, for our present condition is to be entirely ascribed to unfortunate events. We should have had an abundance of warm clothing; but after the ships arrived here safely and were anchored in Balaklava harbour, about 5 miles from this place—whence we get all our supplies—a hurricane came on and drove them from their anchorage out to sea where they were wrecked. In addition to this, about 2,000,000 rounds of ammunition were lost, which was the greatest loss of all as well as £200,000 for the troops. With regard to any prospect of a termination of the siege, there is none, for the enemy just keep up as good a fire as they did the first day, and the army in the rear has received reinforcements and still continues to menace us; but we are also receiving large reinforcements both from France and England. Poor fellows, I pity the men that arrive on this scene of misery and hardship. They frequently die while on duty; it is but too common to find from six to eighteen dead from disease, besides those who may be killed by the enemy, which amounts to a number daily. I fear this gloomy letter will put you in bad spirits, for which I am extremely sorry, but indeed, it is but a faint picture of the sad reality. I am suffering from dysentery and general debility, brought on by having wet feet for days and nights together, for all our boots are worn out, and the supply lost. However, I don't despair, but with God's help, I may outlive the severities of a Russian winter; but l am scarcely a shadow of my former self, and that bright star, hope, at cheers us under our greatest troubles, is almost extinct within us, so far as this world is concerned; but we have yet a cheering confidence that if it is God's will that we are not to return to our native land once more to embrace those who are near and dear to us, we shall meet them again in a brighter and happier world. My dear sister, I should have written before, for well, I know you are all anxious about me, but, believe me, I have not had time. We are constantly on duty, seldom having time to make ourselves any warm drink, and we are obliged to eat raw pork or beef and biscuit. I hope you will write more frequently to me, for it is the only thing to cheer me; and do be kind enough to send me the News of the World if you can, but you must put two stamps on it. Pray give my kindest love to my dear parents, &c., &c. I fear you will not be able to read this, for I am shivering with the ague, and sitting up to my ankles in mud. God bless you all, and believe me to remain your most affectionate brother, 

ROBERT LEEDER, Corporal, 4th King's Own Regiment'

Six days after the last letter was published, Robert sadly died at Scutari of dysentery.