London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Child’s Shoe from Siege of Cawnpore)

This is another emotive exhibit in the collections of the National Army Museum, a child’s shoe recovered from the well at Cawnpore. This was an uprising in India in what is now known as Kanpur, where for numerous reasons, there was a siege which forced British troops and residents to defend themselves. Nana Sahib led the rebellion against the British, seemingly as he hadn’t received a pension from the East India Company that he had wanted.

Anyway, making a long story quite short, Sahib’s forces killed hundreds of women and children and threw their bodies into a well. The British soon recovered the territory, and committed a brutal shock and awe policy in retaliation with many locals humiliated and killed. This shoe belonged to one of the children who was killed, a reminder of a bloody siege.