London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Fragments of Arm Bone)

This is another cheery little number from the collections of the National Army Museum, it’s fragments of bone taken from the damaged arm of Lieutenant Charles Fletcher, from the 48th Bengal Native Infantry. The incident took place during the Indian Rebellion when the compound at the Residency in Lucknow came under attack in 1857. A musket ball hit Fletcher, which isn’t ideal, causing this damage to his arm. The Residency building is still there in ruins, a reminder of the last days of the East India Company, before the 1858 Government of India Act transferred power to the British Raj. It’s an interesting souvenir to keep, I’m not sure that it’s something I would have kept in a little box though to remind me of the event….