William Howard Russell 1850. Initially sent by editor John Delane to Malta to cover British support for the Ottoman Empire against Russia in 1854, Russell despised the term "war correspondent" but his coverage of the conflict brought him international renown, and Florence Nightingale later credited her entry into wartime nursing to his reports. The Crimean medical care, shelter and protection of all ranks by Mary Seacole was also publicised by Russell and by other contemporary journalists, rescuing her from bankruptcy. Russell was described by one of the soldiers on the frontlines thus: "a vulgar low Irishman, [who] sings a good song, drinks anyone's
Crimean Tom Crimean Tom Crimean Tom (also known as Tom or Sevastopol Tom) was a cat noted for his association with the British Army during the Crimean War. Found by Lieutenant William Gair in Sevastopol after a year-long siege, he is said to have led British forces to valuable caches of hidden supplies that helped ease starvation among the troops. Gair brought Tom back to England after the war but the cat died soon afterwards. He was stuffed and presented to the Royal United Services Institute. A cat bought in a flea market in the 1950s resides in the collection of the