The Crimean War (1853-1856) pitted the tsarist Russia of Nicholas I against the Ottoman Empire of Sultan Abdul-Mejid I supported by France and the British Empire. The expansionist pretensions of Russia towards the East, camouflaged in questions of a religious nature, triggered a bloody war that many of you will remember from the movie «The charge of the light brigade » (1936).
The protagonist of this story was called Timothy . After spending his first days at sea on a Portuguese ship, he "enlisted" on a ship of the British Royal Navy under the command of Captain John Everard Courtenay in 1854. He passed through several Royal Navy ships and participated in the Crimean War through aboard the HMS Queen during the first bombardment of Sevastopol. In 1892, after nearly 40 years serving in the British Navy, he was discharged and taken in by the Courtenay family, Earls of Devon. He wasn't much of a talker and much less of telling war stories. So, his life was quiet and pleasant at Powderham Castle, residence of the Earl of Devon, until he passed away in 2004.
Logically, when he died at the age of 160, he was the last survivor of the Crimean War. Before finishing this post I would like to specify a couple of details:the first, Timothy, despite the name, was a female; and, the second, he was… a Mediterranean tortoise .
When he had been living peacefully in the castle garden for several years, they decided that he should mate… surprise! She was female. But after so long calling her Timothy, they preferred not to change her name and hung a badge with « My name is Timothy «. She is buried in her family cemetery.
Sources:BBC, Naked Science Forum