"War in Europe had ceased for 40 years, when in the reign of Queen Victoria peace was broken, and troops from the United Kingdom were being sent out to concentrate eventually in Turkey at the call of that Power in its resistance to Russian aggression.

"The Greys were not included at first when the expedition started, though cavalry (Heavy and Light) supplied regiments for the force concentrated at Varna under Lord Raglan the commander-in-chief of the British Army allied to the French in the joint expedition.

"The Greys were naturally disappointed at receiving no order to embark at first, but when it was decided by the Government that an invasion of the Crimea was to be undertaken in July, 1854, they received orders to start at once for Constantinople, where they were quartered in the cavalry barracks at Kulalie on the Bosphorus for several weeks during the time the flotilla was in preparation for crossing the Black Sea.

"At last word came that it had embarked for the Crimea, and with it as far as cavalry was concerned only light cavalry regiments were included at that time.

"Very shortly, however, the transport Himalaya, which had originally brought out the regiment from England, appeared in the Bosphorus; and immediately embarked the Reg^t for service in the Crimea.

"It so happened that as the Himalaya was passing the Fortress of Sebastopol the Russians were engaged in sinking ships to block the harbour to our fleet; a momentous decision! as it proved.

"A remarkable scene then presented itself. First came the British Fleet, then the French Fleet, covering the flank of the allied army in full march towards the fortress—the French regiments being nearest to the sea were sighted first, then the British more inland, the whole army (though the fact was yet unknown) flushed with victory of the Alma River which they left that morning behind.

"The Greys in fact joined the army at the Alma River where they were met by Lord Burghersh, Lord Raglan's Aide-de-Camp, who gave the first intimation of the Battle and suggested the steamer should drop down to the next river, the Katcha, and there disembark at any rate a squadron if possible before dark, so that it might watch for a force expected from Eupatoria to attack the rear of the army.

"This was done and the bulk of the Reg^t disembarked the following morning.

"At the next river, the Belbec, the Greys from being with the rearguard was moved right through the English and French armies, bivouacked near the great high road to Sebastopol so as to become the advanced guard of the whole army, for they were the freshest troops just arrived from England, and 'turned out' as if for a Horse Guards Parade!

"It was a strange scene; as soon as the French caught sight of the bearskin caps they began to cheer lustily, and as the Reg^t neared the Highlanders of the British army, hung on cheering and asking for news from home; the French meanwhile calling out 'Voila de la Cavalrie, voila des Grenadiers a cheval.'

"What followed is worth mentioning in some little detail, since the Greys was the only Heavy Cavalry Reg^t as yet landed in the Crimea, and a special job fell to their lot that day. The Reg^t being the advanced guard of the Allied Forces moving straight to the North side of the fortress a singular and most important change of direction had to be made quite suddenly when the Russian outposts had been reached.

"This movement is known as 'the flank march,' undertaken in consequence of the allied commanders' acceptance of a memorandum by Sir John Burgoyne, the distinguished officer of Engineers, pointing out that the South side of the fortress was practically undefended, and that if the Allied Forces could successfully move round, the North side might be left to itself.

"Sir John Burgoyne's memorandum, dated the day after the battle of the Alma, is given in full in an instructive volume by Sir John Adye, entitled 'A Review of the Crimean War, published by Hurst & Blackett, 1860.' On arrival at the Belbec river the allied commanders adopted the plan proposed in the able memorandum alluded to.

"In order to strike the main road which leads into the interior of the country down the Mackenzie heights towards Sebastopol and to the plains of Balaclava, the allies who, on the morning of the 25 September, were on the heights above the Belbec, had for some distance to march in a south-easterly direction through thick woods, in which there was only a slight track. On the same morning Prince Menschikoff, ignorant of the change, and doubtless conceiving that the plans of the allied generals were fully decided upon the attack on the North side, was moving a force, a considerable force, by the same main road up the Mackenzie heights and into the country towards Bacskiverai, with the intention, probably, when his troops had somewhat regained their confidence, and when they had been joined by reinforcements, to return and attack the Anglo-French army in its rear.

"Thus, on the 25th September the two hostile forces were unconsciously moving in two lines which intersected each other at a point close to the crest of the heights. Consequently, to the surprise of both, the advanced guard of the one suddenly found itself in the presence of the rearguard of the other. The Russian rearguard after standing for a moment dispersed into the wood, taking pot-shots at the Greys, who were forming up on the first available open space; as this could not be submitted to it became necessary, as there were no infantry present, to dismount a portion of the Reg^t to skirmish in the wood against the irritating Russian Infantry, who, after firing at the horsemen, threw themselves down and pretended to be dead.

"Sir Edward B. Hamley, writing in 1855, in his book, 'The Campaign in the Crimea, London, Blackwood,' alludes to having been present at this incident, saying, 'Some of the Scots Greys dismounting went skirmishing through the wood, and about a dozen Russians throwing themselves down and pretending to be dead, rose after they were past and fired on them, for which discreditable ruse they were, as they deserved to be, all put to death.'

"This was too much for Jock and he proceeded to use his carbine, not however before consulting the Sergeant-Major, (so the regimental story goes,) in the words 'Sairgent-Major, shall I shoot 'em?' and the prompt reply came, 'Most unquestionably!'

"In the meantime an excited Staff Officer came to the Colonel of the Reg^t asking for 'six determined men' to gallop down the ravine road and upset the foremost Russian carriage so as to secure the convoy. Again the story goes that the Colonel promptly replied by ordering 'from the right number off six!' and away they went with the happiest result—amongst other loot there was Menschikoff's carriage in which was stored a lot of champagne which it is needless to say was broached without much delay.

"In the carriage was a Colonel of high rank who evidently had not forgotten to use the contents of the Prince's carriage.

"He was transferred as a prisoner to the Fleet later on—where he remained till at Petersburg the authorities consented to release Lord Dunkellin who had been taken prisoner and whose exchange was conditional on the return of this officer. There are stories extant about his subsequent fate.

"This casual encounter was so far useful for the moment, that it must have rather mystified the enemy as to the places of the allies, but Lord Raglan feeling the importance of regaining the coast, his army being for the time scattered for miles along a thin line, at once retraced his steps and continued his march by the steep road down the Mackenzie heights: and towards sunset the light and first divisions streamed across the plain followed shortly after by the 2nd Division, and subsequently by the French Army bearing with them in a litter Marshall St. Arnaud in a dying condition. He died, a few days after the town of Balaclava was occupied, on board a French Ship of War.

"Sir John Adye who was present on the occasion describes 'the Flank march' as the one great strategic success of the whole War.

"'The fortunate result of the flank march, by giving the allied generals possession of the excellent, though diminutive, harbour of Balaclava, and thus affording them a safe communication with their fleets, relieved them of one of the anxieties hitherto attending their movements, and enabled them to devote all their attention to the one great object of the expedition—the capture of Sebastopol.'

"Considering the immense importance of this little harbour, the only depot of the English Army and considering its isolated position, it being several miles from the plateau on which the infantry of the army was encamped its defence was a cause of keen anxiety.

"It can scarcely be supposed that a few Turkish redoubts with the 93rd Highlanders under Sir Colin Campbell was a suitable defence for such a place—and yet what was there besides the Cavalry encamped in the plain?

"The Cavalry it is true had been reinforced by the arrival of the heavy Cavalry Regt^s (since the flank march described above) which had been left at Varna on the other side of the Black Sea: and their performance on the occasion of the coming battle is perhaps as well known as any incident during the Crimean War. But the battle was not merely a dash and a ride, and to understand what took place requires some sifting of the circumstances so as to arrive at a definite notion of the day's work.

"After the middle of October the first reinforcements for Prince Menschikoff's army having arrived the enemy had been observed for some days hovering in the neighbourhood of Balaclava and the troops there were constantly kept on the alert.

"At day break on the 25th October General Liprandi with 20,000 infantry, supported by a strong force of cavalry and about 40 guns made a determined attack and in the words of Sir E. Hamley the battle commenced by 'the Russian guns on the eminences and in the valley opened a cannonade on the outposts held by the Turks. A troop of Horse Artillery and a field battery supported by the Scots Greys were ordered up to Balaclava to the slopes between the outposts and found themselves opposed to the fire of several field batteries and service guns of position which covered an advance of infantry against the hills on the right. As the troop was armed with only 6-pounders, it and the field battery were quite over-matched, both in metal and in numbers; nevertheless our artillery maintained the contest till its ammunition was exhausted, when it retired, having lost a good many horses and a few men besides Maude the Captain of the troop, who was severely wounded by a shell which burst in his horse.'

"Time had still to be given to the infantry to arrive from the plateau miles away, therefore the squadrons had to be withdrawn very gradually, all the time being under the fire of Liprandi's guns.

"Thus opened the Battle of Balaklava, the engagement continued through the day with separate incidents, with intervals between them, and marked by singular interest. Sir Edward Hamley, after speaking with measured words of one of these incidents which immediately preceded the well-known cavalry charge of the Heavy Brigade, says, 'There was something almost theatrical in the grandeur of this portion of the spectacle; the French stationed on the heights, and the English passing along them, looked down, as if from the benches of an amphitheatre, on the two bodies of cavalry meeting in mortal shock on the level grassy plain, which enclosed on every side by lofty mountains would have been a fit arena for a tournament of giants.'"