THE BALACLAVA CHARGE 



hardly conceive a finer example of devotion to 

 duty. The only exception to the self-denying 

 ordinance this represented was to be found in 

 the Society's secretary, he being the one official 

 who manifested the slightest interest in the matter, 

 or who took the trouble to ascertain the name of 

 the winner, but his well-known sporting pro- 

 clivities fully accounted for this. This was a 

 good-natured thrust at my indifference to racing 

 matters, as shown by my always opposing altering 

 the dates of the show, in order to avoid the Derby 

 Day. His lordship was a real sportsman in the 

 best sense of the term. 



There have been so many different versions of 

 the Balaclava Charge that the following account 

 of it given by his lordship, who led a squadron 

 in the charge, and was one of the only three 

 officers in his regiment who came out of it un- 

 scathed, seems worth reproducing. In a letter, 

 written very shortly after he had taken part in 

 the charge, he says : 



" We, the Light Brigade, were drawn up at 

 the other end of the valley, facing their position, 

 distant about three-quarters of a mile, waiting, 

 I had imagined, for infantry to come to our 

 support, when suddenly an aide-de-camp (poor 

 Nolan) galloped up with an order, ' The Light 

 Brigade will attack ; the 17th and 13th will 

 advance, supported by the 8th and llth and 4th.' 

 Knowing the strength of their position and our 

 want of proper support, I felt it was a critical 

 moment, but, grasping our horses by the head, 

 away we went. We had not gone many yards 

 before we were under fire of the first heavy battery 



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