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Back in 1967 we were living in the West End of London with views of Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. As a newly-married couple, it was an exiting place to live as there always seemed to be something interesting going on. For example, even then we were once able to see a procession pass our building which we later learned was a rehearsal for the Queen Mother’s funeral! Behind our flat was a run-down mews which at some point in the past was a barracks building and we were fascinated when a film crew took over the place and started sprucing it up a bit. That was where part of the barracks scene in the movie ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ was filmed. Behind the mews was Carlton House Terrace and that was where they built a huge wooden mock-up of a statue on wheels of the Duke of Wellington that also featured in the movie. Anyhoo, all this was brought to mind just a couple of evenings ago when we watched the DVD of the movie which depicted the background to the infamous cavalry charge during the Battle of Balaclava in Crimean War which took place on 25 October 1854. The movie starred Trevor Howard as Lord Cardigan, Harry Andrews as Lord Lucan (Cardigan’s hated brother-in-law), John Gielgud as Lord Raglan and David Hemmings as Captain Nolan. Though there were a couple of historical inaccuracies in the film, it was largely based on the research by Cecil Woodham-Smith and published in his 1953 book, ‘The Reason Why’. It portrayed fairly accurately the harsh treatment but superb discipline of British soldiers and the incompetence of the army’s leaders who were mainly aristocrats who had purchased their commissions and who were more often concerned with appearances than with the work of leading their men. At this point in the Battle of Balaclava, Russian troops were removing British naval guns they had captured from redoubts on the reverse side of the Causeway Heights, the hill forming the right side of a valley. At the end of the valley was a mass of Russian guns. Both could be clearly seen by Lord Raglan, the army commander, who had a high vantage point, but neither could be seen by the cavalry waiting below. Lord Raglan sent an order via Captain Nolan to Lord Lucan who was in overall commend of the Light and Heavy Brigades that ‘Lord Raglan wishes the Cavalry to advance rapidly to the front, follow the enemy, and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns. Troop Horse Artillery may accompany. French Cavalry is on your left. Immediate.’ There was a discussion between Lord Lucan and Lord Cardigan, who was in command of the Light Brigade, as to what the target of their attack was and Nolan is said to have indicated by a sweep of his arm, not the Causeway redoubts, but the mass of Russian guns at the end of the valley about a mile away. The rest is history. Captain Nolan rode in front of Lord Cardigan at one point in what is thought to have been an attempt to correct the mistake, but was killed doing so. The charge resulted in 118 men being killed, 127 wounded and around 60 being taken prisoner. Tennyson, the Poet Laureate, was moved to write a sentimental poem about the Brigade’s sacrifice. Lords Lucan and Cardigan spent years blaming each other for the disaster (Lord Raglan having died the war after the charge) and they and other military leaders were excoriated in the press for their general incompetence and for the poor treatment of soldiers during the Crimean campaign. The work and subsequent reports of Florence Nightingale also highlighted the muddle between military departments and the lack of proper medical care for solders. Press reports also helped to force the government to do away with the purchase of army commissions and to introduce promotion by merit of properly trained officers. The movie, which came out in 1968, didn’t win any awards but it remains for me a spectacular and fairly accurate depiction of a point in time in Victorian history. It shows the difference between the leaders and the led and their distinctly different lifestyles.
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The Charge of The Light Brigade, Lord Lucan, Lord Raglan, Lord Cardigan, Captain Nolan, Crimean War, Battle of Balaclava,
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