The
Friends
of the
Green Howards
of the
Green Howards
of the Green Howards Regimental Museum
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The
Friends of the Green Howards |
The Friends
of the Green Howards Regimental Museum |
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| Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment (19th Foot) The North York Militia, The North York Local Militia & North York Rifle Volunteers | |||||||
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Pictured are;-
(Back row) Michael Nicholl, Victor Hodgson, Peter Manley, Miles Garnett, Tetyana,
Roger Chapman, Jack Haines
(Front row) Edward Nicholl, Brigadier John Powell, Martin Everett, Colonel Peter
Knox, Olga Makarova, Ian & Merilyn Hywel-Jones, Eileen Haines
It can't be often that you go away for a few days, end up being arrested, and yet return saying that you've had a terrific time! But the Friends Tour of the Crimea in September 2003 was just one of those occasions!
A small group of the Friends, together with three people associated with the Royal Regiment of Wales, set off on 17 September under the leadership of Colonel Peter Knox for a tour of Crimean War battle sites. The tour was organised by the firm "Tours With Experts", who not only have experience of battlefield tours but most importantly are specialists in tours of the Crimea. This latter requirement is absolutely vital, as the Crimea and the Ukraine are still very much undeveloped and under the shadow of the old Soviet system.
We all had our own reasons for joining this tour, but in my case (and my brother's case), we were determined to visit a part of the world that had paid a key part in the lives of three of our great-great-grandfathers. In particular, our ancestor Patrick McNamara had fought with the 19th Foot in the Crimea, and was wounded at the Battle of the Alma. Patrick McNamara is also recorded as being wounded during the Siege of Sevastopol and the Assault on the Redan. He was discharged from the 19th Foot some 14 years later as a consequence of the wounds he received.
The tour group met at London's Heathrow Airport at the rather ungentlemanly hour of 5.00 a.m. on 17 September, and flew with Austrian Airlines via Vienna to Kiev in the Ukraine . Arrival in Kiev was a mild culture shock, though the anticipated horrors of instrusive searches and questioning in the airport's arrival hall never materialised. We were driven to one of Kiev's finest hotels, - the President, to get over our flight and get some rest before the tour proper started.
The following morning was spent visiting the Second World War Memorial Museum in Kiev. This is a place of enormous significance in this part of the world, as something like 25 million Russians and 8 million Ukrainians lost their lives resisting and finally defeating the Nazis. The city of Kiev, - and much of the Ukraine, was devastated during the Second World War and therefore this Museum is vitally important as a monument to both the nation and the city.
In the afternoon we made our way to Kiev's main railway station, for the gruelling 15 hour overnight train journey to Simferopol in the Crimea. Althgough we had First Class two-berth sleeping compartments, the constant jolting of the train ensured that there wasn't going to be much sleep that night. However, with the fortitude of a determined group, and with the help of the food and drink of the land, we all managed to make something of a party of the journey!
Having arrived in Simferopol we were bussed to Sevastopol, and this was our first opportunity to see something of the hills and limestone country that were such a feature of the Crimean War. Our first experience of Sevastopol was a tour of the harbour, and this was an excellent way of orientating us to the geography of the area and some of the key features of the Crimean War. It was also sobering to realise that only seven years ago such a tour would have been strictly off-limits. In those days, Sevastopol was the Headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and as such was a closed city. Nowadays, this fleet is considerably reduced, and the Black Sea Fleet is now partly the Russian Navy and partly the Ukrainian Navy.
The following day, Saturday 20 September 2003, was a key day for our group. This was the day when we would be retracing the progress of the Light Division and the 19th Foot exactly 149 years to the day, and would pay tribute with the Colonel of the Regiment to those men of the 19th Foot who fell at the Battle of the Alma. It was an extraordinary sensation to be able to follow in the steps of the 19th Foot all the way from the Landing Beaches to, first, the River Bulganek and then on to the River Alma. We were at the River Alma at about the same hour that the battle first started, and were able to follow the geography of the land all the way from the river up to the Great Redan and see at first hand the obstacles that the men had to overcome. We paid tribute to the dead of the 19th Foot at the Memorial to the 23rd Foot, where the Colonel of the Green Howards laid a wreath on behalf of the Regiment. Jack Haines laid a wreath on behalf of the Association.
Crossing the River Alma, - Roger Chapman, Miles Garnett, Jack Haines, Brigadier
John Powell, and Edward Nicholl
Our experience of the Battle of the Alma, by visiting the actual battlefield and listening to the vivid account provided by both Colonel Knox and our Russian-speaking guide Olga Makarova, made us realise what an extraordinary achievement this had been on the part of the Allied troops. The British troops, in particular, had suffered miserably as a result of disease and lack of equipment when they landed. Only days after landing, they marched directly towards the village of Bourliouk and the River Alma, a distance of some thirty kilometers, and then took part in the (literally) uphill battle of the Alma.
The following day we toured the Bastions of Sevastopol, - including the First Bastion, the Malakof, the site of the Great Redan, and the remarkable Panorama of Sevastopol. Here the struggle of the Russians in resisting the Allies is vividly portrayed in a giant diorama. One left the Panorama only too clearly aware of the dreadful suffering of the Russians during the Siege of Sevastopol.
Subsequent days saw us being taken over the battlefields of Balaclava and Inkerman. Both of these battles were somewhat complex, and it was only the skill of Colonel Knox and Olga Makarova in interpreting them to us that enabled us to get a full appreciation of what happened. The interpretation of the Battle of Balaclava was interesting in that the realisation of what the consequences REALLY were was brought home very vividly. Most people have been brought up remembering the lines of Tennyson's famous poem "Into the Vally of Death" (of which, incidentally, Olga provided an extraordinary rendition). But, effectively, not all that many members of the Cavalry were lost as a result of the action, - it was the loss of the HORSES that had a profound effect on the course of the war!
The Battle of Inkerman was particularly difficult to follow because of the fragmentary nature of the battle itself, and the terrain on which it was fought. However, we were lucky in that in addition to Colonel Knox and Olga Makarova we also had the services of a Captain Vladimir, who had served in the Russian Navy for 14 years and was an expert in the Battle of Inkerman. Captain Vladimir very generously provided us all with samples of spent ammunition recovered from the battlefields, and this ammunition dramatically illustrated one particular point. This was that the Allied firepower (using Minie rifles and Minie bullets) was so vastly superior to the Russian musketry that the infantry battles were markedly in the Allies favour.
Unfortunately, Captain Vladimir was not wise enough to the restricted zones of the Ukrainian Army to prevent us straying into what turned out to be a sensitive area. The Victoria Redoubt, which had been used by the Allies in the attack on Sevastopol, was beside a main road and had become a very unprepossessing earthworks. But there was nothing to indicate that this tired bit of ground was of any particular interest to anybody other than military historians. We were all quietly pondering this bit of derelict land, when we suddenly discovered ourselves surrounded by a troop of the Ukrainian Army. The squad of troops were very polite, but made it quite clear that we were all under arrest. After being herded on to the bus, in the company of the soldiers, we were driven off to their depot.
While we remained on the bus, our Russian lady tour guides disappeared into the Guard Room to argue our case. Clearly they must have impressed the Ukrainian Army that we were harmless historians, and did NOT have the same mischief ranking as Greek Plane Spotters, for after about half an hour's worth of rather anxious waiting our bus was allowed to drive away to take us on to our next destination, - which effectively proved to be more of an ordeal than our arrest. If I mention a forced lecture at the Museum of the Black Sea Fleet to any of the other members of our tour group, an instant look of apprehension and fear will be seen in their faces!
These minor trials were soon behind us, as the group then celebrated an extremely successful visit to the Crimea with a dinner at a harbour front restaurant in the port of Balaclava. The wine (Inkerman red!) and champagne, - also a local red variety, flowed copiously and toasts were made by the Colonel of the Regiment on the group's behalf and by Tetyana on the Russian tour leaders' behalf.
The port of Balaclava, seen from the Genoese Forts.
Altogether this had been an extraordinary week. Very few tourists visit the Crimea, as a visa is obtained by invitation only. Nevertheless, our guides made us feel welcome at all times and were clearly anxious to see more tourists visiting the area, - especially in the 150th Anniversary year of the start of the Crimean War. Providing that the Ukrainian Army make sure that "Keep Out" signs are posted in the appropriate places, there should be no fears of further arrests in the area!
The food, and drink, was universally agreeable. Before setting out there had been the usual alarmist tales of buckwheat porridge for breakfast, and barbed wire soup for dinner, but we never had anything other than extremely tasty and highly palatable dishes, - washed down with plenty of the local ales, wines, and vodkas!
The week was most definitely an experience that all of us will value highly. In my own case, travel to a relatively unknown part of the world had enabled me to experience something that had been a key part of my ancestors' lives, and to experience both world and regimental history at first hand. In many ways, as well, my bond with the Green Howards is just that little bit stronger as a result of taking part in a regimental family experience.
