This brigade is the youngest of regiments in the regular British Army.
It was the first to enter the village of Neuve Chapelle.]
“Grenfell himself seemed to bear a charmed life, while all around him
empty saddles told their terrible tale. He did not come through the
charge unscathed, but his wounds were not serious.
“The Lancers continued to sweep forward until finally held up by the
enemy’s barbed wire, cunningly concealed in the long grass. The German
trap had succeeded. To proceed farther was impossible, and in order to
escape total annihilation the gallant horsemen reluctantly turned their
horses’ heads and rode back. Of the 9th Lancers not more than forty
came out of the ordeal.
“The charge of the Lancers had failed, but it will live forever in
military annals. It proved to the world that the British cavalry was as
dashing and brave as in the days of old.”