A two-page listing of the illustrations, four pages listing people and places mentioned in the text and the author’s Introduction begin this account of the life and military career of James Scarlett, based upon his letters and those of family members as he kept no journal and wrote no memoirs.

The chapter devoted to the Battle of Balaklava concentrates upon the Charge of the Heavy Brigade, commanded by Scarlett, but also gives concise accounts of the repulse of Russian cavalry by the 93rd Foot and the Charge of the Light Brigade.

The author argues that the subsequent concentration upon the latter, the subject of many books and two films, has resulted in both the success and the strategic importance of the former being largely forgotten or ignored. He believes that had the Heavy Brigade been defeated by the Russian cavalry which it attacked, despite being outnumbered, the Russians might well have succeeded in penetrating as far as Balaklava where they could have done great damage to British stores and shipping that would have had a very deleterious effect upon the prosecution of the siege of Sebastopol.

It is also the author’s belief that had the Heavy Brigade been allowed to advance and charge in support of the Light Brigade and not ordered to halt by Lord Lucan, a ‘glorious blunder’ might well have been a great victory – though, ironically, it might not have remained as well-known in the popular imagination. That possibility is something wargamers have the opportunity to explore in their tabletop recreations of Balaklava.

Tony Richardson’s 1968 film, The Charge of the Light Brigade, which many readers will have seen on television, omitted both the Heavy Brigade’s own charge and its role later that day in support of the Light Brigade, while the incorrectly named ‘Sir John Scarlett’ was only a non-speaking role. It also created the impression that all the senior commanders of the British Army in the Crimea were eccentric incompetents, whereas Scarlett was a dedicated professional soldier, respected by his officers and held in great affection by his men. The Crimean War was his first experience of active service, and he did not disappoint, unlike ‘Lord Look-On’ and ‘The Noble Yachtsman’, but completely justified his appointment as commander of the Heavy Brigade and was knighted and promoted to major-general.

Eight pages of black and white plates, bound between pages 70 and 71, consist mainly of reproductions of contemporary photographs of members of Scarlett’s family and of Crimean War officers and scenes. A further eight pages of colour plates, bound between pages 134 and 135, include Crimean War scenes by William Simpson and Alexander Elliot, two portraits of General Scarlett and two modern photographs of the helmet he wore at Balaklava.

There are three maps: a full-page map of Turkey and the Crimea, and half-page maps of the Charge of the Heavy Brigade and the Charge of the Light Brigade.

Thirty-nine pages of endnotes, a four page bibliography and a nineteen page index conclude the book.

A thoroughly researched and very readable biography that will be enjoyed by readers with an interest in the Crimean War and may rescue Scarlett from his undeserved obscurity.

Arthur Harman, Miniature Wargames

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