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By now the British had the Ypres at their backs, with the River Yser beyond, the British troops were suffering from fatigue and with large numbers of the enemy approaching there was nothing to do but make a stand between Ypres & Messines.
Fortunately for the Allies the remnants of the British troops rallied and held the line.
To reinforce the line quickly the Queens Own Hussars were committed into battle. For the Hussars it was 30 miles, a long ride from their billet St-Omer to the Front. They rode though the night arriving at dawn and where straight into battle.
Below is Pte G Huggins from the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars account of that day. "The thing that with cavalry & yeomanry if they're going to fight dismounted it doesn't matter how badly they need the men in the line, you can't send everyone forward because so many have got to stay behind to look after the horses.
I was head horseman of our squadron then, so of course I was one of the ones who had to stay behind.
They had to go up on this ridge, so we rode up a certain distance & dismounted and then went forward on foot & the rest stayed behind, one man to every 4 horses. Well, we'd heard this gunfire all night as we came up - far off at first, like thunder rumbling, which we thought it was at 1st.
Then it got louder as we got near. Well they left us there, & I was standing under these trees just up from the foot of the ridge holding the horses & 2 shells came right close by - whistled past & then a great boom & another boom as they exploded one after the other just behind us.
Oh dear! My tummy seemed to come right up & go out of my ears. They were the 1st two shells I ever heard close by.
There's nothing you can do about it, you know! You've got these horses, so you can't take cover or can't take cover or get down anywhere you just have to stand there & hold the horses - and of course they don't like it Any more than we did, but you just have to hold on to them & try & calm them down & hope for the best.
And all the other fellows are getting on. You've no idea what's happening. You've just got to stay there".
Source "1914 Days of Hope" Lynn McDonald
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