Thomas Morley enlisted in the Seventeenth Lancers, famed in British military history as the "Death or Glory Lancers." Capt. Morley is the wearer of the Queen's "Death or Glory" medal, inscribed: "Sebastapol, Inkerman, Balaklava, Alma."

"We went in with 145 men, and at roll call after the fight only forty-five answered. The strength of the brigade was 670, and of these only 195 answered 'here!' Every man had blood on him, with the exception of our commanding officer, Lord Cardigan. Though his clothes were cut and torn, yet I do not think that he received a wound, and I am quite certain that he was the only man who escaped unhurt.

"The order came for the Light Brigade to go into the North Valley, and after some manuvering we entered it. It is a little valley, about 500 yards wide at the narrowest, and with a slight declination toward a Russian battery which obstructed it at the lower end, about one mile away. The main body of the Hussar forces lay behind this. The Causeway Heights were on our right, and the Fidlonkine Heights were on our left. Along these elevations there were plenty of Russian batteries.

"The brigade struck a good trot, and Lord Cardigan headed it straight down the valley. I saw Captain Nolan, our regimental commander, who had brought the moving order from Lord Raglan to Lord Cardigan, waving his sword toward the latter, and indicating that it was the batteries on the right which had been intended in the order. Captain Winter, my troop leader, saw this too, and understood the signal, and ordered 'Second squadron, threes right.' and we obeyed.

"Just then Nolan was killed by a fragment of shell. Then Corporal Nunnerly, who is also a survivor, and is now living at Ormakirk, Liverpool, shouted, 'Threes left, forward!' In obedience to this order we went to the left and headed straight down the valley, every foot of which is now each historic ground. Just as this movement was executed a shell dropped in the midst of our troop, and a dozen men went to their eternal home.

"We had then proceeded but a few hundred yards, but the batteries were opening on us, and the roar of guns as they belched death and destruction was deafening. Men were dropping all around by this time; there was so much noise and smoke and confusion that nobody really could tell what was going on or where we were going.

"Captain Winter, our troop leader, fell next, and close after him, Captain Webb fell, mortally wounded; but we rushed on with the rest of the brigade. The guns on the heights were doing good work against us.

"At the very instant that we came upon these guns a volley was discharged with horrible results; but, in a moment more, we dashed against and through the guns, driving the men before us, but receiving a good deal of fight from straggling groups of gunners.

"We did not get away before the Cossacks rallied and came at us full tilt. They were armed with lances about twelve feet long. We managed to get through them.

Then the fighting became confused and perilous. I could see a small body of our troops driving a brigade of Russians before them. Half a mile beyond the guns the Russian Hussars turned and made at us.

"A regiment of Lancers with flags flying were coming down the valley, and I though they were French Lancers about to re-enforce us, but on closer approach their long gray coats showed them to be Jopetkins Lancers. They fired at us. We were then between two fires. The Hussars were coming from one direction, and the Jopetkins Lancers from another.

"I rode back and rallied our troop, or what was left of it, and we cut our way through the Russian Cavalry. After this we passed a body of Infrantry, and they fired into us. A number of our men went down in this retreat. The guns which we had passed had, in the mean time, been reached, and we had to go through them a second time. This was not accomplished without heavy loss.

"The ride up the valley occupied, I should say, about five minutes, and the time spent fighting behind the guns amounted to about twenty."