“When these had passed, the infantry divisions came up, and continued to move along in unbroken order for nearly an hour and a half. The public are, by this time, such keen critics at Volunteer reviews, and the regiments themselves, by the earnestness they threw into the movement at the outset, have accustomed spectators to such a standard of efficiency, that anything in the nature of shortcoming is sure to be detected. It is, therefore, paying no small compliment to the force upon the ground, to say that, at the conclusion of the proceedings, the general voice declared the display to have been attended with complete success. From first to last, as far as the Volunteers were concerned, there was not a single hitch: on the contrary, the improvement in discipline since the last great display in Hyde Park is too palpable to admit of question. A fact, to which attention cannot be too strongly pointed, is, that the battalions from various parts of the country, taking part in the review, were, if anything, in advance of those in the metropolis. It has been the fashion to speak—not slightingly, for it was never possible to do that—but in a careless off-hand manner, of the performances of ‘country corps,’ and to assume that, in 1864, as in 1860, London is still giving the tone to the provinces in all matters connected with volunteering. But, if the regiments sent up from Lancashire, Nottingham, Warwick, and Derbyshire, are average specimens of those in other parts of England, the metropolis must look to its laurels, and that without delay.
“It is true that all the established favourites of the London Volunteer garrison were on the field on Saturday afternoon, and in no degree lessened their former high repute. The South Middlesex, for example, were present in large numbers, and the perfect evenness, as to merit, of the companies, shewed the good results of the internal competitive examinations instituted in that corps. The London Scottish, steady and precise, repaid the trouble taken by Lord Elcho, while the London Rifle Brigade, solid and sombre, upheld the credit of the City of London. The Inns of Court, neatly dressed and smartly handled, as Rifles should be, elicited frequent remarks of ‘We’ve not seen any like this, yet,’ and, from one old gentleman, the plaintive soliloquy: ‘Fine fellows, very fine fellows; what a pity there are such rogues among them!’ The Victoria Rifles, under the Duke of Wellington, did credit to their long and careful training, but, rating the merit of these and other corps as high as possible, the fact cannot be got rid of that, without exception, the finest Brigade upon the field was that commanded by Lord Grosvenor, and composed exclusively of country corps.
“The 6th Lancashire, better known as the 1st Manchester, led the van of this Brigade, followed by the celebrated ‘Robin Hoods.’ The late Lord Herbert once coveted an Irish Militia regiment so much, that he almost infringed the rules of the Service, in the hope of transferring it bodily into the Queen’s army. The Commander-in-Chief must be more than mortal, or less than a soldier, if he did not cast a longing eye on those serried files of Lincoln green. So great was the interest excited by their appearance, that the Volunteer corps which had just made the circuit of the field, and returned to their former positions, cheered them enthusiastically again and again. The Birmingham, Derbyshire, and 2nd Manchester corps were almost as good; they were certainly equal to any corps present, if the Nottingham men be deducted. Bearing in mind that most of these Volunteers had made a journey longer than that which metropolitan undertake when they go to Brighton, and that, in the aggregate, they composed a Brigade of nearly 3000 men—exclusive of the Somersetshire and Berkshire regiments, not less efficient, which were classed in other Brigades—it will be manifest with what spirit drill must be pursued in the provinces.
“The march-past began shortly after a quarter past six, and terminated at two minutes past eight o’clock. It was estimated that an hour and forty minutes would be occupied in the proceedings, from the time the troops were set in motion, and it will be seen from this how accurately the Volunteers must have carried out their instructions. The programme was adhered to with such literal fidelity, that the occasion was almost devoid of incidents. The directions as to equalizing the strength of companies had, on the whole, been very fairly attended to, but there were still some instances in which blank files—say a regiment of grey uniform, had been filled up with ‘casuals’ dressed in green, inconsistencies which detract very much from the appearance of a regiment on parade, and ought not to be allowed by officers in command. Moreover, there is a manifest want of head somewhere, when a mounted officer sits his horse as if it was an easy chair, and lounges past the flag-staff without giving himself the trouble to draw his sword; and when the tallest member of a cadet corps struts by in plain clothes and a ‘billycock’ hat. Matters like these, the Volunteers, for their own credit, will do well to keep their eyes upon, as they would never be tolerated in the military service to which it is their desire to approximate as closely as possible.
“When the last corps had passed the flag-staff, and it became evident that the Prince and Princess of Wales were about to leave the ground, there was one general impulsive rush to see and cheer them. The carriage in which the Princess sat was surrounded in a moment, swallowed up, almost climbed into, by eager thousands, who bestowed upon her Royal Highness such a greeting as has not been heard since she passed through London on the day of her public entry. It was with the utmost difficulty that a way was at last cleared for the carriage to take its departure, but, once it was in motion, a troop of Lancers, forming in rear, was enabled to check the pressure.”
The next, and last occasion, up to date, of a Review in Hyde Park was on July 1st, 1876, when the Prince of Wales reviewed about 30,000 Volunteers, and The Times of July 3rd thus criticizes it.
“The review of Volunteers on Saturday, in Hyde Park, was a complete success. There were some trifling errors, due to inexperience, and in the interest of the Volunteers themselves, we shall not hesitate to point out such as fell under our observation; but there can be no question that the force has entered on a new stage in its history. All competent critics seem to agree that the whole tone has altered for the better. It is difficult to define the exact meaning of the word ‘soldier-like,’ but no other word nor phrase would express so well what the Volunteers failed to be a few years ago, and what they are now. Formerly, at any great assembly, like that on Saturday, there was noise and fuss on parade, unsteadiness in the ranks, want of due obedience and discipline, bad marching, carried off by a sort of defiant recklessness, which said, ‘We could do better if we would, but we don’t choose;’ and, speaking generally, the absence of all the qualities which, from time immemorial, have been held to characterize the true soldier.
“On Saturday, there was a radical change. The battalions which paraded in different parts of London were quiet, orderly, and obedient. They waited patiently for their commanding Generals, and obeyed orders with complete docility. They were composed of good-looking, well drilled men, whose anxiety to deserve commendation was as conspicuous as formerly was their determination to have praise whether they deserved it or not. There was little talking in the ranks, and less confusion. The result was a general steadiness and dignity of demeanour which carried them well through a day full of difficulties, and gained the respect of all the officers of the Regular forces who had to deal with them.
“There were, of course, some exceptions to the rule, and we must confess to a feeling of positive annoyance against those men who absented themselves from their regiments during the march-past, or joined them only when they were drawn up in the Park. We saw numerous instances of men pushing their way through the lines of spectators a very short time before the arrival of the Prince, and others never joined at all. It may be ungracious to point out this fault on the part of men who came to Hyde Park at their own expense, and, naturally enough, found many an Armida to tempt them from the weary parade; but the Volunteers may be assured that the fact attracted much attention, and elicited many an unfavourable remark. The absence of men from the ranks till the last moment, and sometimes altogether, had a direct tendency to spoil the look of those ranks on parade, and was probably the cause of the irregular ‘sizing,’ which was so conspicuous in some of the battalions. Tall men and short men were mingled together, standing anyhow side by side, and the bad effect for parade purposes was very evident.
“Yet in common fairness we must consider what many of the Volunteers had been about. Some of them, and by no means the worst regiments, had come from the Midland counties by train, and moved to their places of rendezvous, where they had long to wait before the order to march-off came. It is said that many men who appeared before the Prince at half-past 5, had been at work that morning, up to 1 o’clock, at Nottingham. This much, at least, is certain, that they had walked or marched from their homes to the station, performed a long railway journey, and then marched again through the streets of London. Doubtless, such as these needed refreshment, and nothing was more satisfactory than the fact that they did not refresh themselves so much as to appear other than steady on parade. Indeed, we are under the impression that the offenders were not chiefly from the country.”