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Overview
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Valentine Baker is the most famous of all the commanding officers of the 10th Hussars, holding that post for 13 years, from 1860 to 1873. He was a very efficient cavalry commander, popular with the officers and men, and innovative - publishing his ideas on military theory. He went on an epic expedition through Asia. But in 1875 he had a moment of indiscretion and bad judgement involving a pretty young lady in a train compartment, that ruined him. His life and trials are here summarised from Anne Baker’s biography of him: A Question of Honour. He would later find some form of redemption fighting on behalf of the Ottoman Empire to resist Russian attempts at seizing the Straits of the Dardanelles and also fighting in Egypt.
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Service in the 12th Lancers 1851 - 1857
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Valentine Baker was born on 1 April 1827, the third surviving son of Samuel Baker, a rich businessman who owned a fleet of merchantmen, was director of the Great Western Railway and Chairman of the Gloucester Bank. Valentine was born in Enfield but in 1833 the family moved to Highnam Court, near Gloucester. The eldest brother was to become Sir Samuel Baker, hunter and adventurer. Sam went off to Ceylon in 1846 and Valentine joined him two years later. While there he served in the Ceylon Rifles but left in 1851 to joined the 12th Lancers. In May 1852 he went with the regiment to Cape Colony to fight in the 7th Kaffir War. In 1854 the 12th Lancers were stationed at Bangalore in India. Both the 12th and the 10th Hussars were in India when the Crimean War broke out, and they both embarked for that conflict in early 1855 arriving at Balaclava in mid April.
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The Crimean War
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Baker was present at the siege and fall of Sevastopol and served in the Commander-in-Chief’s escort. He was also at the battle of Tchernaya on 16 Aug 1855. The Crimean War gave Valentine an opportunity of observing French, Russian and Turkish cavalry, but also to find fault with the way horses were used by the British cavalry. He also read Lewis Nolan’s book on cavalry and found himself very much in tune with his progressive opinions. At the end of the war he decided to transfer to the 10th Hussars, and his service with them dates from 1857, but before joining them he took time out in Italy and Austria to study foreign cavalry drill methods. On returning to England he wrote a book, The British Cavalry, with Remarks on its Practical Organisation ( Longmans 1858) which offered suggestions to improve the breeding and training of horses and cavalrymen.
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Fast Promotion in the 10th Hussars 1857
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The 10th Hussars were in England when he joined the regiment as a captain and he soon proved himself to be a capable officer. In July 1859 he was promoted to major. He was on good terms with Lt-Col John Wilkie and when he retired on 31 March 1860, Major Baker was promoted to lieutenant-colonel commandant. The regiment were in Aldershot at the time and Baker had the opportunity to improve the drill movements and organise the movement of men and horses by train. In 1863 the Prince of Wales was appointed Colonel of the regiment and a good working relationship developed between Bertie and Valentine Baker. Under his command the regiment gained a reputation as the smartest and most efficient cavalry regiment in the army. On 13 Dec 1865 Valentine married Fanny Wormald. They had two daughters Hermione (1857) and Sybil (1858).
In 1870 Valentine took time off to observe the Franco-German war and spent a year also visiting foreign armies. He returned in time to command the 10th in a great Review near Salisbury in front of Royalty and dignitaries, in 1871. A mock battle was ‘fought’ between two armies of which Colonel Baker commanded the Cavalry Brigade of the First Division. Amongst all the various cavalry regiments the 10th stood out as having the best horses and most effective drills. In 1872 the 10th were ordered to India and Colonel Baker went on half pay on 26 March 1873, relinquishing command to Lt-Col C C Molyneux.
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Expedition in North Persia
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It was now that Colonel Baker organised an expedition through northwest Persia to reconnoitre the region and try to find out the extent of Russia’s dominance of the region. The area near the Caspian Sea was very much under-explored and his findings were to prove very useful to the British Government. Initially Baker took two officers with him, Lieutenant Gill RE and Captain Clayton of the 9th Lancers. Clayton became ill and had to be sent home from Tehran. The expedition began at Tiflis (Tbilisi) on the Russian border where they were greeted warmly by Prince Mirsky and after much socialising they set off for Tehran via the Caspian Sea. They hunted and fished throughout the expedition, mostly in an inhospitable environment. Around the middle of August 1873 on the road towards Amol, they were attacked by a large gang of bandits. Valentine went on the offensive and surprised the thieves by charging at them. He captured the ringleader but once this man realised that he was not going to be harmed he became troublesome. During the night Valentine found that his guides had tied the captives too tightly, and loosening the ropes to make them more comfortable he went back to bed. But in the morning it was found that the prisoners had gone. Another attack by bandits happened later and this was dealt with when Valentine went up to them and gave them a piece of his mind. This, apparently ‘worked like magic’.
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Baker and the Turkomen
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The next stage of the journey was across the desert, the Great Salt Steppes of Khorasan. Valentine had dysentery and ‘only his sense of duty carried him on’. Once at Meshed he was given a Persian remedy of tea similar to linseed tea with a teaspoonful of sweet almonds, which cured his problem very quickly. They were hoping to get into Afghanistan and visit Herat but were refused entry. So they headed north to Kelat which was reached without servants who were afraid of Turkoman attacks. When he arrived at Kelat, a great natural mountain fortress, he saw Turkoman prisoners sentenced to death. Valentine pleaded with the Governor and their lives were saved. He also gave them money for their journey home. The Turkoman view of violent robbery was, according to Valentine, different from the British view, being seen more as an honourable activity. But he was extremely impressed with their horses, two of which he bought and shipped back to England with the intention of cross-breeding with thoroughbreds.They travelled the route through the mountains back to Shahrood where they learned that they would have to move quickly to catch the steamer at Enzelli on the Caspian Sea. They continued west to Tehran and by this time Valentine was sick with fever. When he felt better they carried on and returned to Georgia. His findings were of great benefit to the military establishment who kept a close eye on Russian expansionism, and he gave an illustrated lecture at the United Services Institute in London in May 1874. He also wrote another book Clouds in the East
which recounted his travels and put forward proposals resulting from his findings.
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The Moment of Madness
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Colonel Baker had been appointed Assistant Adjutant General at Aldershot and was riding high on his reputation. But on 16 May 1875 he committed a catastrophic error of judgement which ruined his career. He boarded the train at Liphook Station after making arrangements at Aldershot for a forthcoming Review on 28 Aug. The carriage had only three compartments and could only be entered through doors to the outside. At that time there as no corridor, so any passengers travelling in a compartment were unable to get out while the train was in motion. Valentine thought that he was in luck because the only other passenger in his compartment was an attractive young lady. During the journey, it seems that the Colonel, after an encouraging conversation, thought he would make amorous advances to the girl. But Miss Rebecca Dickinson, the girl in question, began screaming and attempted to exit the carriage. As the door opened she nearly fell out but was saved by Valentine who held on to her arm. He hat flew off and her hair was blown wild and free as she continued to scream. This caused other passengers to look out of their windows, and a plate-layer working on the line was able to signal to the driver that there was a problem. The train came to an unscheduled halt at Esher and the girl was lifted down from the step. Valentine, compounding his error, was overheard saying to her, “Don’t say anything, you will ruin me.”
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Colonel Baker on Trial
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Valentine was ordered to report to Guildford Police Station the next day and bailed for 2,000 pounds to attend his trial on a charge of indecent assault, to be held in August. Young Rebecca was determined to preserve her reputation at the expense of Valentine Baker and had her barrister brother to defend her honour. On 2 Aug the Guildford courthouse and surrounding streets were packed with mostly hostile spectators. Valentine faced three charges; attempted rape, indecent assault and common assault. He pleaded not guilty but that was all he said. He would not allow his defence council to question the girl because, as his brother Sir Samuel stated, “In such a case a man is at the mercy of a lady, and his tongue must on a point of honour be sealed.” Miss Dickinson gave her evidence cooly and calmly at length. Although he did not speak, Valentine had a written statement which was read to the magistrate in which he said, “To the evidence of the police constable I give the most unqualified denial. I don’t in the least intend to say that she [Miss Dickinson] wilfully misrepresented the case, but that she has represented it incorrectly, no doubt under the influence of exaggerated fear and unnecessary alarm.” The judge held the view that ‘the mere laying of a man’s hand on a woman amounts to criminal assault.’ The jury found Valentine not guilty of attempted rape but guilty of the assault charges. He was sentenced to a year in prison and a fine of 500 pounds plus costs.
Despite the fact that he was now a convicted criminal, Valentine still had the support of the most important figures in the British Army, the Prince of Wales who was Colonel of the 10th Hussars, Sir Garnet Wolseley, and even the Duke of Cambridge, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, not known for his enlightened views. They accepted that the colonel needed to resign his commission but were not prepared to sack him. However, Queen Victoria held a different opinion and made her position quite clear when she told Cambridge, “that this man should be removed from the Army with a mark of disgrace, and not be permitted to retire.” His wife Fanny and two young daughters stood by him as he languished in prison. The case was very well known and widely discussed, highlighting the vulnerability of women on trains. Changes were made to train carriages; corridors were incorporated into the design, ‘Ladies Only’ compartments were introduced, and in 1879 a Restaurant Car was added.
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Service in the Ottoman Empire
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On leaving prison, Valentine was given a position in the Turkish Army. The Prince of Wales had used his influence to have him appointed head of the Turkish Gendarmerie at Constantinople. This was not a random appointment. Trouble had already started in the Balkans between Serbia and Turkey, and Russia was expected to take sides with the Serbs. They declared war on Turkey on 24 April 1877 and it was proposed that Valentine act as military adviser to the aged Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Army. But the Turkish War Minister vetoed this. As it happened, Valentine fell ill with typhoid and was out of action for 3 months. When he returned he was finally given the job of military adviser, this time to Mehemit Ali.
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Battle of Shipka Pass, July 1877
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The Russians had crossed the Danube into Bulgaria and besieged Plevna. Valentine Baker Pasha as he was now known helped deploy the Turkish forces at Shipka Pass so that the Russians were halted. Advance companies were tasked with firing on the invaders from concealed positions and Baker rode forward with his staff to encourage these troops. They fought for two hours until relieved and he then urged the Commander to order a general advance. Valentine led the cavalry from behind a low hill on the Turkish right flank. His charge was successful and caused the Russians, although superior in numbers, to retreat. Unfortunately the Turkish commander did not order a pursuit, but the enemy were driven back beyond the Balkan mountains. Valentine’s role in this battle is vividly described by a war correspondent who wrote,
‘They were led by a man on a fine grey Arab, the finest horseman I have ever seen. They came round the hill at a trot, then broke into a gallop and came swooping down on the left flank of the Russians, tearing through them like an express train through a flock of sheep. I could not help watching the man on the grey Arab, and I saw his sabre go sweeping up and down and all around like lightning flashes. He made a lane through the Russian ranks in whatever direction he went.
Some bodies of the Russian cavalry came out to meet him and they came into contact in a large field of maize. But there was no holding back Baker and his Turks, and the Russian cavalry was soon tearing back as hard as they could go, to get under the shelter of their guns. The Turkish cavalry followed them hard like tigers who had once tasted blood and longed for more. I saw a shell explode within a few yards of Baker Pasha; his brave horse fell, and down he came. That was the end of the grey Arab, but not of his master, for Baker was up in a moment, on the charger of a common trooper, in the middle of his men, hacking like a very Hercules.
An old Turkish artillery officer who was standing quite close to me, laid down his field glasses, and said: “I swear by the Prophet, that the infidel who commands our cavalry fights with the courage of ten thousand tigers.” “And yet,” said another young artillery officer, “Allah has smitten the English with such blindness that they allow a man like him to leave their army.”
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Battle of Tashkessan, 31 Dec 1877
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In November 1877 Valentine was joined by his friend Captain Fred Burnaby, an officer of the Royal Horse Guards who had no love for the Russians and wanted to see some action. The Turks and their Bosnian allies were defending the Orkhranie Pass, commanded by Shakir Pasha. After Christmas three Russian Divisions under General Gourko approached the Pass. Valentine was to hold off the advance with a force of 3,000 men while the main force escaped south and towards the Aegean coast. Valentine placed his men spread out on high ground in two lines of defence behind the village of Tashkessn. Russian artillery fired on them at 7am on 31 Dec but had to cease fire when the Russian infantry stormed the hills. The trumpeter sounded the Turkish battle cry and the troops stood up and shouted before charging down on the enemy. One defensive position was wavering so Valentine rode over and stayed with them for an hour to give them encouragement under heavy fire. The battle raged for four hours and a message came that the rest of the force under Shakir was retreating south. Valentine had to stall for time so that the Russians were occupied until nightfall. Another battle-cry was ordered and a bayonet charge forced the Russian Guards battalions back. Although the battle was won, the Turkish army was in retreat towards Adrianople (Edirne). Valentine’s men joined this retreat, having to abandon their wounded. When Valentine heard that the Bulgarian villagers butchered these Turkish wounded he ordered the place to be burned. But Tashkessan was now in enemy hands so it is not clear whether they were able to do this. The retreating army had a horrendous march lasting a month, coping with cold, sickness and hunger before reaching the sea.
The war came to an end in early 1878, the Treaty of Stefano being signed in March. The Russians had been halted before they could take Constantinople and their influence in the Balkans was thwarted by the Congress of Berlin in June 1878. But the Russians were now regarded as barbarians having massacred thousands of Muslims and destroyed many mosques. Valentine Baker travelled to England for a few months to advise the government, and then returned to Constantinople for a two year period as Military Adviser to the Ottoman Empire. Back home, his reputation had improved greatly and he was lionised very much as Lawrence of Arabia came to be regarded 40 years later.
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Egypt 1882 - 1887
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In 1881 trouble was brewing both in Egypt and the Sudan. The rise of the Mahdi attracted the Sudanese desert tribes to the idea of ridding the region of European influence. At the same time the Egyptian officer, Arabi Pasha, seized power in Egypt and massacred 50 Europeans. This led to the British bombardment of Alexandria and military intervention which culminated in the battle of Tel-el-Kebir. Arabi was defeated and the Egyptian army completely disbanded. The Government decided to reorganise the army with a British commander in charge, and Valentine Baker was proposed as the man for the job. The offer came from the Khedive and Baker Pasha accepted it. However, having given in his notice to the Sultan in Contantinople and arriving in Cairo to take up the post he requested British Army officers to work under him. This put the Government in a difficult position as the regulations stated that it was ‘impossible for these officers to be under the command of one who had been expelled from the Army.’ Consequently the offer was withdrawn and a new situation for Baker had to be proposed. He was then offered the Command of the Egyptian Gendarmerie.
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The Sudan 1883 - 84
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In November 1883 an expedition commanded by Suliman Niazi was sent south towards Khartoum with orders from the Khedive to stay on the east bank of the Nile. They were victorious at Sennar which encouraged further campaigning into Kordofan and Darfur under Hicks Pasha which ended disastrously with the destruction of 8,000 thirsty troops, and William Hicks’ head being sent to the Mahdi. The garrisons at Tokar and Sinkat were now cut off and in desperate need of military intervention. Valentine Baker had worked hard in Cairo to bring the Gendarmerie up to a high standard. They were nominally a police force, made up of Turks, Egyptians and Bosnians, tasked with dealing with crime and civil unrest. the Gendarmerie was the only unit available to march south and relieve the garrisons. But many in them refused to fight against the Mahdists and it was with a great deal of cajoling and hard talking that Valentine persuaded the majority of them to follow him. Two thousand men of the Gendarmerie, plus 1,500 other troops, left Cairo on 15 Dec and travelled by train and steamer to Suakin. It was there that Baker was joined once more by his friend Fred Burnaby who had been granted leave to travel to the Sudan. Valentine’s force was also reinforced by neighbouring sheikhs and their followers, but when an official telegram arrived to say that the British were not planning to provide administration in the Sudan, and in fact were ordering the evacuation of British officials, these sheikhs withdrew their support and left to join the Mahdi.
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First Battle of El Teb, 4 Feb 1884
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The force was transported 50 miles down the coast on HMS Sphinx to Trinkitat to attempt the relief of Tokar. Beyond Trinkitat was a swamp, the other side of which a fort was built as an advance base, called Fort Baker, and on 4 Feb they set out towards Tokar. Valentine was despondent not just because of the lack of support from the British government but because of the utterly worthless character of his troops. He was accompanied by Captain Burnaby, Major Harvey and Colonel Fitzroy Hay, and the men advanced as a square. Some Arabs on camels were spotted and Valentine ordered a Troop of cavalry to deal with them. But the whole cavalry set off wildly with Valentine chasing after them to restore order. Then the infantry in the square open fire, bringing down some of their own cavalry. The remaining troopers rode back when more tribesmen appeared and the square broke up and began retreating in panic. They ran through the swamp dumping baggage and weapons. The pursuing Arabs stopped to plunder the discarded stores and camels so that around 1,000 men reached Trinkitat. The casualties were 2,300 men and 90 officers dead. Valentine’s telegram to Cairo:
‘Our square being only threatened by small force of enemy, certainly less than a thousand strong, Egyptian troops threw down their arms and ran, allowing themselves to be killed without the slightest resistance. More than two thousand killed. All material lost.’
The general atmosphere of panic did not end when the troops reached Trinkitat. They scrambled to board the ship and were fired on by Egyptian sailors. Valentine worked tirelessly to load stores and horses on board so that they were able to set sail back to Suakin by midday on 5th Feb. To compound the defeat, news came that Sinkat had been captured by the enemy and the garrison of 450 slaughtered.
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Arrival of the British Regiments, Feb 1884
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The British government now decided to get involved and to send two highland regiments and the King’s Royal Rifle Corps together with two cavalry regiments, one of which was the 10th Hussars. Valentine was delighted at the prospect of meeting his old regiment and as the ‘Jumna’, which had set sail from Bombay on 18 Feb, came into port at Suakin he went on board to meet them. The hussars in their turn were anxious to see their old colonel and cheered him vigorously. They had no horses as they had to be left behind in India so Valentine offered them the use of the horses of the mounted arm of the Gendarmerie. Three hundred were selected and adaptations were made to suit the British light cavalry style.
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Second Battle of El Teb, 29 Feb 1884
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After the humiliation of the defeat at El Teb on 4 Feb, this meeting was a great boost to Valentine's spirits. And what also gave him great encouragement was the fact that he was given an official position with the British force that had arrived to fight the Mahdis army. He was now Chief Intelligence Officer to act as guide and adviser to General Graham.
After sailing to Trinkitat the force set off towards Fort Baker which was reached on the evening of 28 Feb. The next morning they set off with the infantry formed into a square. Valentine rode inside the square with the General and his staff. It was not long before they came to the defences of the Mahdi’s army commanded by Osman Digna. They were now armed with Krupps guns captured previously, and fired canister and case shot at the advancing British soldiers. The balls, almost the size of golf balls fell short but ricocheted over the heads of the infantry.
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Baker Pasha Injured
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Major Sir Elliot Wood RE was beside Valentine Baker when Baker was hit in the face by shrapnel. He later wrote in his memoirs:
‘We were discussing the situation when Baker clapped his hand to his face, at the same time twitching his bridle so that his horse spun right round, yet without shifting him in the saddle. I thought a pebble had hit him, as he quietly rode to the ambulance and in five minutes returned to me with his face strapped up….That night Baker was feverish, and Sir Gerald sent him back to HMS Sphinx at Trinkitat. The Naval surgeon found a 2oz iron ball lodged in his cheek, having broken into the palate. The marvel was that he was not knocked off his horse. The wound caused much trouble for years.’
Despite his wound he remained to see the enemy defeated. The tribesmen had rushed at the square with fanatical bravery so that hundreds were killed. The 10th Hussars charged again and again to force individuals out from the cover of thorn bushes. Several of the hussars were separated from the main body and killed. Burnaby, wounded in the arm by shrapnel, was at one time in danger of being speared by encircling Arabs but was saved by a Highlander.
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The Last Years, 1884 - 1887
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The second battle of El Teb had been victorious, the arms and ammunition lost by the Gendarmerie were recaptured. Meanwhile Valentine returned to Cairo for medical treatment. A family member wrote:
‘The doctor found splinters of bone to remove, and this large bullet which had gone through his cheek-bone as if it had been shot through a door. It had to be sawn out, and poor Val sat in an armchair, being cut about for three quarters of an hour, without chloroform and without flinching and moving a muscle, except that once he fainted with the agony. He told Fanny [his wife] ‘it was a very bad ten minutes!’
The Mahdi remained a powerful influence in the Sudan, presiding over the capture of Khartoum and the death of General Gordon. Valentine was not to fight again so remained in Cairo bringing the standard of the Gendarmerie up to a high level of efficiency. But January 1885 was a month of great sadness for Valentine; his great friend Burnaby was killed at the battle of Abu Klea on 17 Jan, and a few days later his daughter, Hermione, died in Cairo, aged 18. She had been ill for a long time but finally gave up the struggle on 23 Jan. And to compound these catastrophic events, his wife, Fanny died a month later.
In April 1887 Valentine and his daughter Sybil travelled to England for a six month stay during Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. There was a State Review of the whole Army at Aldershot on 9 July in which the 10th Hussars marched past the Queen, led by the Prince of Wales, and Prince Albert Victor in the lead squadron. This was the last time that Valentine saw his old regiment before returning to Egypt. He didn’t know that the Queen had finally consented to his re-instatement. In a letter to the Prince of Wales written on 15 June 1887 she said,
‘As regards General Baker, after consulting some important people in whose judgement I can rely, I now propose that his re-instatement in the Army might take place — by-and-by, but not on account of my Jubilee.’
This news did not reach Valentine, as the royal decision had to be put before the authorities at Horse Guards, so he sailed back to Egypt with Sybil. By the time they reached Port Said on 9 Nov he was feeling ill, not well enough to disembark, and on the morning of 17 November 1887 he complained of pain in his chest and shoulder, and died soon after. Because he was now re-instated he was given a funeral with full military honours in Cairo. His coffin, draped in the Union flag, was borne on a gun carriage beginning its journey from the House of General Sir Frederick Stephenson, commander of the army in Egypt and was followed by a procession three quarters of a mile long. He was buried in the Cairo cemetery near the grave of his daughter.
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