From top: Victoria Cross recipients Campbell Mellis Douglas, Herbert Taylor Reade and William Edward Hall. ILLUSTRATIONS: Sharif Tarabay Two doctors and a black marine. At first glance an unlikely trio to make up the next three Canadian recipients of the Victoria Cross after Alexander Dunn, who had been the first to be awarded the British Empire’s highest award for valour for his gallantry during the Crimean War in 1854 (It Started With Dunn, January/February). But collectively these men had a lot in common. Herbert Taylor Reade and William Edward Hall—the son of a slave—were both decorated for valour on the frontier during ...

Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred Cannon to right of them Cannon to left of them Cannon in front of them Volley'd and thunder'd ­Alfred, Lord Tennyson Lieutenant Alexander Roberts Dunn, VC. ILLUSTRATION: Sharif Tarabay The Battle of Balaclava! An atrocious disregard for human life. The stupidest, most ill-The Battle of Balaclava! An atrocious disregard for human life. The stupidest, most ill-conceived tactical blunder in the annals of military deployment. Nonetheless, this costly debacle moved Queen Victoria to praise "the brilliance of the charge and the gallantry displayed ...