Last Stand at Zandvoorde, 1914: Lord Hugh Grosvenor's Noble Sacrifice

By: Mike McBride

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Synopsis: Being the son of the Duke of Westminster, whose family traces its lineage back to 1066, Lord Hugh Grosvenor was destined to become a cavalry officer in the prestigious 1st Regiment of Life Guards. Using unpublished letters home and contemporary accounts Noble Sacrifice describes Lord Hughs embarkation for France and the early mounted encounters which halted the enemy onslaught against the contemptible little army. These led to the stalemate of trench warfare and found Lord Hugh and his Squadron holding out at Zandvoorde during the First Battle of Ypres 1914 and being annihilated by superior numbers of enemy forces in some of the most desperate fighting of the First World War. Due to the advances in military hardware, the war for Lord Hugh and his comrades marked a turning point in cavalry tactics.As well as being a dramatic account of Lord Hugh Grosvenors last stand, Noble Sacrifice is a very personal story of courage and self-sacrifice. This heroic yet tragic story has a mysterious twist. The bodies of Lord Hugh and his 100 soldiers were never found - it was as if they had never existed.