WILLIAM SIMPSON (1823-99)
Queen Victoria reviewing the Royal Artillery at Woolwich on their return from the Crimea, 13 March 1856
dated Mar 1856RCIN 916787
Peace was finally declared in March 1856, and the soldiers soon began to return home from the Crimea. The Royal Artillery disembarked at Woolwich, to be inspected by Queen Victoria. The Queen noted in her journal: ‘They had all long beards & were heavily laden with large knapsacks... The whole sight gave one a real idea of what the life and appearance of the men, on service out there, must have been’.