A full account of the funeral of the Duke of Wellington is given in the _Annual Register_ , 1852, “Appendix to Chronicle,” p. 483.
Eighteen months had barely elapsed, after the disappearance of the chief actor in the glories of the great wars that disturbed the beginning of the century, when the long European peace came to an end, and again there was a call to arms, and the nation was involved in the harassing anxieties of a sanguinary struggle in the East with Russia. The Crimean war opens up a new era in the military history of the country, and as the Coldstream participated largely in it, it will be described in the subsequent chapters. Meanwhile, it may be convenient to mention, as briefly as possible, some few of the changes and reforms that affected the army at large, and the Regiment in particular, during the period (1837-54), with which we are now more immediately concerned.
It may be stated that, during the reign of William IV., there was only a sergeant’s guard at Buckingham Palace; but in July, 1837, when Her Majesty took up her residence there, it was increased to one Subaltern and forty-four Non-commissioned officers and men. Again, before the Queen’s Accession, guard-mounting, attended by the flank companies of the Brigade, seems often to have been held more than once during the year; but since that time, it took place more regularly as a Birthday ceremonial. Moreover, prior to 1841, the public duties mounted, as a rule, all the year round from the Horse Guards Parade; from that date, however, they appear to have paraded there during the summer months only (May 1st-October 1st), when white trousers were worn by the troops. The practice of mounting the public duties from the battalion parades during the whole year, except for about a month, as at present, began about 1849.
As early as 1829, efforts were made to increase the comfort of the men on guard, by providing them with means to cook, or at least to warm, their dinners, which, prior to that date, had been served up to them in a very unsatisfactory manner. Later, other improvements were introduced into barracks. Suitable washing and cooking arrangements began to be organized (1838 and 1843), and fuel and light were authorized for a room to serve as a “library” for the use of men (1839). These changes, however, were not finally complete until 1849, in which year also, the new barracks at the Tower (Waterloo barracks) were finished and ready for occupation. It may be interesting to note that, in 1850, by an order from the Horse Guards, all bagatelle tables in barracks were forbidden; and this was interpreted to entail the removal of a billiard table which had been set up at Chichester, as the Field-Officer in Brigade Waiting considered it “in the same light as the bagatelle boards which have been so recently done away with by the Commander-in-Chief” (_Brigade Order_ , July 24, 1850).