Lieutenant-Colonel William Munro and Officers of the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot, 1855

Photograph by Roger Fenton (1819-1869), Crimean War, 1855.

Munro took command of the 39th Regiment on 11 November 1853 after 20 years' regimental service. After service at Gibraltar his unit arrived at Balaklava on New Year's Eve 1854. They immediately moved into the siege-lines around Sebastopol. Although there were periodic sorties, the bulk of their time was spent in the trenches. The left the Crimea in May 1856.