Errol
Templar Holmes arrived in London in August, 1777. His
lifelong
ambition to become a member of the Royal Irish Dragoons was
frustrated by
their colonel's aggravation at Errol's uncle (Captain Sean
O'Kelly
Callahan), a notorious "practical
joker".
Disillusioned,
young Holmes was eventually pulled out of the
doldrums when he successfully
obtained a commission as a captain in the
17th Light Dragoons on 1
September, 1777.
At a
party, he became embroiled in what he thought was a friendly
discussion with
a fellow cavalryman. All he did was to praise the value of
the sabre,
the personal weapon of all cavalrymen. Captain Arthur Atkins of
the
21st Lancers maintained that this was an insult and so challenged Errol
to a
duel -- refusing to even agree to any kind of
terms.
Errol was very
nearly killed in his duel with Captain Arthur
Atkins on 1 October, 1777 and
will need several weeks to regain his full
health. Nevertheless, this
was not an unhappy day as he also obtained his
position of Major of the 3rd
Squadron of the 17th Light Dragoons on the
same
day.
While recovering
from his wounds, he attracted the attention of
the lady Elizabeth, and the
two have been inseparable ever since.
