The son of Captain Robert William Dallas and his wife Lucy Davidson, Dallas was born in
Edgware,
Hertfordshire, on 3 April 1827. He was educated firstly at Mr Allfred's Preparatory School in
Tunbridge Wells, and then at
Harrow School from January 1842. Playing cricket for Harrow, he played in two matches at
Lord's; one against
Eton College and the other against
Winchester College, both of which were victories. Dallas left school in 1844, and purchased a
commission on 16 May 1845 as an
ensign in the
46th Regiment of Foot (commanded by a family friend), before being promoted to the rank of
lieutenant in April 1848. Prior to this he had served in his regiments depot battalion, joining the main portion of the 46th when it returned from duty in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 8 May. He made his debut in
first-class cricket for the
Gentlemen of Kent against
Cambridge University at
Canterbury in the same year. He made two further first-class appearances, playing for
Lancashire against
Yorkshire in 1849, and for Yorkshire against an
All England Eleven in 1850. While doing so Dallas continued in the army, serving in
Liverpool,
Chester,
Hull,
Preston, and
Manchester, before in 1852 sailing with the 46th to
Belfast. By the end of the year he was stationed at
Kilkenny, before the regiment returned to England in 1854 to serve at
Windsor. While stationed at Windsor one
subaltern of the regiment attacked another after a severe bout of bullying, and both were
court martialled. The subsequent public proceedings cast the regiment in an extremely poor light, and many officers were incriminated in the scandal, and Dallas was one of two described by another officer as "the best and only good fellows among them". The 46th were expected to take part in the
Crimean War, but the confusion surrounding the courts martial meant the regiment was unable to travel as one unit, and they were split into three for the purposes of travel. Dallas was given command of the smallest of these groups, leaving for the war on 9 August to serve as
guard of honour to Lieutenant-General
Sir George Cathcart, commander of the
4th Division. Dallas saw action at
Alma,
Balaclava,
Inkerman and the
Siege of Sevastopol. as well as serving as the
aide-de-camp to
General Garrett. He wrote an eyewitness account of the war, consisting of 127 letters. Dallas returned to England on 5 August 1856 as a
brevet major, still serving as ADC to Garrett, who was known as "General Chaos", and quickly afterwards moved with the general to serve at
Gibraltar. For his services in the war he received the
Crimea Medal with four
clasps, the
Turkish Crimea Medal, and was created a Knight of the
Legion of Honour. He was also made a member of the
Order of the Medjidie, 5th Class, by the
Ottoman Empire in March 1858. Dallas was still serving with Garrett at Gibraltar when the
Second Opium War began. Garrett was given command of the First Brigade to fight in the war, and Dallas sailed with him in April 1857. Dallas arrived at
Hong Kong on 24 May, and on 1 June fought at the
Battle of Fatshan Creek as a volunteer on board the
gunboat HMS Haughty. While Garrett and his staff had made it to China, his brigade never did, as they were diverted to India upon the start of the
Indian Mutiny. Garrett was then dispatched to India as well, and Dallas left with the rest of the staff for
Calcutta on 19 September. They reached India later in the month, and Garrett was given command of the garrison at
Umballah. Dallas arrived there in February 1858, and saw no action during the mutiny. He stayed on Garrett's staff until November 1861 when he returned to England, purchasing his full majority in October 1862 and going on
half pay. Around this time he also started a family, marrying Maria Louisa Taylor of
Strensham Court. They would go on to have three daughters and a son. Dallas was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant colonel in January 1868, still on half pay. He retired from active service in March 1875 by selling his commission, and died at
Huddersfield on 1 February 1888, at the age of 60. ==Citations==