However, the QOOH did not accompany the RND when it moved from Dunkirk on 3 October to join the Defence of Antwerp; instead the regiment was retained under the base commandant at Dunkirk. It was assigned to GHQ Troops, and sent to cover the arrival by rail of French cavalry at Hazebrouck station to fill a gap during the 'Race to the Sea'. IV German Cavalry Corps was already moving towards Ypres, and some of its cyclists clashed with a QOOH patrol on 5 October; the regiment was thus the first TF unit to see action. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) rushed up from the Battle of the Aisne to defend Ypres, bringing on the First Battle of Ypres. Over the following weeks the BEF hung on grimly in a series of battles round the town. At the end of October GHQ began releasing the TF units from their duties on the Lines of Communication to provide desperately needed reinforcements. On 31 October the QOOH was sent to 2nd Cavalry Brigade in 1st Cavalry Division, which had been fighting dismounted in the Battle of Messines since 12 October. Two squadrons of the QOOH went up to join the brigade in the line at Messines, filling in for the 18th Hussars who had been detached, while the other squadron remained behind to help dig a reserve defence line.Becke, Pt 3b, p. 124.Becke, Pt 1, pp. 1–7.Edmonds, 1914, Vol II, Appendix 1.Edmonds, 1914, Vol II, pp. 46, 125–6, 215–20, 231–3, 250, 258, 298, 304–9, 346.
