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Thursday March 3 2016
‘Time for another military museum’ said Jo and it’s true
there are several left on our list, which at about two years into this
particular Project stands at something
like 100/250 venues… Some off our
original list have vanished (or moved to the country) but others have been
added as we go along so this may be a Project without end – but I digress.
Today’s destination could not be easier
to find though I wonder how many people know it is actually there, tucked away in
a cobbled corner of Horseguards Parade behind the arch (built by Charles II as
we learnt). I stepped through rather
gingerly as it means passing close to the horses on guard and I always think
they seem a bit frisky and unpredictable and really rather large.. I have managed to get to my 7th decade of life
without ever having been on a horse (donkeys yes) and they really take centre
stage for this museum.
The Household Cavalry comprises two regiments – the Life Guards
and the Blues and Royals, the latter itself the result of a merging the former
Royal Horse Guards (Blues) and 1st (Royal) Dragoons. It seems Charles II much admired the personal
bodyguard maintained by Louis XIV in France and ‘wanted one too’. When you
consider what then happened to royalty in France perhaps they weren’t the best
role model to follow and the English Parliament was understandably nervous
about having the monarch with a standing army so to speak until persuaded by
the paranoia of the ‘Popish Plot’. The
Titus Oates claims (bit of bias here I think) may well have been an early
forerunner of the ‘dodgy dossier ‘ type and it is far from clear whether there really
was a plot against the king or merely Titus Oates and co out to get a few more
Catholics disposed of. Whatever, having a ‘life guard’ after this seemed less
extreme or exotic.
Given its corner location the Museum is pretty compact – we
were offered a tablet-based headset but actually found just reading the display
captions and watching bits of video were more than enough to tell the story of
the Regiments’ origins, traditions, exploits and ceremonials.
The uniforms (at a current cost of about £700 each) are what
you see sitting proudly on a horse on most state occasions when the sovereign
is out and about needing protection, though the role is largely symbolic
nowadays. Probably the Met, who have their own stables across the road, do a
fiercer job of security and protection.
The Museum allows you to look at the uniform in quite some detail and tells
you the specific names of the bits of uniform – the boots reach to mid-thigh
and the breast plate is known as a cuirass, the gloves as gauntlets, and the
belt as a cartouche belt. Today the Lifeguards were wearing heavy red topcoats which
split neatly at the back and fall beautifully over the horse’s rump. The
helmets, also brass, have white plumes for the Lifeguards and red for the Blues
(who have blue coats) and Royals. Part of the discipline is keeping your
uniform and that of the horse smart and shiny – a volunteer told us this took
10 hours a day but I’m not sure this leaves much time for any ‘soldiering’ even
if only of the ceremonial type. There is also a more gold coat as worn by the
musicians who are expected to play heavy brass instruments whilst on horseback
– I think maybe they are spared from having a sword as well. Though there was a
lot of shouting going on during the ceremony, loud music (kettle drums and
tubas) were sounded to send a message across the battle field rather than for
any musical entertainment.
The cases contain small ivory ‘pass cards’ which succeeded
the need to know today’s password. I suppose if you are the sort of person who
forgets today’s password you might just remember to bring your ivory pass?
The Household Cavalry recruits from the whole country and
Commonwealth and 85%of the soldiers learn to ride. There was an interesting
interview with two recruits who talked us through the sometimes painful process
of learning to ride – and training which takes about 10 months and includes the
personal care of the animals and familiarising them with noise and sudden
startling so they cope with both the tourists and the ceremonial occasions. The horses are mainly bred in Ireland and
their names come from a pre-selected list issued on an alphabetical basis – a cross
between car registration and hurricane naming… We did reasonably well on a ‘horse quiz’ but
strangely failed to recognise Sefton – the horse who was so badly injured when
the regiment was nail bombed by the IRA in Hyde Park in July 1982.
This led us neatly into the section of the museum which is
adjacent to but glassed off from the stables where the 6 or so horses are
kept for the day’s changing of the guard
ceremony; we were there just around 11
AM so watched a couple of soldiers mount their horses and trot off to do their thing. Virtually throughout our visit, there
was a soldier (in camouflage not dress uniform) sweeping the seemingly endless supply
of horse droppings and wet straw from the cobbled surface. Jo when still a
history teacher and author had learnt that horses can evacuate their bowels up
to 13 times a day so you can see why
cleaning the Augean stables was a Herculean Task
though to be fair these were mainly cows.
For children there are small size replica uniforms for
‘dressing up’ opportunities.
After the chance to look behind the scenes the museum
then resembles other regimental
displays. The usual pattern is a
history of engagements successful or otherwise with the exploits of outstanding
heroes detailed, often with their accompanying medals or accoutrements.
Needless to say just following the bicentennial, the Dragoons (forerunners of
the Blues & Royals, pay attention) were at Waterloo with both other ranks
and officers gaining awards. Lingering before a caption naming the most
decorated UK soldier Jo reminded me however successful an ordinary soldier may
have been he could not rise above a certain rank.
After Waterloo there was a six decade gap of non combat
mainly because Victoria chose to keep her Household Cavalry about her (there
are further stables and training opportunities at Windsor) so they did not take
part in the Crimea. However in 1882 they were deployed to Egypt to suppress a
nationalist uprising (sounds familiar). Time to swap horses for camels.
Before long they found themselves deployed to France where
at Zandvoorde close to Ypres they suffered heavy losses and later photos from this conflict show the
Household cavalry with bicycles as both sides found to their costs that cavalry
charges were tantamount to suicide missions.
According to their captions they did not motorise until 1941
which seems quite late and by 1942 had armoured cars and conscription. As
equestrianism (as opposed to keeping a working horse) was something of a rich
man’s sport conscription would have widened the intake. Amongst the medals you
can see the cap and shirt worn by one Jackie Charlton footballer who of course
played for the Blues team before having a professional career in football.
The Household Cavalry’s post-1945 engagements are pretty
standard, having sent soldiers to the first Iraq conflict, Afghanistan and numerous
peace keeping missions in Cyprus and the Balkans. They also spent some time in
Northern Ireland which may well have precipitated the nail bomb attack in Hyde
Park, which killed seven horses and 4 men and injured 23. To see the size and
viciousness of the nails is really chilling.
Gladly from this dark episode we emerged into the sunshine in
time to join others watching the horses lined up to change the guard. This is a
regimental museum like many but stands out for its amazing location and chance to see the mounts close up – a must
for anyone who loves London or horses.
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