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    British Army Drum Horses.


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    I've never collated information on the British army's drum horses, but as I collect old British army photos & postcards & also old cigarette cards & silks I've come across various representations of them.

    Cigarette cards can provide detail that can't be found elsewhere so I've read, but they can also provide totally inaccurate information showing the wrong colours or designs of drum banners thanks to artists assumptions.

    Here's a "Rapheal Tuck & Sons" card of the drum horse of the 5th Royal Irish Lancers, a post Anglo-Boer War Edwardian card showing the Victorian banners in use.

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    Silk cigarette cards by BDV, I think that they were issued during WWI.

    How accurate are these, with those strange looking regimental numerals?

    These measure about 6" x 4", & were also issued in the smaller conventional size of such cards - a couple of inches by a couple of inches.

    This one represents the drum banner of the 4th Hussars, with Queen Victorias cypher & crown.

    Edited by leigh kitchen
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    I can't remember who issued these silk cigarette cards, I think that they were issued during WWI.

    How accurate are these, with those strange looking regimental numerals?

    This one represents the drum banner of the 4th Hussars, with Queen Victorias cypher & crown.

    Leigh

    At a guess, the numbers have been "anglicized" from Roman numerals, so that younger collectors could be sure to "get a set" - that being, of course the reason the cards came out: "Buy more Players, da. I need a number 13!"

    BTW, I believe the lovely white horse on the first drumm banner card would be described in military parlance (and maybe by civvy horse fanciers too) as a "light grey". Good forbid we should make it easy by uisng everyday language! :cheers:

    Lovely cards. I have a very few, somewhere, of the Indian Army, and phtocopies (b&w) of more of the same (c. WWI) - very useful for uniform details, as you say.

    Peter

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    • 3 months later...

    The Drum Horse of the 2nd Life Guards.

    This was posted at North West London as a christmas greeting on 24th December 1906, to a Sergt. Major Garton, of Clapham.

    (Sergeant Major Garton was a member of a yeomanry regiment - I have a photo of him).

    This card was produced by "Martin, Photographer, Prestwich".

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    Illustrations from another thread that I'm starting, relating purely to an Edwardian book entitled "Bands of the British Army" by W.J.Gordon, illustrated by F. Stansell & published by Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd.

    The book refers to the originals of the illustrations having been made "just before the war". I take this to be a reference to the Anglo-Boer War, but some of the illustrations show the Kings Crown & cypher of King Edward VII, so not all were painted before that war. WWI started in 1914, 4 years after King George V came to the throne - it is possible, I suppose, that the illustrations could have been made just before that war, but I would have thought that at least some of the figures illustrated would have worn King George V's cypher by then.

    The book covers both mounted & foot troops - I'd like to concentrate drum horse photos & information here.

    All of the drum horses of the cavalry regiments are illustrated.

    1st King's Dragoon Guards kettle drummer, Queen Victoria's Crown on the drum banners:

    Edited by leigh kitchen
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