dragoon guards

[blueman]

hi all i think this is 7th royal dragoon guards helmet, can anyone help with a value ?........thanx...kev

[Mervyn Mitton]

Hi - Kev , welcome to GMIC. Yes, 7th Dragoon Guards - The Princess Royal's Own. They were formed - I think in 1673 after the death of King Charles 2nd. His Daughter was fleeing to York - pursued by James 2nd's troops as he wanted to detain her. The Earl of Devonshire came to her assistance. When Queen Mary and King William ascended the Throne - our only joint Monarchs - one of their first Acts was to create The Earl a Duke and allowed him to have his own Regiment of cavalry - the 7th. Dragoons. They are of course heavy cavalry and the officers wear gold plated helmets to be seen in the heavy dust of battle.

I will let one of our expert helmet collectors give you the details on your helmet - however, I have an earlier version in the shop which is on sale for about stg. 1500 pounds.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Mervyn Mitton

[Stuart Bates]

Kev,

there is not much to add to what Mervyn has said other than that this style was introduced in 1871 and lasted until the outbreak of WWI. Many Yeomanry units adopted this pattern.

The 7th were formed in 1688 and known as Lord Cavendish's Regiment of Horse and renamed the 7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards in 1788. The princess referred to is Charlotte the Princess Royal, the daughter of George III. They amalgamated with the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards in 1922 to form the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards.

Mervyn, you say you have an earlier version so I presume that that is the 1847 pattern? They fetch more money than the 1871 which seem to go for £1100+. It is difficult to assess the value of this one from one photo but it does seem to be in good condition.

BTW: welcome to the forum Kev.

Stuart

[Stuart Bates]

I forgot to add that this is an Other Ranks' helmet and that an officer's version would attract considerably more money.

Stuart

[FrontlineAntiques]

Its an awesome bit of kit Kev - very jealous!

Welcome to GMIC

Dan

[Mervyn Mitton]

Stuart - thankyou for the correct date - Charles died in 1673 and I thought it was closer. I'm pretty sure that it it was his daughter that the Princess Royal refers to. George 3rd. only came to the throne in 1760. Cavendish was the family name of the Earl and later Duke.

For comparison this is my 7th - much more elaborate plate.

[Stuart Bates]

Hi Mervyn,

yours is an officer's 1871 pattern helmet and in very good condition. As I said this would fetch much more than an OR's version but you already know that.

Stuart

Edited November 4, 2010 by Stuart Bates

[Stuart Bates]

Mervyn,

perhaps you were thinking of Princess Charlotte of Wales (7 January 1796 – 6 November 1817), daughter of George, Prince of Wales later George IV. She gave her name to the 5th Dragoon Guards and the following link gives the former titles of the regiments which amalgamated to form the Royal Dragoon Guards. http://www.rdgmuseum.org.uk/titles.htm

Two sources that I checked have Lord Cavendish as the founder or the Earl of Devonshire. From reading further it would seem that it was the 4th Earl of Devonshire (1640 - 1707), later 1st Duke of Devonshire, who was our man. The family name was, of course, Cavendish as you pointed out.

Stuart

Edited November 4, 2010 by Stuart Bates

[Mervyn Mitton]

Stuart - I see that I said Somerset in my first reply. I've now corrected it to Devonshire. They are all so close to each other it is easy to confuse - something I do well these days......