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Household Cavalry Museum

Above: Pictorial examples from the Household Cavalry, (formed from the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals) museum. A little sparse in comparison to the contents at the Guards museum, visited earlier in the day, but nevertheless still interesting. It was an informative visit as it helped clarify which division was which. The Life Guards, the oldest regiment in the British Army, are those in red, with the Blues and Royals , the second oldest regiment, being in blue. Another distinguishing features is that the Life guards wear the helmet chin strap below the lip, whereas the Blues and Royals strap is worn below the chin. Both wear the steel cuirass breast and back plate, which I was able to handle and was surprised how heavy both parts were. Little having change probably, in weight at least, from in the days when it was supposed to save the individual from sword, then subsequently, as warfare advanced, the bullet. The lower picture shows the uniform of the drum major, a very ornate uniform with an abundance of gold braid.

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