Every artefact displayed in the Household Cavalry Museum comes with a unique story attached, some far stranger than others - from a phenomenally expensive officer’s breastplate worn only once, to a sword wielded in combat at the Battle of Waterloo, to a campaign medal awarded to a cavalry horse for bravery. It is the Museum’s responsibility to preserve this historical legacy of duty, sacrifice, and courage, telling the story of how the Household Cavalry began, the deeds they have done, and how they continue to serve as a regiment of the British Army to this day.

The Household Cavalry Museum differs from many other military museums in the UK, as we sit upon Horse Guards Parade in close proximity to Whitehall, where military ceremonies and traditions dating back centuries continue to be performed daily. This setting helps us to illustrate the Household Cavalry’s enduring role as ceremonial bodyguards to the monarch at the heart of London.

However, it also poses a challenge in displaying the collection. The Museum is a relatively limited space within a Grade I Listed building that also remains a working military site and in close proximity to live animals. As a result, curators must carefully determine which artefacts best showcase the regimental history and legacy of service, capture the public’s interest, and embody the regiment’s combined military and ceremonial roles, while also taking the utmost care to ensure its ongoing preservation for future generations.

Crowd Stoppers

There are some pieces displayed here in the Museum that are guaranteed to bring visitors to a halt, either because of their scale, sheer opulence, or the nature of the stories attached to them. Below are three such objects:

The Zetland Trophy always draws the eye for its sheer opulence: Commissioned in 1874 at the (for the period) eye-watering sum of £1000, it was created following some very poorly chosen words by Baron Zetland, an officer of the Royal Horse Guards. Nothing quite so encapsulates the “ornamental extravagance” of the period from 1815 to 1882 - a time defined in the Household Cavalry’s history by their utter lack of frontline military action - as this staggeringly ornate and ostentatious dining table centrepiece.

In contrast, this humble bugle is a legacy of one of the regiment’s greatest battlefield glories. John Edwards, a 16 year old trumpeter of the Life Guards, sounded this very bugle multiple times on Sunday 18th June 1815, announcing the charge and retreat of the Life Guards as they fought valiantly to repel numerous assaults by the heavy cavalry of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Grand Armée at the Battle of Waterloo. Visitors are shocked to learn not only of John’s youth, but that against all the odds, he not only survived one of the bloodiest battles in European history, but continued to serve in the regiment with distinction and lived to a ripe old age of 75. 

This extraordinary collection of items - a cigarette case, pocket book and French dictionary belonging to Corporal of Horse Buckby - always catch the attention of visitors as they provide a visceral connection to the life of a soldier.

On May 13th 1915, CoH Buckby was part of an attack on a German position when a sniper’s bullet struck him in the chest, piercing the cigarette case and pocket book, stopping only a few pages short of penetrating the French dictionary and the body behind it. Visitors are always awed by the story of Buckby’s lucky escape, and even more so when they learn that he would not only survive the First World War but enjoy a lengthy life and military career due to being narrowly saved from death by these objects.

‘Power can be held in the smallest of things…’

The smallest item in our collection, a bent iron nail, barely three inches long. At first glance it seems innocuous, but this was one of dozens packed into a car bomb detonated by the IRA on July 20th 1982, claiming the lives of four men and seven horses of the Blues and Royals at the corner of Hyde Park as they made their way to Horse Guards for the Changing of the Guard that day.

Even a small object like this serves to remind us that the dangers the Household Cavalry face are not confined to history or far flung battlefields on distant continents; violence can strike even here on the streets of London. It also reminds us that beneath the gleaming pomp and ceremony of their guard duty here in London, the Household Cavalry are an actively serving regiment of the British Armed Forces, and tragically, many cavalrymen do and have given their lives in service to their country.

The Regimental Archive

The archive at Combermere Barracks in Windsor holds extensive records of individual soldiers - regimental order books, diaries, casualty books, court martial ledgers, marriage and baptism rolls. We also hold numerous photos, uniforms, swords (and other weapons), and other ephemera connected to the Household Cavalry’s history. It’s incredibly interesting to look through what we hold, and discover about the lives of former soldiers and what life was like in the regiment in the past. It’s always exciting when you encounter an object and learn something new about it, or something you didn’t know before, proof that there is always something more to discover.

Some of the collection held at the Household Cavalry’s Regimental Archive at Combermere Barracks, Windsor

The Dual Identity Problem

The curatorial challenge is one unique to this collection - every piece tells a story of both military excellence and royal tradition, and the two aren't always easy to hold together in a single display. How do you show the best parts of a regiment that rides down the Mall in the morning and has served in Afghanistan in the afternoon? We endeavour to explain to the visitor, either through guidebook, audio tour, or introduction from staff, that the regiment has a dual role, which hopefully makes it easier for them to understand the contrast in our displays between the shine of royal ceremony and the grime of battlefield duty. Albeit limited by the confines of the Museum: it is quite difficult to showcase the Cavalry’s armoured side when there isn’t much in the collection and you can’t put an armoured vehicle in the museum! It is easier to showcase the ceremonial aspect of the regiment when the Museum gazes directly into the working stables the Cavalry still maintain at Horse Guards: the Cavalry Blacks themselves are one of the biggest draws of the Museum!