Page 113 - Light Dragoons 2022 CREST

Andy at Heritage: Interactive, they car- ried out all the final edits, our numerous amends and uploaded all the content onto the 3D scan ready for the launch at the end of June.
Once we did re-open to the public in mid- May we decided to extend our temporary exhibition ‘The Final Push’ for another four weeks, as it had only been open for 8 weeks before the museum went into lock down, to allow more visitors to see it. Meanwhile I was finalising the content of the next temporary exhibition, ‘In Times of Emergency’. The Covid-19 pandemic response had highlighted that in times of national emergency or crisis that the British Army could provide assistance to support the civil authorities, and the new exhibition explored how The Light Dragoons - and its antecedent regiments - have been deployed in this way and how that role has changed overtime. Using a mixture of imagery, objects and quotes from serving soldiers, the exhibition cov- ered emergencies like the Fire Brigade Union Strikes of 2002, the flooding in 2015 and 2019 and the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Armed Forces Day, 24 June, we launched our virtual gallery tour and opened the temporary exhibition. On the day we were fortunate to have representa- tives from both The Light Dragoons and The Queen’s Own Yeomanry, plus vehicles, on the plaza at Discovery Museum and in
the gallery were our experienced gallery explainers, Alan Gibson, Steve Brotherton and Dave Weatherstone, on hand to talk to the public and promote the virtual tour. We were very pleased to welcome them back as all volunteering had been on hold since the beginning of the year.
Behind the scenes work continued as nor- mal, including the answering of enquir- ies from the public and the cataloguing of acquisitions. Amongst the donations we have received one of the most nota- ble was the bible of Assistant Surgeon Lucas Pulsford of the 18th Hussars, which
‘In Times of Emergency’ exhibition
was amongst his possessions during the Peninsula War. It is annotated with the list of officers who embarked with the regiment and also the route of their march. Personal items like these add a valuable extra dimension to the collection and we are grateful to be able to add it to the archives.
Thanks must go as always to Alisdair Wilson, our Curatorial Advisor, the wider TWAM team including Front of House and Conservation, and to our team of volunteers.
The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
As with everyone in the United Kingdom, we here down in the south have been subjected to lockdown like the rest of the country at certain times of this year. Cavalry Memorial weekend was cancelled and conducted in a virtual reality stream on You Tube, the Founders Day parade due to be inspected by HRH King Abdulla was moved to another date, so Regimental and association involvement was unfor- tunately cancelled.
November saw reduced numbers at the Field of Remembrance in Westminster Abbey with only 3 members allowed on our VIP plot along with the Colonel of the Regiment, but the Remembrance Sunday Parade at Horse Guards/ Whitehall went ahead with 14 mem- bers of the Association marching on behalf of the Regiment, with myself as poppy/wreath bearer and Paul Milnes as Contingent Commander. We had great television exposure on the BBC so we would like greater numbers on it next year especially as so many ex serving officers live in and around London.
Southern Branch
One special event that did go ahead in Cardiff was the unveiling of a memorial to a survivor of the “Charge of the Light Brigade” by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff. John Henry Harding was a surviving 13th LD of Balaklava and had been originally buried in a pauper’s grave. This was a very well attended event and
Posh Blackledge took and paraded the Association standard on our behalf.
Let us all hope that this coming year ahead offers us more opportunities to get together and celebrate our great Regiment.
BLM
Light Dragoons contingent at the Cenotaph parade in London November 2021
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