Museum Collections, Regimental Silver & Plaques

Selections of King’s Colonials and King Edwards Horse uniforms, badges and mementos were originally on display at the National Army Museum which opened in Sandhurst in 1960. Among the items on display were a King Edward’s Horse Sergeant’s tunic and a King Edward’s Horse Recruiting Poster. Noted as being in storage was an Officer’s Mess Dress uniform, sundry items of uniform and a case of Regimental badges mainly of the King’s Colonials period that had been presented in memory of F. G. Corbett.

In 1960, the Imperial War Museum in London had on display a King's Colonials headdress badge, shoulder titles and two buttons in its Badge Room.

Today there is no permanent display of King’s Colonials, King Edward’s Horse and 2nd King Edward’s Horse uniforms or badges at either the National Army Museum or the Imperial War Museum. The collections of both museums list and detail a number of King’s Colonials, King Edward’s Horse and 2nd King Edward’s Horse items but the images are not available on-line. The majority of these items are photographs, uniforms, badges and some correspondence and these are tabulated below:


The majority of the badges tabulated above are noted within this website. The R. C. Whittock collection of King's Colonials badges are held by the National Army Museum (see Figure 173 under Badge Manufacture). I would be delighted to hear from anyone if they get an opportunity to visit and obtain clear photographs of any of these items which they could do by arranging to see these objects in advance.

The Australian War Museum lists a single King Edward’s Horse headdress badge in its collection but it is not available to view on-line. The badge is actually a copy with a Gaunt makers mark on the slider.

Figure 385: A photograph of a three foot long brass and timber plaque of the King Edward's Horse that was thought to have hung in the barracks of the Liverpool Troop in Aigburth, Liverpool. It was purchased by Chris Owen, a member of the Great War Forum about 20 years ago from a pawn brokers shop in North Wales where it had sat on the wall for 30 years.

Regimental Silver

The Regimental silver of the King’s Colonials and later King Edward’s Horse was donated for custodial safe-keeping and display on special occasions to the Haileybury and Imperial Service College in the UK.

The items held are:

• King’s Colonials Bowl
• Challenge Cup for Posts and Heads
• Cup presented to the Asian Squadron by Colonel H. Fortescue
• Hotchkiss Rifle Competition Cup
• Reconnaissance Challenge Cup
• Musketry Field Firing Challenge Cup
• Table Candelabrum
• Cape Town Challenge Cup
• Officer’s Mess Cup – Wrestling on Horseback.

The school has in its safe-keeping the Dewar Shield and the Australia Shield again competed for by the Squadrons of the King's Colonial/King Edwards Horse. There is also a large painted wood representation of the King Edward’s Horse headdress is on display in the School and is shown in Figure 460.

Figure 386: A large painted wood representation of the King Edward’s Horse headdress badge at the Haileybury and Imperial Service College (Darren O’Brien collection). 

2nd King Edward's Horse Memorial Plaque

There is a 1990 photograph taken by Colin Mctyre of a memorial plaque (Figure 387) to the 2nd King Edward's Horse that was on the wall at the New Zealand High Commission in Haymarket, London. In subsequent renovations to the building the plaque was lost.

Figure 387: A 2nd KEH Memorial Plaque