1926 Guards Division Memorial Programme Horse Guards Parade London Connaught Wwi
1926 GUARDS DIVISION MEMORIAL PROGRAMME HORSE GUARDS PARADE LONDON CONNAUGHT WWI. Unveiling of the Guards Division Memorial. The Duke of Connaught, K. (Senior Colonel of the Brigade of Guards). Gale & Polden Ltd, Aldershot. Official programme for the unveiling of the Guards Division Memorial at Horse Guards Parade, London, presided over by Field-Marshal H. The Duke of Connaught on Saturday, 16 October 1926. Printed by the noted military firm Gale & Polden of Aldershot, this inter-war souvenir documents the ceremony in full: guard of honour and inspection, the address by His Royal Highness, the unveiling formula, the dedication by the Senior Chaplain, prayers, the Brigade Call, Last Post and Réveillé, wreath-laying protocol, and the playing of “The Flowers of the Forest” by the massed pipers. The programme further records an inscription to the fallen of the Foot Guards in the Great War and provides a detailed “Order of Battle” of the Guards Division in France and Flanders, listing divisional headquarters, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Guards Brigades, supporting units (Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, Machine-Gun Regiment, Life Guards squadron, cyclist company, signals, veterinary and ordnance detachments), and the 1918 reorganization. A final spread enumerates the Division’s battle honours as engraved on the memorial-Mons, Ypres, Loos, Somme, Ginchy, Arras, Passchendaele, Cambrai, Bourlon Wood, the Lys, the Hindenburg Line, and many more-offering a concise operational history of the Division’s Great War service. The Guards Division Memorial (often called the Guards Memorial) is the Portland-stone cenotaph with five bronze figures representing each Foot Guards regiment, designed by architect H. Chalton Bradshaw with sculpture by Gilbert Ledward and unveiled on this date by the Duke of Connaught; the day’s proceedings were attended by Crimean War veteran General Sir George Higginson. The programme captures that moment and the inter-war culture of remembrance that followed the First World War in Britain. Side-stapled printed wrappers in cream, gilt title to front with coloured Guards badge; rear wrapper with Gale & Polden imprint. No text loss observed, pages complete, though detaching. Included with the programme is the original printed attendee ticket for the Guards Division Memorial unveiling ceremony, dated. Presided over by Field-Marshal H. The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, K. The card identifies the bearer as a veteran of the Guards Division and instructs him to report for the Parade by 10.15 a. Dress guidance specifies Full Dress or Service Dress or plain clothes. With medals and decorations. The reverse lists assembly points for each regiment and unit: Grenadier Guards (Chelsea Barracks), Coldstream Guards (Wellington Barracks), Scots Guards (Chelsea Barracks), Irish Guards (Wellington Barracks), Welsh Guards (Hyde Park Barracks), Machine Gun Regiment (Hyde Park Barracks), and Divisional Troops (Wellington Barracks). Make sure to see the photos above for complete details. Measures approximately 8 1/4 inches tall by 5 1/2 inches wide. Guards Division Memorial programme, Horse Guards Parade, London memorial ceremony, 1926 unveiling, Duke of Connaught, Prince Arthur, Brigade of Guards, Foot Guards regiments, Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Irish Guards, Welsh Guards, General Sir George Higginson, H. Fleming, Field-Marshal Lord Methuen, guard of honour, wreath laying, Last Post, Reveille, Gale & Polden Aldershot, military ephemera, souvenir booklet, British militaria, Guards regiments history, Westminster Whitehall St James’s Park, Horse Guards Parade ground, Trooping the Colour venue, WWI veterans, Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, Guards Machine Gun Regiment, Life Guards squadron, cyclist company, signal company, vintage programme, 1920s London print history, rare regimental printing, original period item. _gsrx_vers_1730 GS 9.9.4 (1730).
