Duke of Farnham’s 1st Dragoon Yeomanry

  It’s back to 1938, and a bit of VBCW ‘History’.

  The Duke of Farnham’s 1^st Dragoon Yeomanry is a volunteer militia in the service of the Duke of Farnham, the nobleman charged with the defence of Chester during the Very British Civil War. The Duke’s nephew and heir, Brigadier Lord Grover, was originally a captain in the 9^th Hussars, and is very much a cavalry officer. When he accepted his commission in the Duke’s private army he was determined to establish a cavalry to serve in the defence of the city of Chester. The 1^st Dragoon Yeomanry is the result of his efforts.

  The Dragoon Yeomen are drawn from the wealthy landowners area Chester. Their ‘uniform’ is the scarlet hunting jacket, which makes they rather dashing on the battlefield. Lord Grover, being no fool, has realised that light cavalry is unlikely to survive long on the modern battlefield of 1938, and has trained his cavalry to fight as light Dragoons, using the manoeuvrability of their horses to get into position, but then to dismount and fight on foot as infantry.

  

 I have wanted to do a ‘hunt’ ever since getting into VBCW- after all what could be more typically British that a hunt scene. Having seen great swathes of cavalry mowed down by HMG fire, I knew that I wanted my beloved cavalry to be able to fight as dismounted infantry, so I have been looking around for figure that would suit, having both a mounted and dismounted version.

  Black Tree Designs Boer War range offered these fantastic models, and relatively cheaply too. BTD often have sales on, and I picked up these cavalry during one of these. I have had to alter it a bit, filling the legs so that they look like riding boots, and doing a head-swap to give them a helmeted head form West Wind Games.

  This pair (well it’s one figure really- mounted and dismounted) are my test models really. I am generally happy with the looks- it might need a bit of work to get the red brighter- and then I am going to roll out a whole load of them!