Mounted Gallery

Scotland for Ever'; the charge of the Scots Greys at Waterloo, 18 June 1815

Scotland for Ever'; the charge of the Scots Greys at Waterloo, 18 June 1815. The attack by the Royal Scots Greys cavalry regiment on the French 45th infantry was immortalised in this famous painting of 1881 by Lady Elizabeth Butler (1846-1933). The wife of a general as well as a popular Victorian painter, she persuaded the commander of the regiment to reconstruct the charge so she could make the painting. Some military historians doubt that the action actually took the form of the spectacular headlong charge depicted in the picture. What is known however is that the Scots Greys overpursued the French infantry, became split into disorganised small groups, and suffered heavy casualties at the hands of French cavalry formations before they were able to regain the British lines

© Ann Ronan Picture Library / Heritage-Images

NFS 60ft hand-operated turntable ladder, WW2

An Austin K4-Merryweather 60 foot hand-operated turntable ladder (TL). A total of 50 such appliances were built and mounted on Austin K4 chassis for the Home Office between 1942 and 1943. The appliances were designed to be used by crews who were not necessarily qualified TL operators. The TL pictured is being demonstrated at Lambeth, the Headquarters of the London Fire Brigade (between 1941 and 1948 the NFS Regional Headquarters)

© London Fire Brigade / Mary Evans Picture Library

WW1 - French 400 mm railway howitzer and artillery squadron

WW1 - Camo de mailly - French 400 mm railway howitzer and artillery squadron. The outbreak of the First World War caught the French with a shortage of heavy field artillery. In compensation, large numbers of large static coastal defence guns and naval guns were moved to the front, but these were typically unsuitable for field use and required some kind of mounting. The railway gun provided the obvious solution. By 1916, both sides were deploying railway guns. Date: circa 1916

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection