Thomas Del Mar Ltd
Lot 243
VARIOUS OWNERS Captain Matthew Benson Harrison, Westmoreland and Cumberland Yeomanry Cavalry, circa 1851-66 AN OFFICER`S LIGHT DRAGOON PATTERN `BELL TOP` SHAKO, SABRETACHE, POUCH AND MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF THE WESTMORELAND AND CUMBERLAND YEOMANRY CAVALRY, CIRCA 1851-66 the shako with body of black felted material with a crown, front peak and false back peak of black patent leather (all crazed); the crown encircled by a band of silver lace 1⅞ inches wide and the base encircled by another ½ inch wide, the front and back peaks edged with bands of silver lace ½ inch wide; a boss, cords and lines of silver round-cord, the lines terminating in acorns of woven silver wire; below the boss, on a silver lace cockade, a regimental badge comprising, in struck gilt metal repoussé, the Royal Cypher VR within a strap-and-buckle bearing the title WESTMORELAND & CUMBERLAND YEOMANRY and surmounted by a monarchial crown, the gilt metal centre mounted upon a multi-rayed white metal star; white metal lion`s mask chin-chain bosses and a white metal chin-chain of overlapping links sewn to a leather strap; with a white leather and crimson silk head-band and a (loose) padded interior; separate gilt metal plume holder; generally good condition; 23cm; 9in high; 23.5cm; 9¼ in diameter of crown; THE SABRETACHE, with body and expanding pouch of black leather, the pouch secured with a loop and button; the front of black wool (some moth) with a border of silver lace 2 inches wide enclosing, in silver wire embroidery, the cypher WCYC beneath a monarchial crown in gold and silver wire embroidery and coloured fabric; three white metal suspension loops; inside the pouch, the retailer`s label of `Andrews Helmet Maker &c to Her Majesty 9 PALL MALL`; generally good condition; 33cm; 13 in x 27.4cm; 10¾ in; THE POUCH, with body covered in crimson leather, the white metal frontal flap having an engraved border of oak-leaves enclosing, in gilt metal, the applied cypher WCYC beneath a monarchial crown; on the front of the pouch body, the retailer`s label of `Andrews Helmet Maker &c to Her Majesty 9 PALL MALL`; generally good condition; frontal flap 6.5cm; 2½ x 17cm; 6¾ in; and MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS, comprising a pair of gentleman`s white doeskin gloves with two buttons at each wrist; the white metal regimental medal of the Westmoreland and Cumberland Yeomanry Cavalry fitted with a flat white metal bar suspender and contained in a box bearing the date 1857 on the lid; a bronze medal of the `National Rifle Association 1860` fitted with a German silver bar suspender; a single instep-chain from a field spur; generally good condition, the gloves appearing unworn. Matthew Benson Harrison (1824-1879) was the eldest son of Benson Harrison of Greenbank, Westmoreland and his second wife, Dorothy, née Wordsworth - second cousin to the poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850). He became lieutenant in the Westmoreland and Cumberland Yeomanry Cavalry on 3rd May 1851 and was promoted captain on 6th September 1858, leaving the regiment in about 1866. A Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Westmoreland, he was High Sheriff for the county in 1860. He is shown, seated and in civilian clothes, in a group photograph of officers, and ex-officers, of the regiment taken in 1872 and reproduced in Bargett, C.: Better by far a Cumberland Hussar: a history of the Westmoreland and Cumberland Yeomanry (Kirkby Stephen, 2001), p. 13; this photograph also appears in the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol. XXXVIII (1960), p. 136, with a note on those depicted in Vol. XXXIX (1961), p. 105.
