Overall: 48cm (19in) x 86.5cm (26.5in)
Provenance: Major G.T. Cleaver, T.D.
Stitched cotton pennant in the colours of the Westminster Dragoons stable belt, as derived from racing colours of Edward VII who granted the imperial hues of purple, gold and scarlet to Colonel Burn, late Royal Dragoons. Burn was a former aide-de-camp to Edward VII when Prince of Wales. The present pennant presented to Major George Travers Cleaver by his Squadron on the occasion of his retirement from the regiment, circa 1961. Pennant: 49cm x 67cm. Framed and glazed.
In Edwardian times the Westminster Dragoons was a smart regiment filled with wealthy gents from the City and the West End. Their attitude and attire was such that members became known as the 'Piccadilly Peacocks’ as they strutted about Town. The Berkshire and Westminster Dragoons was formed after the Second World War by amalgamation of R (Berkshire Yeomanry) Battery from 299 (Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry, Berkshire Yeomanry, and The Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars) Field Regiment RA, and The Westminster Dragoons (2nd County of London Yeomanry). Major Cleaver was educated at Haileybury and ploughed his furrow in the London discount market.