The Kingʼs Royal Hussars Museum in Winchester

We welcome you to HorsePower, the Museum of The King’s Royal Hussars, which was recently awarded the status of Full Accreditation by the Museums Libraries & Archives Council. The museum which is also supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund is one of the founder members of Winchester’s Military Museums, a partnership of five museums located in Peninsula Square and Lower Barracks, Winchester.

On your arrival at the museum, a member of our museum staff will greet you and direct you to the opening audio-visual display where you can sit and relax. After a brief introduction you can follow the history spanning three centuries of our two original regiments, the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own) and the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert’s Own), their successor regiments known as The Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own) which formed in 1969 and the present day regiment which became The King’s Royal Hussars in 1992.

You will find colourful uniforms, hear the sounds of battle and listen to regimental band music; you can try on a real military busby and sit on a saddle in the stable where you will experience the smell of horses and leather.

Look at displays of medals, weapons, military models, equipment and a fascinating collection of pictures and photographs which bring to life service in India and South Africa. There are life size horses and a diorama depicting the aftermath of the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava.

Experience trench warfare in World War 1, see the actual cupboard where a soldier was hidden from the enemy for over three years, and a genuine World War 2 armoured vehicle. Discover what the regiments did during the Cold War, take a virtual tour of a Challenger tank and listen to the tank crewmen’s stories.

Read the story of how Sergeant Henry Engleheart of the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own) rescued a comrade and his horse while under heavy shell and rifle fire from enemy Boers in South Africa in 1900. See his Victoria Cross and all his medals. Also during the Boer War, a Victoria Cross was awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Milbanke Bt, when he was a Lieutenant serving with the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own), for rescuing a comrade under fire although severely wounded himself. In the Crimean War in 1854, Lieutenant Alexander Dunn, serving with the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert’s Own), was awarded the Victoria Cross for saving the lives of two comrades during the Charge of the Light Brigade.