Dear Partners,
Welcome to this
month’s DISPATCHES and a select little group of figures that includes
some suggested by a K&C collector who is also a senior officer in one of
Britain’s most famous cavalry regiments! And so, without further ado let’s see
what’s in store this month…
A.
“Memories of Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ”
When Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ
passed away in September last year the outpouring of love and grief stretched
out from Britain and travelled around the world and touched many people in many
places.
Here people in
Hong Kong, which had until 1997, been a British
Crown Colony, displayed their own mark of respect to a much-loved
monarch in their own unique way.
For ten days,
from the news of the Queen’s death until the day of her state funeral, many
thousands, of ordinary Hong Kong citizens of all ages and from all walks of
life and backgrounds made their way up to The
British Consulate to lay flowers, place photographs and light
candles celebrating the Queen’s long life and reign.
The British Consulate
is located right next to Pacific
Place where our own
King & Country store is situated. So I
and other members of our staff also went up to see the amazing display as well
as place our own floral tribute.
That was the
time when the idea came to me to design and produce additional figures of Her Late Majesty at
different stages of her long and eventful life.
Already we have
released the Queen
and her favourite Corgi dogs which have proved very popular
with collectors here and around the world.
Now, we
have two more unique little representations…
CE089 ‘The Young Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ’
More than 70
years ago, on June 7, 1951, the then Princess
Elizabeth stood in for her ailing father King GeorgeⅥ to take the salute at ‘Trooping The Colour’ for the very first time.
Just one year
later, after the death of her father and now Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ, the young monarch once again attended
this colourful and spectacular military ceremony and
would go on to take part in many more ‘Troopings’ over the
following seven decades.
As was the
custom the Queen herself, from 1952 until 1986, would ride one of her favourite horses and be wearing a specially-designed,
dress uniform of one of her 5
regiments of Foot Guards.
Depending on
which one of her Guards regimental colour was being ‘trooped’ her majesty would
wear that particular unit’s dress uniform.
This new standing
figure of the younger Queen portrays her in the uniform of The Grenadier Guards,
the senior regiment of the Foot Guards and founded in 1656.
Originally
formed as a Royalist regiment to protect King
CharlesⅡ they enjoy a long and glorious history of loyalty, service
and bravery in defence of country and monarch in
countless wars and conflicts.
Famous for
their flawless drill and combat readiness the Grenadiers continue to this day
to be deployed in frontline operations across the globe, most recently in the
Middle East and Afghanistan.
Their motto is
‘Honi Soit Qui Mal
Y Pense’ which translates as ‘Shame On Him
Who Thinks Evil Of it’
TR013 “Queen ElizabethⅡ in State Attire”
On great formal
occasions, such as welcoming and entertaining visiting foreign dignitaries and
other countries ‘Heads of
State’ Her Late Majesty would often host an important dinner or
luncheon for the relevant guest to greet them to Great Britain.
She would also
attend the annual State
Opening of Parliament where she would address a joint assembly of
Parliament that would include all members of the lower House of Commons as well as
the upper chamber, the House
of Lords.
For all of these more formal ‘State’
occasions the late Queen would wear a long, simple but classic evening gown
decorated with a blue ‘Riband’
sash representing the Order of
The Garter.
Sitting near
the top of the ‘Riband’
are a pair of ‘Royal Family
Orders’ which are special medallions only awarded to female members
of the British royal family.
Lower down is
the large ‘Star’
of the Garter Order. Her majesty also wears the George Ⅳ ‘diadem’, considerably smaller and less
cumbersome than the awesome
Imperial State Crown which is usually only worn at coronations.
AVAILABLE:
Early June
B.
‘The Blues And Royals’
The Monarch’s
Household Cavalry is one of the British Army’s most high-profile regiments. It
actually consists of two separate regiments – the ‘Life Guards’ and
the ‘Blues And Royals’,
with a sabre squadron from each serving as a mounted regiment on ‘public duties’ in London.
Base at Knightsbridge Barracks in
the heart of London this combined Household
Cavalry Mounted Regiment spends much of its time in the public
eye as it performs its ceremonial duties in and around the nation’s
capitol.
King &
Country has, until now, only focused on the Life Guards sabre
squadron, easily recognised by their scarlet red
tunics and white horse hair plumes adorning their silver Victorian-style
cavalry helmets.
The Blues And Royals contingent of the HCMR in contrast to their Life
Guards comrades wear navy blue tunics together with red horse plumes on their
helmets.
With the
increasing popularity of K&C’s ‘Ceremonial’
range has come a growing demand for the other half of the HCMR... The Blues And
Royals.
Among the
requests for this colourful regiment’s ‘other half’ was a plea from
a
long-time
K&C collector who is also a senior-serving officer in the Blue And
Royals!
As he said, “How can you only portray in miniature one
half of very fine regiment Our military collector also suggested that K&C
produce a mounted figure of the Princess Royal, Princess Anne who holds among other
titles, Colonel of The Blues And Royals. He very kindly sent me a whole draft
of terrific reference photos of the Princess on parade with her regiment. And
so, as I write this, we have already begun designing the figure which will be
released, I hope, later this year.
But first, here
is the initial release of K&C’s own ‘Blues
And Royals’…
CE099 “Mounted Blues And
Royals Standard Bearer”
A junior
officer with the rank of ‘Cornet’
usually carries the King’s Standard on parade. In addition
all regimental ranks wear a small ‘Waterloo
Eagle’ on their left upper shoulder as part of their dress uniform
traditions.
CE100 “Mounted Blues And
Royals Trumpeter”
Riding a white
mount by tradition, trumpeters had to be easily seen on the battlefields of
old. This tradition continues to the modern day although only for ceremonial
and other Public Duties.
CE101 “Standing Blues And
Royals Trooper”
Each day, while
on ‘Public Duties’
in London or Windsor
the Blues And Royals carry out a ‘dismounted parade’
precisely at 4:00pm each day where the ‘old
guard’ is replaced by the ‘new
guard’. This little ceremony takes place in the courtyard of Horse
Guards in London.
Our trooper
stands firmly at attention, his cavalry sabre in his right hand.
CE102 “Dismounted Blues And
Royals Trumpeter”
Before the
First World War, regimental trumpeters still wore the heavy steel cuirass the
same as other dismounted Household Cavalry.
The polished
steel cuirass for trumpeters was discarded shortly after the end of hostilities
in 1918. Today all trumpeters whether mounted or dismounted simply wear their
dress blue tunics.
CE103 “Mounted Blues And
Royals Corporal of Horse”
In the British
Cavalry, a Corporal of
Horse is the equivalent of a sergeant in any other branch of
the British Army.
Sergeants and
other NCO’s (Non
Commissioned
Officers’) are the backbone of the British Army and a major factor
in any unit’s success.
This ‘Corporal of Horse’ is no
exception.
CE104 “Mounted Blues And
Royals Trooper”
Sabre in right
hand and loosely holding his horses’ reigns in his left, this magnificent trooper
looks great on any parade ground!
AVAILABLE:
Mid-Late
June
C.
‘The
Bulldog Breed’
Winston
Leonard Spencer Churchill
(1874-1965) can, by
general acclaim, to have been Britain greatest Prime Minister and one of the
most important political figures of the 20th Century.
In addition to being an inspiring wartime leader he was also a great
statesman, soldier, accomplished painter and a superb writer.
Of mixed
British and American parentage he was a man destined
for greatness although bedevilled by misfortune and,
occasionally, calamity throughout his long and very memorable life.
He was for most
of his political career a ‘maverick’
who rose to great heights of power and importance in government before often
falling from grace. Throughout most of the 1930s he was a man crying in the
wilderness while still attempting to warn his country and then the entire world
of the deadly dangers of Nazism and Adolf Hitler.
Finally, in May
1940, on the very day Hitler launched his ‘blitzkrieg’ on Western Europe, Winston S. Churchill at
last entered the door of 10
Downing Street to become Britain’s greatest-ever wartime Prime
Minister.
For the next 5
long, bloody years Churchill was to lead this small island nation from all
kinds of defeats and disasters in 1940, ’41 and ’42 to hard-won victories in
North Africa, Sicily and into Italy before finally, with America at her side,
back into Europe at Normandy in June 1944.
At the same
time Britain and its Empire were fighting in Burma and the Southwest Pacific while
still, with American’s huge support, helping to supply Russia in its war
against the Nazis.
For a man
already well into his 6th decade Churchill’s power and stamina were
incredible. He truly embodied the British characteristics of determination and
strength in the face of setbacks and reversals. He inspired the British people
to believe that the ultimate victory alongside their American and Russian
allies could and would be achieved.
He personified
the ‘Bulldog Breed’
and described the British people themselves as being like the small British
Bulldog… tough, brave and
determined despite all odds.
Churchill also
liked to say that he was more fortunate to be able to provide the bulldog’s
bark and, occasionally, the
bite too!
DD371 ‘Winston S. Churchill’
This figure and
pose were suggested by a famous photograph of the great man taken sometime
during the ‘Darkest Hour’
of 1940 following the defeat of France, the evacuation at Dunkirk and as the
Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Royal Air Force were battling the might of
Hitler’s Luftwaffe for the skies over Southern Britain.
Winston
Churchill,
cradling a Thompson
Submachine Gun, the fabled ‘Chicago
Piano’, looks confident and happy as he puffs on one of his famous
cigars and ready to take on all-comers.
Down by his
side is an equally defiant and pugnacious little British Bulldog… Both are ready for battle come
what may!
AVAILABLE:
Early June
D.
“Animal
Farm”
While going
through our catalogue we also decided to upgrade these farm animal figures that
were originally, released in different sets for the ‘Life of Jesus’ series.
This time
around we did some additional research and discovered more information about
exactly what sort of colours and markings were
typical of farm animals in the Middle East at the time of Jesus.
And so, we’ve
divided them into two very useful sets.
LOJ055
‘The Sheep
& Goats Set’
A collection of
8 assorted
Sheep and Goats which are ideal for a Christmas ‘Nativity’ scene or any particular
scenario somewhere in the Middle East during the centuries after the
Life of Jesus.
LOJ056
‘Stable-Mates’
Two cows and a
donkey to help populate K&C’s upcoming new Desert Village Stable Building due for release
later this year.
AVAILABLE:
Mid to Late
June
E.
‘Hitlerjugend Reinforcements’
The last twelve
months have seen a fair number of late-war ‘Hitlerjugend’ 12th SS Division
soldiers released by K&C.
Here are 4 more useful additions
to boost the numbers of those young German fanatics fighting in the bocage and
hedgerows of Normandy during the summer of 1944.
WS377 ‘The Drinking Soldier’
Taking a
momentary break from battle one of the young HJ soldiers drinks some local wine
during a momentary hull in the fighting.
WS378 ‘SS Squad Leader’
While one of
his men enjoys a drink the squad leader remains ever-vigilant… MP40 machine pistol
in one hand his other holds the classic German ‘Potato-Masher’ stick grenade.
WS379 ‘SS Untersturmfuhrer’
An ‘SS Untersturmfuhrer’
was the rough Waffen SS
equivalent of a Wehrmact (Army) Leutnant
(Lieutenant).
Many Waffen SS officers
came up through the ranks and had already seen a fair degree of active service
before being selected to go for officer training.
Throughout
Germany there were a number of specialized Waffen SS training
facilities where suitable candidates underwent all kinds of tests and training
before being commissioned to the officer ranks. The most famous of these SS
Training Establishments was at Bad
Tolz in Bavaria.
Our latest
young officer stands confidently ready for action anywhere… anytime.
WS380 ‘The Crouching Scout’
Cautiously
moving forward and carrying his brand-new Sturmgewehr ’44 this SS trooper is
holding one of the world’s first and most effective Assault Rifles.
Although most
of the initial production was sent to units fighting on the Eastern Front a
number were sent westwards to be tested in France and the Low Countries.
By the end of
the war in Europe some
425,000 Stg.
‘44s had been produced and distributed.
Post 1945 the Sturmgewehr
’44 remained in use with the East
German People’s Army until the early 1960s when it was finally
replaced by the ubiquitous AK47.
AVAILABLE:
Early June
And that my
friends is the story so far…
But before I go
let’s take a look at what is being retired…
|
VN018 |
COMBAT
CASUALTY SET |
|
VN044 |
Wait |
|
VN046 |
Crouching
Marine Firing M72 LAW |
|
VN059 |
Stay back
he's dead! |
|
VN060 |
Fix bayonets! |
Andy C.
Neilson
Co-founder & Creative
Director
King & Country