The Road to D-Day and Beyond

In the Charge! The Story of England's Northern Cavalry gallery

Floor 1

Free, during opening hours

In commemoration of the 80^th anniversary of the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, this exhibition tells the little-known story of the active part the Northumberland Hussars played during the Second World War.

At the outbreak of war in September 1939, the Northumberland Hussars were a County Yeomanry regiment of the Territorial Army.  The Regiment had spent the previous twenty years honing their equestrian and shooting skills and displaying them at local shows and fairs throughout Northumberland and Durham.

By the time the Allies returned to mainland Europe on 6 June 1944 they had become one of the finest and most battle-hardened Anti-Tank Regiments that the Allied forces could field.

This is the story of how they made that transition.

[Image - some of the few Northumberland Hussars who escaped from Crete in 1941, pictured in Egypt, 1942.]