The 7th (Queen's Own) Hussars Polo Team

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

36829

Title

The 7th (Queen's Own) Hussars Polo Team

Description

One black and white photograph of Earl Haig with the other three members of the 7th Hussars polo team in India. Haig is seated, flanked by two standing players and one player seated on the ground. All men are wearing Polo playing outfits. The two men standing are holding polo mallets as is the man sitting on the grass.
The photograph has been taken whilst the team were playing in a local tournament Secunderabad. The players are Nicholson, Lisbat, Douglas Haig, Sutton which corresponds to the four players in order.

Date

1889

Type

Photograph

Location

Museum of Edinburgh

Accession number

HH4303/182/81

Douglas Haig was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 7th Hussars on the 7th February, 1885 at the age of 24. Haig would stay in India until 1892 when he returned to the UK in order to prepare for the entrance exams to attend the Staff College at Camberley.

While in India Haig served as the Regimental Adjutant and was later promoted to Captain. Haig also competed as part of the 7th Hussars Polo Team in Inter-Regimental competition.

Douglas Haig was born in Charlotte Square, Edinburgh on the 9th June, 1861 to John Haig, the whisky distiller and Rachel Veitch. The young Douglas would spend the majority of his youth at the main family home of Cameron House in Fife before being educated at Clifton College, Bristol and then Brasenose College, Oxford.

Douglas Haig was commissioned into the 7th Hussars following his attendance the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, thus beginning a military career which would see several tours of India, action in both the war in the Sudan and South Africa before rising up the ranks to be posted as the head of the Aldershot Command prior to the First World War.

Douglas Haig went to war with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in August, 1914 in command of the I Corps. In December of 1915 following Sir John French's departure Haig took up the post as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF.

After the war Douglas Haig retired from the army in 1920, was created the 1st Earl Haig and spent the rest of his life seeing to the well-being of ex-servicemen.

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Military

People > Famous people > Field Marshal Earl Haig

People > Military activities > Soldiers

Places

Places > Asia > India

Sport and leisure

Sport and leisure > Activities

Sport and leisure > Culture

Sport and leisure > Sports and recreation equipment