The Parker Gallery
Many of the items displayed in this building have been bequeathed to the museum by the late Major Sir Michael Parker KCVO, CBE (MJP) and his family.
The articles donated are marked MJP.
He was a prominent member of The Queen’s Own Hussars whilst serving with the Regiment for 18 Years and went on to organise over 300 official national, international, and royal occasions.
Famously the Royal Tournaments and tattoos national and international as well as many major royal events for Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The pictures and audio-visuals displayed in the Parker Gallery are a testament to his numerous achievements.
The Royal Tournament 1974 – 1999
Sir Michael Parker KCVO CBE (MJP) Produced The Royal Tournament from 1974 until 1999. The three services took it in turn to be the lead service. The three regular acts each year were:
- * The Royal Navy Field Gun Competition
- * The Musical Drive by The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery
- * The Skill at Arms Competitions.
When first taking over the Production of The Royal Tournament it occurred to MJP that the first major thing to do was to change the way the show looked.
Pre 1974 Backcloths were bland so he decided early on that he would have to paint the original of all the Backcloths himself, then he could not complain about them!
He painted them to scale in watercolour roughly 24 x 8 inches and where the Backcloths moved rather than just hanging, he made working scale models of the mechanics to make everything work. His efforts were then blown up by the real artists.
The real thing was 300 feet x 80 feet!
