On 23rd April a memorial to the King's German Legion was unveiled at Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex. Units of the KGL infantry and Foot Artillery were based at Bexhill between 1804 and 1814, and the memorial is situated in the Bexhill Barracks Cemetery where the bodies of 150 members of the Legion are buried. The memorial was unveiled by Lady Elizabeth Longford (of Wellington: The Years of the Sword fame) and the ceremony was saluted by three volleys from a re-enactment group from Osnabruck, Germany, representing the 2nd Light Battalion of the KGL. An evocative Last Post was played by the trumpeter of a detachment of the l5th (King's) Hussars, a Napoleonic re- enactment unit from the UK.

Bexhills association with the Kings German Legion is also commemorated by a temporary display in the Bexhill Museum. This collection includes a diorama representing the 2nd Light Battalion's defence of La Haye Sainte, reproductions of the King's Colour and Battalion Colour of the 5th Line Battalion, portraits of some of the more renowned officers of the Legion, and a brief history of the KGL.

Many of the Georgian buildings in the Old Town area of Bexhill have been preserved and the Hanoverian Society and the local Preservation Society plan to restore the barracks and establish a permanent museum for the KGL. Anyone interested in participating in this intriguing scheme should contact the Bexhill Hanoverian Study Group, c/o Mr Fred Rye, 121 Belle Hill, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN40 2AP.

The Dusty Archive

Anniversaries and Manners
The King's German Legion at Bexhill
The Salon (Re-enactment)
Royal Armouries Museum of Artillery
Books and Film