Side drum converted into a coffee table, Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), 1900-1930

Made by Hawkes and Son, London. Decorated with heraldic emblazonment of the 1st Battalion (Duke of Cambridge's Own) Middlesex Regiment, with regimental cap badge of the 57th Regiment and the battle honour of Albuhera, with additional scrolls for battle honours.

Drums have been used on the battlefield throughout history. They were used to wake soldiers in the morning, to call soldiers into formation, to report for duty and other routine exercises, but most importantly drums were used on the battlefield to communicate orders and signal troop movement. Side drums, also known as snare drums, were used because the piercing sounds they produced could cut through all the battlefield noise.

This drum originally belonged to 1st Battalion, Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment). A metal plate on the top counterhoop explains that it was 'carried by the 1st Battalion during the Great War 1914-18, bequeathed by Lt Col H Phillips MC'. It was converted into a coffee table: the heads were replaced with wooden planks and three wooden feet were added on the bottom.