British Guests in Mess Dress Visit MoD MHIM

By tradition, the Headquarters Engineer in Chief (Army) of the of the British Armed Forces organizes annual tours to different countries of the world for the Royal Engineer Officers, including Troop and Squadron Commanders. This year’s tour was the 159th one in the series, which provided the young captains, lieutenants and second lieutenants with an opportunity to visit Budapest.

During their stay in the Hungarian capital, on Sunday at noon the British officers went to the MoD Military History Institute and Museum, where they were received by Maj-Gen. (Ret.) Dr. József Ronkovics, the MoD advisor to the Defence Minister’s staff, and his wife. After the reception, the members of the group – who attracted a lot of attention in Buda Castle District thanks to their elegant mess uniforms – were guided through the exhibition halls of the Museum by historian András Hídvégi. On the guided tour the British guests were given summaries of the past 1000 years of Hungarian history with special regard to the Hungarian historical flags, coats of arms, military uniforms and their changes over time.

The guests were attentively listening to the presentation and took a close look at the exhibits, of which perhaps the faithfully designed WWII trench impressed them the most, but they were apparently fascinated by the dazzling 19th-century hussar uniforms as well.