DORSET landowners joined Territorial Army members to celebrate a famous moment in Dorset’s military history.

The charge of the Queen’s Own Dorset Yeomanry at the battle of Agagia in February, 1916 is thought to be the last full cavalry charge by a British Army regiment.

A total of 184 mounted Dorset Yeomanry charged, with sabres drawn and while under heavy fire, across 1,200 yards of open desert against 500 Senussi tribesmen armed with rifles and machine guns.

The battle effectively ended an uprising by the Turkish and German-sponsored Sanussi tribesmen, which had threatened British supply lines through the Suez Canal.

Though, according to Peggy Denty of Toller Porcorum, they didn’t all have sabres.

Her father-in-law Oscar Denty was a shoeing smith and all he had in the charge was his shoeing hammer.

His first horse was shot from under him and he was brought another to carry on.

He was shot twice in the top of his leg but survived the bloody battle.

Oscar was born in Maiden Newton and spent his younger life in Bradford Abbas.

He later started a building firm in Maiden Newton OA Denty and Sons.

His two half brothers – Fowlers – were also in the charge and their mother gave birth to another son at the time of the charge who was named Charles Agagia Fowler.

This last cavalry charge has been described as ‘one of the finest moments of ‘Britishness’ and it was carried out by Dorset Territorial, many of whose descendants still live and work in Dorset today.

Yesterday’s reception and auction of promises held at the Keep Museum was in aid of the CLA Charitable Trust, the Dorset Yeomanry Charity and the Keep Museum Charity.

Our thanks to the Keep Museum for these extraordinary pictures of the campaign and to Mrs Denty for the picture of Oscar.