Description:Major-General Lyson at military manoeuvres at Etching Hill on Cannock Chase, Autumn 1873.
Major-General Lyson's encampment on Etchinghill, near Rugeley acted as his headquarters, with his tents pitched to face the racecourse. The extreme left of the encampment was at Lower Cliff, stretching across to Brindley Heath and Oak Edge. The regiments included guards, dragoons, engineers, artillery and militia volunteers. The headquarters included a post office and telegraph station.
It was reported that it had been intended to base a regiment at Castle Ring near Beaudesert but that the local landowner, the Marquis of Anglesey, had objected. The event was very much a public spectacle with a reported 180,000 members of the public observing the concluding grand parade and march past.