Major General Patrick Cordingley has not ridden a horse for the last 10 years but tomorrow (Saturday) he will be back in the saddle in front of thousands of people as he takes the salute on horseback for the closing ceremony of the Romsey Show.

If that were not bad enough, he will be wearing the high boots and heavy tunic favoured by First World War generals on what is forecast to be a warm and sunny day.

“My dilemma is considerable,” he explained. “I certainly don’t want it to rain but hot sun is a cause for concern, particularly when you factor in the moustache that all generals wore at that time to make them look older so soldiers would respond to orders.”

His wife, Melissa, who is sharing the role of show president with him, will fare little better with the long gathered skirt, tucked in waist and large hat of the wealthy Edwardian lady.

The couple have fully embraced the Great War theme of this year’s show and have given much thought to the period costumes they will be wearing. They are also looking forward to the many events that have been organised to mark the centenary.

These include a mock dog-fight by replica First World War aircraft, a horse-drawn field gun from the Royal Armouries, the tank that appeared in the film War Horse , re-enactments by various living history groups and a special display that will recall the wartime role of Broadlands as the site of a major horse remount depot training thousands of horses for war work.

Melissa is particularly looking forward to seeing the more traditional side of an agricultural show and learning more about all the different breeds of animals – pigs are a particular favourite of hers.

“I’ve always quite liked the idea of being married to a farmer!” she commented.

For Patrick, it is the various acts of remembrance (for both soldiers and horses) that interest him, particularly as he will be giving a fund-raising talk, entitled The Moving Story of Remembrance, at Romsey School on October 3 in his role as patron of the Romsey War Horse Memorial Project.

He said: “It is incredibly important that we do remember, that we make people realise the huge sacrifice that this country made to ensure that democracy and freedom remained in the world.”

The Cordingleys have lived at West Dean since 2003. Before that they moved 29 times while Patrick was in the Army.

Coming from a long line of highly decorated military men, Patrick commanded the Desert Rats during the first Gulf War and then the 2nd Division before becoming the military adviser to the Sultan of Oman.

On leaving the Army in 2000, he became chairman of a technology company and worked for the BBC as a military commentator.

In his spare time he has been Master of the Ironmongers, a governor of two schools and fundraises in particular for the National Memorial Arboretum and the Romsey War Horse Memorial Project.

Melissa is a member of the West Dean PCC, a past trustee of the Tank Museum in Bovington and chairman of the Macmillan Carol Concert. She is also a fundraiser for Help for Heroes and the Soldiers’ Charity. For the former she took part in the first Big Battlefield Bike Ride in France. She also enjoys painting, gardening and tennis.

Like so many families, Patrick and Melissa have both lost relations in the Great War.

They concluded: “We feel deeply honoured to be this year’s joint presidents of the Romsey Show. When it was explained to us that the theme would be Hampshire and the First World War, we were both intrigued and very enthusiastic to become involved.”