Soldiers of the Frontier Force, 1908 (c)

Watercolour by Major Alfred Crowdy Lovett (1862-1919), 1908 (c).

The sepoys depicted include (from the right) a Gakhar of 59th Scinde Rifles, a Punjabi Mussalman Piper of the 51st Sikhs and two Sagri Khattaks of the 55th Punjabi Rifles. All four wear khaki fatigues, ideal for the dusty landscape of the North West Frontier. 'Khaki' is a Persian term for earth-coloured or dusty. By the 1880s most Indian and British regiments had realised the practical advantages of the colour and adopted it for active service dress.

This is the original artwork for an illustration in Major G F MacMunn's 'Armies of India', published in 1911.