Private, Medical Staff Corps, 1895 (c)

Glass negative, W Gregory and Company, 51 Strand, London, 1895 (c).

This image comes from a collection of glass plate negatives associated with William Gregory and Company. The negatives depict the British Army, including some members of the colonial forces, 'at home' in Britain during the 1890s.

As well as being intimate portraits of soldiers from this era, the images provide detailed illustrations of uniforms worn during the high point of military tailoring.

The private is wearing a blue cloth home service helmet with a rounded peak and rounded brass spike on top. The helmet plate is a red cross surrounded by a laurel leaf with a crown above. His tunic is dark blue with black facings on the collar and cuffs. He has crown badges on each collar. On his right sleeve is a white cloth badge with the red cross within.

The blue cloth trousers have a scarlet stripe down the outside seams, and are worn over black boots. He is wearing whitened Slade-Wallace equipment with pouches. A long row of wooded huts can be seen in the background.

One of a collection of 280 glass negatives, associated with Gregory and Company, London, and F G O Stuart, 1892 (c)-1900.