Sergeant and Privates, South Staffordshire Rifle Volunteers, 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.

When an invasion scare in 1859 led to a flood of volunteers forming new military units to defend Great Britain, rifle volunteer corps were formed. The South Staffordshire Volunteer Rifles was one such corps.

The Sergeants and Privates in this image wear full dress uniform with collar and cuffs of facing colour, and white piping down the central seam. The sleeves of their tunics are highly ornamented. The soldier on the left hand side of the photograph is the Sergeant. His rank is indicated by the rank chevrons that are visible on his right sleeve. The other two soldiers are Privates. All of the soldiers' tunics cuffs are decorated with Austrian knots, as well as trade badges that indicate that they are riflemen.

The soldiers in the central and right hand position in the photograph also wear miniature medals on their left hand sleeve. This was a non-standard ornamentation, and is an example of soldiers' tendency to customise their uniforms. The soldier on the far right of the image appears to also be wearing insignia badges on his left arm.

One of a collection of 278 glass negatives, British Army, 1895 (c)-1900.