Guards turned out, Coldstream Guards, 1893 (c)

Glass negative, William Gregory and Company, 51 Strand, London, 1893 (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 bugler on the left is pictured wearing a pillbox cap with white band and garter star, and holding a bugle. The scarlet jacket has fringed band wings on the shoulders, and is elaborately laced with white and blue braid on the sleeves and across the chest. The blue decorations on the braids are fleur-de-lys, a design feature that recalls Britain's ancient claim to France. The buttons of the tunics, grouped in pairs, identify the regiment as the Coldstream Guards. The cuffs are round with a four buttoned slash. The blue cloth trousers have scarlet side-stripes two inches wide. He has a musketry proficiency badge on his lower left sleeve.

The other seven men are pictured wearing scarlet single breasted tunics with dark blue facings on the collars and cuffs. The cuffs are round with a four buttoned slash, and the collars are decorated with the regimental badge of the Garter Star. The blue cloth overalls have scarlet side-stripes two inches wide, worn over black boots. They wear pillbox caps with a white band and regimental badge, and a white pouch belt. The man second from the left is a sergeant, and the man second from the right is a corporal. The others are likely to be privates. They stand to attention with their rifles, five of whom have fixed bayonets with their rifles on their left shoulders.

Some of the men have good conduct chevrons on their lower left sleeve - one chevron means two years good conduct, and a second means six years. Musketry proficiency badges can also be seen on some, and one soldier has two medals on his left breast - the Egypt medal (1882) and the Khedive's Star (1882-1891).

One of a collection of 280 glass negatives, associated with William Gregory and Company, London, and Francis Godolphin Osborne Stuart (1843-1923), 1892 (c)-1900.