Drummer, Coldstream Guards, 1895 (c)

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

Drummers played an important military, as well as ceremonial, role in the army. Commanders relied on musicians to communicate orders to their troops during combat so they always had a prominent role on the field of battle. Drummers were also utilised to hand out the powder on the battlefield and to act as stretcher bearers. When regiments were on the move the drummers kept the marching men in time with the beat of their drums.

This drummer is pictured wearing a bearskin cap and holding a bugle. The scarlet jacket has 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.