Colour Party, Coldstream Guards, 1895 (c)

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

A colour party is a small group of soldiers tasked with protecting the regimental and crown colours. In British and Indian infantry units the crown's Colour was usually a union flag trimmed with gold fabric, and with the regiment's insignia placed in the centre. The Regimental Colour was a flag of a single colour, usually the colour of the uniform facings (collar, lapels and cuffs) of the regiment, again often trimmed and with the insignia in the centre. In this picture, the Sergeant is carrying the crown's Colour.

This image also depicts the distinctive uniform of the Coldstream Guards. The privates are pictured wearing scarlet single breasted tunics. 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 collars, cuffs, and shoulder straps are piped white. The collars are also decorated with the badge of the Garter Star. The blue cloth trousers have scarlet side-stripes two inches wide. The Privates are pictured wearing bearskin caps and holding rifles.

The sergeant's uniform has a gold collar, and larger slashes on the cuffs but is otherwise identical to that of the private.