Troop Sergeant Major, 1st (or King's) Dragoon Guards, 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 troop sergeant major in this image wears the Dragoon Guards full dress helmet. This was made of brass had a horse hair plume. The plume was of regimental colour (red) and was attached to the helmet by a spike with a four-pointed base. A large helmet plate covered the front of the head dress. This was a white metal star with the regimental number in the centre, within a garter bearing the title of the regiment. On a front band above the peak was a laurel leaf pattern. At either side of this was a rosette to which the chin chain was attached.

The full dress tunic is scarlet, with collar and cuffs of velvet facing colour (blue). The tunic was piped down the front in the same material and colour as the collar and was fastened with eight regimental buttons. There was an Austrian knot on each cuff. The shoulder straps also carried the regimental designation. The collar, Austrian knot and shoulder straps were edged in quarter inch yellow lace.

The troop sergeant major also wears a white leather pouch belt over the tunic, and a white leather sword belt. Dark blue pantaloons with a stripe of regimental yellow down the outside seam are worn tucked into black boots, with spurs attached. He wears white leather gauntlets.

He is mounted on a horse with standard pattern military horse furniture, including a steel chain which is looped around the neck, which could be used to tether the horse when not in barracks. The trooper's 1885 pattern sword is attached to his sword belt. He has a black sheepskin saddle cover.

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