Three young recruits of the Madras Infantry, Madras Light Cavalry and Madras Sappers and Miners, 1899

Oil on canvas by an unknown artist, 1899.

Beside a river or lake, one of the boys leans against a tree, the second sits on a bench holding a cane in his hands and the third stands holding a wallet. The recruits may be 'recruit boys'. According to Lieutenant-Colonel W J Wilson's, 'History of the British Army', sons of sepoys who died on active service could, from the age of 11, be added to the establishment and paid a fixed wage until they were transferred to the ranks, 'as soon as they became fit'.