Adjutant Sergeant Major and Sergeants, 17th Lancers, 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 group are wearing a variety of orders of dress. All of the jackets are dark blue in colour, and are worn with dark blue overalls or pantaloons, lined with double white stripes on the outside seam. Where there are facing colours, on collars or plastrons, these are of regimental colour (white). The majority of the sergeants wear dark blue pill box caps, with gold lace bands and cross braids and some are holding swagger sticks. The regimental arm badge (skull and crossbones) can be seen on the sleeves of some of them. The two sergeants in full dress are wearing the lancer cap (czapka) with a white horsehair plume.

Standing from the left: Troop Sergeant Major (three chevrons and crown) in undress uniform consisting of a patrol jacket with white piping and pillbox forage cap; Farrier Sergeant (three chevrons and a horseshoe) in full dress and holding his sword. The next two men are Sergeant Riding Instructors (three chevrons, spur and crown) wearing blue service frocks. Sergeant (three chevrons) wears stable dress with white facings and pillbox forage cap.Farrier Sergeant (three chevrons and a horseshoe) in full dress with several skill at arms badges on his lower left sleeve. Staff Sergeant (three chevrons) wears stable dress with white facings, extra gold lace and pillbox forage cap.

Seated from the left: Regimental Sergeant Major (Crown on lower right sleeve) wearing a dark blue patrol jacket with mohair braiding and astrakhan fur edging. The last two seated men are probably officers, one of whom is the Adjutant Sergeant Major. They also wear patrol jackets. The officer seated on the right looks to have one pip on his shoulder strap which would make him a Lieutenant. He also has a service ribbon.

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