Officer's full dress tunic, Somersetshire Rifle Volunteers, 1865 (c)

Although this tunic follows the cut of the regular army, there was considerable latitude given to the Rifle Volunteer Regiments which had been formed in the wake of a French invasion scare of 1859. Many adopted grey uniforms, influenced by the American Civil War. This one uses a brown and beige mixture of west country tweed. Ranks insignia is shown on the collar.

By the 1880s volunteer uniforms were becoming much more closely aligned with those of the regular army.