Sergeant, 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays), 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.

This sergeant wears the full dress helmet of the 2nd Dragoon Guards. This was made of brass had a horse hair plume. The plume was of regimental colour (black) and was attached to the helmet by a spike with a four-pointed star. 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 cloth facing colour (white). The tunic was piped down the front in the same material and colour as the collar and was fastened with eight regimental buttons. The rank chevrons are visible on his arm. There was an Austrian knot on each cuff. The shoulder straps are yellow and carried the regimental designation. The collar, Austrian knot and shoulder straps were edged in ¼ inch yellow lace.

The sergeant wears a white leather pouch belt over the tunic, and a white leather sword belt. Dark blue pantaloons with a broad stripe of white regimental colour down the outside seam are worn tucked into black boots, with spurs attached. He wears white leather gauntlets. He is mounted on a horse which is equipped with service pattern saddlery and is also fitted with a Martini-Henry cavalry carbine, carried in a leather bucket attached to the saddle.

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