English, Scotch, Welsh and Irish (8th Hussars, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, 5th Dragoon Guards, 6th 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.

From left to right the soldiers are: troop sergeant major in undress with stable jacket and pillbox cap, 8th Hussars; sergeant in full dress with kilt, bonnet and doublet, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, sergeant in full dress, 5th Dragoon Guards; sergeant in full dress, 6th Dragoon Guards.

The Victorian Army recruited from across Britain, plus the island of Ireland. By the middle of the nineteenth century it was clear that many reforms were needed. The Cardwell (1868) and Childers (1881) reforms saw much reorganisation and modernisation, with more a focus put on recruiting from each regiment's local area to bolster the numbers desired by the Government, and to forge closer links between the auxiliary and regular forces. An attempt was also made to standardise uniforms and colours.

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