Royal Horse Artillery Changing Guard, Royal Horse Artillery, 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.

A corporal, with two chevrons on his upper right arm, stands facing the camera in full dress. This includes the full dress cap (busby) which is made of black fur with a red cloth bag covering the top of and extending down its right side, with a white plume made of horsehair. The cap is held on with a chin chain of black leather, and yellow cord caplines loop round onto the breast. His highly decorative Hussar-style full dress tunic is dark blue with red facings on the collar. It has several buttons with double cord braids of yellow worsted across the front with a loop at each end. He wears dark blue overalls with a broad red stripe down the outside seam, over black wellington boots with spurs attached. His scabbard hangs from the slings of his white leather sword belt and he holds his sword aloft.

The other three soldiers, possibly gunners, wear the same uniform (without the chevrons) but have pantaloons with the same red stripe, tucked into black riding boots with spurs attached. The two soldiers performing the changing guard procedure face each other with their swords aloft and wear white gloves.

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