Travelling chest, belonged to Captain Henry Hay of the Bombay Army, 1880 (c)

Wooden chest with lid inscribed, 'Capn. H Hay Kurrachee [Karachi, in modern day Pakistan]'.

An example of versatile camp furniture, this wooden chest was used to store and carry a rosewood knee hole travelling desk. It includes four additional legs, 28.25 inches in length, which screw into the chest lid to form a table. The body of the chest converts into a shelved cupboard by the insertion of two boards into grooves in its sides, thus dividing it into thirds; with fittings for a hanging rail at the front (now missing) for hanging a piece of cloth across the front of the cupboard.

Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Hay (1849-1899) was born on 31 May 1849. He served with the 100th (or Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the 17th (The Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot before transferring to the Bombay Army as a lieutenant in 1872. He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1880 and major in 1888. He later became a lieutenant-colonel, serving with the 1st (Duke of Connaught's Own) Bombay Lancers. He died in 1899.