Adjutant and Orderly Room Staff, 2nd Life 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.

The adjutant (an officer) in the centre of this image wears a dark blue patrol jacket with drooping tabs on the chest. His peaked pillbox forage cap is blue with a scarlet band and gold lace on the peak. He wears blue overalls with a double stripe of scarlet down the outside seam, over black wellington boots with spurs attached.

The other four soldiers are not officers, and are wearing stable dress. The troopers on the left and right of the image have the peak-less pillbox forage cap which is blue with a red band. The red stable jacket has blue facings (collar and cuffs), and they wear blue overalls with a double stripe of scarlet down the outside seam, over black wellington boots. Both troopers have one chevron on their lower left sleeve denoting 2 years good conduct. The trooper on the far right also has a skill at arms badge which is probably for musketry.

Second from the right in the image is a corporal of horse. His uniform is the same as the troopers but he has extra gold lace around his collar and cuffs (also showing a musketry skill badge). There is gold lace and a crown on his forage cap and his rank is shown by the three chevrons and crown on his right upper sleeve.

Second from the left is the regimental corporal major. His uniform is the same as the corporal of horse, but he wears a peaked forage cap with a crown, and gold on the peak. His rank is shown by the wide gold lace surrounding the facings on his cuffs with a crown above it. He also holds a pair of white gloves and a swagger stick.

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