Officer's full dress coatee, West Kent Light Infantry Militia, 1853-1855

Scarlet wool cloth with French grey wool cloth facings and pewter buttons.

The West Kent Militia was formed in 1758. It was fully assembled, or embodied, on a permanent footing during the American War of Independence (1775-1783), the Wars of the French Revolution (1793-1802), and during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). It was designated a light infantry unit in 1833. This coatee dates from the unit's embodiment during the Crimean War (1854-1856). In 1881, as part of the Childers Reforms of the British Army, the unit became part of the Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment).