8th Rajputs

8th Bengal Native Infantry, c1868

The uniform colours of the 8th were red tunics with 'saxon green' facings*. It is not clear what saxon green looks like but the photo shows dark cuffs. The British officers sitting at the front have black trousers with a red stripe. Their tunics have slashed cuffs which was the 1856 pattern, and gold lace. The Lieutenant-Colonel seated in the middle, slightly to the right has two rows of gold lace on his cuff instead of one like the other officers. The officers have crimson sashes over their left shoulders. The officer second from the right is a medical officer, wearing a leather pouchbelt with a badge on the front. Their helmets are light khaki with a pagri of blue and yellow cloth. The older officers have long beards which became fashionable after the Crimean War, they also have medals for the Indian Mutiny with red and white striped ribbons.
There are three Indian officers standing behind, indentifiable by their sash of office on the left shoulder. They have similar coloured tunics but in the collarless 'Zouave' style. There are gold fringes on their blue turbans and the two on the right seem to have the Indian Order of Merit, a medal awarded for valour. The havildars are recognisable by the sash worn on the right shoulder. They have a white leather belt on their left shoulder to carry an ammunition pouch on their right hip and a smaller pouch on their chest for percussion caps. The men on the left and right of the picture are musicians wearing a special tunic with white tape down the front and sleeves decorated with small red crowns.
*The facings colour was Saxon Green until 1888 when they were changed to white. They changed again in 1905 to yellow.

Uniforms | Regimental History