Captain 1870

This officer wears the last pattern shako introduced in 1869. It was made of dark blue cloth with two lines of gold braid around the top for ensigns, lieutenants and captains. Majors had a half inch band of gold lace, and lieutenant-colonels and colonels two bands of gold lace. There were other lines of gold braid around the base of the cap, up the sides and the back seam. The large badge was surrounded by a gilt wreath, which, for the King’s Regiment, had a silver horse on a red velvet background.
The ball tuft on top was red for Royal regiments, replacing the previous white over red ball. Flank companies had been abolished in 1862 so the whole regiment wore this red tuft. The chin chain was worn by all ranks, often, as seen here, above the peak and hooked up at the back. He wears the dress tunic with a blue collar edged in white piping and with a line of gold lace just inside the piping. There was also gold braid along the bottom of the collar. Field officers had gold lace along the top and bottom of the collar, leaving almost no blue cloth showing through. The rank of captain, at that time, was shown as an embroidered crown and star badge on each side of the collar. Lieutenants had a crown and ensigns a star. Field officer ranks were the same but worn on the more heavily gold-laced collar; star for majors, crown for lieutenant-colonels and star and crown for colonels. This system changed in 1881 when rank was shown on the shoulder straps. The sash worn on the left shoulder was normally crimson silk but in this photo the captain wears a crimson and gold striped sash, reserved for state occasions and balls.

Regimental Details | Uniforms