Officers, South Africa 1899

The 1st Battalion fought in South Africa in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. This group photo of the officers shows the service dress as worn at the start of the war. It is all khaki with small brass buttons and closed collars with the regimental badges of the White Horse on each side. There are breast pockets but no hip pockets. They have a version of the Sam Browne belt that has two shoulder straps. The straps were attached to the back of the waist-belt and crossed over to attach to the front of the belt on each side. They carried swords in leather scabbards, but there is no sign of revolvers being carried as in some regiments.
Khaki helmets are worn with regimental badges on the front, backed by red diamond shaped cloth patches. They wear different leggings, some with khaki puttees and some with black or dark blue puttees. The commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Mellor, sitting next to the lady, has brown leather leggings. Spurs are visible on some of the ankle boots.

Regimental Details | Uniforms