The date of this photo is not known but there are two senior NCOs in the group that have medals for World War 2 so it must be early sixties. The photo is included because the men are carrying swords. Early pictures of the QOH show other ranks in no.1 dress carrying sub-machineguns but not swords. Normally only officers and senior NCOs carried them. The two men in the foreground are certainly officers as can be seen by their cap-badges. The men behind seem to have the heavy hob-nail boots of other ranks and wear white waist-belts instead of pouch-belts. They may all be sergeants but they only wear the chevrons on their right arm. One man, behind the one with medals, is probably a REME sergeant, as he has a darker cap and no shoulder chains. The Warrant Officer bring up the rear has his pouch-belt on the left shoulder which indicates the end of the short period when pouch-belts were worn on the right shoulder by Warrant Officers.
