Officers and Private c1846


The three officers in the foreground of this print represent the three types of company in an infantry regiment. On the left is the light company, on the right, leaning against the tree is the grenadier company and in the middle a battalion company officer wearing epaulettes. They all have scarlet coatees with blue velvet facings. The black facings had been replaced by blue in 1831 when the 50th became the Queen's Own. The collar is covered in gold lace at the front but the blue velvet is visible from the back. The gold lace and buttons replaced silver in 1830-31. All three have white leather shoulder belts for their swords. The belt plates differed in that the Grenadier officer has a grenade design and the light officer a stringed bugle, also a gilt whistle on a chain attached to his belt. Two of the officers have medals which are probably for the First Sikh War of 1845-6. There is some kind of medal on the light officer's chest but it is indistinct.

The crimson sashes worn round their waists have cords and tassels for the flank company officers and the standard type with tassels hanging on the left side for the battalion officer. Their swords are similar except for bugle and grenade embellishments on the hilts, and are kept in leather and gilt scabbards. The uniforms are little different from those worn in 1831, except for the shape of the shako which is no longer bell-topped but straight-sided with peaks at back and front. The badges are the same shape but on closer inspection the bugle and grenade devices can be found. The ball tufts replaced the plumes on top of the shako in 1835. The battalion companies had a white over red ball, the light companies had a green one and the grenadier companies had a white one.

The battalion company private on the right has a red coat with white lace and white tufted epaulettes. His shako has a brass badge on the front with the number 50 in the middle and crown above. He has a black leather chin strap instead of a gilt chain like the officers. His equipment is slung from two wide leather shoulder straps which cross in the middle of his chest where a brass belt plate is placed. In 1850 the right shoulder belt for the bayonet was replaced by a waistbelt, leaving only one shoulder belt for the black leather ammunition pouch. In 1845 sergeants no longer wore a waist sash with a central stripe of the facing colour, but had a plain crimson sash around their waist. The trousers are dark Oxford mixture. The white summer trousers were discontinued in 1845, to be replaced with lavender-grey tweed.


Uniforms | Regimental Details


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by Stephen Luscombe