Officers and Rifleman 1904

The officer on the left is wearing the new peaked forage cap introduced at about this time. It has been worn throughout the services ever since. It was rifle green with a cap-band of black mohair and a scarlet boss on the front with a small bugle badge on it. There appears to be no chin-strap on this cap as there is on the one worn by Bandmaster Dunn in 1912.
This officer also wears the special regimental pattern patrol jacket, which is similar to the dress jacket at the front but has inch wide black mohair braid following the back seams. This braid is traced with black Russia braid forming 3 eyes at the top and 2 at the bottom. Below the back of the collar is a braid decoration forming a plume shape, 6 inches long, and a crow's foot and eye at the bottom of the jacket. Rank was shown with bronze badges on the shoulder cords.
The Dress Regulations specify rifle green cloth for both jacket and trousers but this illustration by PW Reynolds indicates a greener colour for the jacket and black for the trousers. This applies to all three figures. The officer in the centre is in full dress, wearing the busby of black Persian lambskin. His plume is of scarlet ostrich feathers with black vulture feathers at the base. Both officers have swords slung from black leather belts attached to a webbing waist-belt worn under the jacket.
The private on the right has a plainer jacket than the officers. He is in full dress. The busby for other ranks was made of sealskin and has a small Maltese cross badge on the black corded boss. On top is a short horsehair plume which is black over red at this stage. His jacket has a scarlet collar with black braid around the top and front. There is red piping down the front edge of the jacket and along the top of the pointed cuff. This cuff is rifle green like the rest of the sleeve but has a half inch edge of black braid just below the red piping. The black waist-belt is worn over the jacket and supports a 17 inch sword bayonet. The clasp is in the shape of a snake and is of brass. His rifle is the short Lee-Enfield with a 10-round magazine. The black leather sling is kept slack and when standing at attention it is held at the side rather than the slope arms position.

Uniforms | Regimental Details