RSM in Undress c1870


The man in this photo is Regimental Sergeant Major William Sadler who was born in Hulme near Manchester in March 1830. His father was a soldier who fought at Waterloo. He entered the 14th Light Dragoons in October 1851 and served with them in the Indian Mutiny. He was promoted to RSM in 1870 by which time the regiment had converted to Hussars. He left the army in 1873. He is wearing dismounted stable dress. The waist-length stable jacket is of Warrant Officer pattern, having gold braid edging down the front and along the edges of the hem, collar and pockets. It is fastened with hidden hooks and eyes. Lower ranks had a plainer jacket with buttons down the front. There are gold Austrian knots on the cuffs and his right sleeve displays the four inverted chevrons and a regimental 'hawk' badge. The Austrian knot is sewn on top of the chevrons. He has two medal ribbons for the Indian Mutiny and Long Service/Good Conduct. He wears a gold-banded pill-box forage cap and has gold-laced trousers that are unleathered for dismounted duty. William Sadler was married and lived in Wolverhampton. He served in the Staffordshire Yeomanry in his retirement and died in 1905.


Regimental Details | Uniforms


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by Stephen Luscombe