Officer and Other Ranks c1865

This is the right hand side of the photo of Types of the Black Watch. The man in the foreground on the right is an officer in an undress red frock which has a blue collar with rank badges of a crown and star, denoting captain. There is gold braid along the edges of the jacket, and the breast pocket, and twisted gold shoulder cords. A crimson sash is worn on the left shoulder. His cap does not have a diced band, a distinction of the Black Watch, but another photo of an officer of this period shows a dark tartan cap-band. He has short white gloves and his sword is slung from a waist-belt worn under the frock. The man at the front in trews is a Warrant Officer, perhaps the RSM. His rank badges are the four gold stripes worn point-down on both forearms of his red shell jacket. He has a crimson sash over his left shoulder. This is the full sash as worn by the officer and differs from the NCO-type sash seen on the sergeant at top right. It may be that Warrant Officers continued to wear the sash on the left shoulder for some years after the sergeant's sash was transferred to the right shoulder. He gives the impression that he is wearing glasses which indicates that he may be the Orderly Clerk or Paymaster. This would explain the black leather waist-belt. He has an officer-type peaked forage cap but with a brass badge instead of an embroidered badge.
The man between these two is a bandsman, wearing a special pattern white band doublet which has blue collar and cuffs. The slash flap on the cuffs is also blue but has a red edge. This red edge is also on the collar and down the front, and along the edges of the Inverness flaps. The wings on his shoulders are blue with white tape stripes and edge. The plaid is the red Royal Stewart pattern as worn by the pipers.

Regimental Details | Uniforms