Senior NCOs 1897

The group of Warrant Officers and Colour Sergeants shows a variety of ranks in the 1st Battalion. Only three of them have medals for the campaigns in Egypt. Two officers sit in the middle in frockcoats and forage caps. They wear boots and breeches for mounted duty, indicating that they are probably the CO and adjutant of the battalion. The Sergeant-Major sits slightly to one side to show his big badge, and the Sergeant Drummer sits on the left in his well decorated tunic. The NCOs in peaked forage caps are of Warrant Officer or Staff Sergeant status. At that time there was only one grade of Warrant officer that included the Sergeant-Major, the Quartermaster Sergeant and the Superintending Clerk. The sleeve rank badges are concealed in this photo so it is difficult to say which is which. There are two classes of tunic, the 1st Class has gold lace on the collar, with silver wire badge, and two lines of gold lace around the cuff. The sergeants in gold-laced pillbox caps have plain blue collars with gold wire collar badges. They are mostly Colour Sergeants but the bearded man is the Pioneer Sergeant. All their chevrons are gold-laced.

Regimental details | Uniforms