3rd Battalion Officers

This candid Boer War photo is of the officers of the 3rd Battalion in their mess at Modder River. The men in this photo do not look like typical aristocratic Guards officers. The service uniform is in evidence, a light khaki tunic buttoning to the throat with gilt grenade badges on the upright collar. Helmets are worn by officers on the right, although the man with a long white beard is certainly not a member of the regiment. The young officer in the foreground has a slouch hat which has a white Grenadier plume on one side. These hats were introduced in 1900 to replace the helmet. Grenadiers and Scots Guards turned the left side of the hat up whereas the Coldstream Guards turned up the right side and attached a red plume to that side.

Regimental details