Captain, Dismounted Review Order c1875

This officer wears the dress uniform of the Cheshire Yeomanry at a stage very close to its final ‘hussar’ form. The captain has a busby on the chair beside him, the style of headdress adopted by the regiment in 1863. The black fur busby differed from the usual hussar type in that the cap lines did not attach to the wearer’s body. Instead the silver cords were plaited and draped on the left side. The white busby bag was narrower and shorter than the usual hussar busby bag and at this stage had no silver braid. There was a coiled silver boss on the front and a white over red egret feather plume fixed in a silver ball socket which slotted into an opening at the top of the busby.
When it was decided to change from the old light dragoon shako to the busby a decision also had to be made as to whether the light dragoon tunic should be changed to a hussar tunic. Since the two types of tunic were very similar, and because yeomanry regiments were not restricted by a compulsion to conform in the way that the regular cavalry were, they continued with the light dragoon tunic. The blue uniform has red facings and silver cords and lace, basically similar to the lieutenant’s tunic c1865. The cording across the chest is in five rows instead of the hussars’ six rows of gimp. But the collar is lower than the earlier tunic so that the red facing colour is confined to a thin showing just below the silver lace. He has rank badges on the collar of a gold embroidered crown and star, on either side. The other indication of captain rank is the sleeve decoration which has the silver braid forming circlets on either side of the cord Austrian knot. The shoulder cords are minimal at this stage.
He wears a plain silver laced pouch-belt which has an embroidered pouch on the back, and blue trousers with a double silver stripe. Around this time breeches and knee boots were adopted by the British cavalry to replace the leathered trousers. The actual date of the Cheshire Yeomanry wearing breeches for mounted duty is not clear. The sword is slung from a hidden waist-belt, clipped to silver laced leather straps. The sword knot is also silver. This photo is courtesy of hussards-photos.com

Regimental Details | Cheshire Yeomanry Uniforms