The men of D Company, 1st Battalion 25th KOB pose for the photograph in red uniforms, either dress tunics or undress frocks. The tunics have seven buttons and white piping down the front edge. The frocks are shorter and have only five buttons. They also have blue collars but the cuffs are the same red as the rest of the garment. The tunic has a blue collar and cuffs, and the piping on the cuff is formed into a trefoil.
There are two company officers visible, standing with their swords in the middle of the photo. They wear scarlet frocks with blue collars and gold braid edging and on the cuffs. They have white foreign service helmets. The men are wearing glengarry caps which replaced the pill-box caps seen in the photo of sergeants in 1868. The dicing on the caps is red white and green. The badge on the caps is the first appearance of the institutionalised KOSB regimental badge, although without ‘Scottish’ in the title at this stage.
Standing with arms folded towards the left of the photo is a Colour Sergeant. He wears the dress tunic with a Colour badge of three chevrons, crossed flags and a crown. In 1868 this replaced the single chevron and crossed swords on a single flag. Two drummers are seated on the ground, wearing tunics with wings that are laced and fringed. The lace, introduced in 1871, was ‘crown and inch’, white tape with red crowns at one inch intervals. Some men have beards and these may be pioneers.
The photo is borrowed with kind permission of the author, from Borderers in Uniform from 1689 by Hiram Dunn (2018).
