Gunner 1832


In this painting, the gunner faces right to give us a view of the side of the shako. The cap lines loop around the back of the cap and hang on the right side. From there they tuck under his shoulder strap and seem to end in a vague knot instead of hooking up on his left shoulder like the officers. The white plume is horsehair and has a brass ball base that plugs into the top of the cap. His jacket has cord loops across the chest, more spaced out than the officers’ cords. The cords look gold but are supposed to be yellow worsted. The jacket itself is very short. The scarlet collar is unreasonably high and he has a black stock beneath it to increase his discomfort. The blue trousers look dark in this reproduction but are a few shades lighter than the jacket. He is pushing the ramrod into the gun barrel either to force in the charge or the shot. The sponge end that we can see was used to dampen any burning material left in the barrel after firing.

The model for this painting by Dubois Drahonet was Gunner James Aitken from Glasgow. He enlisted on 24 August 1821 aged 18 and served for 21 years, first with the 5th and 8th Battalions RA and then with the RHA. He was of good character and earned three good conduct badges. He has a medal on his chest that may be for good conduct. He was certainly too young for Waterloo. He was discharged in 1842 on the grounds of ill health, in his case, rheumatism.


Regimental Details | Uniforms


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by Stephen Luscombe