Band c1860


The Second Battalion of the 19th was raised in 1858 and went out to Rangoon in 1863, serving in Burma and India until 1877. The First Battalion went on from the Crimea to India to help deal with the Mutiny, and stayed there until 1872. So it is not easy to determine if this is the band of the first or second battalion, or whether the battalions shared the same band. We can date this photo between 1857 and 1873. The single breasted tunic was issued in 1857 and the band wore white tunics until an order of 1873 put an end to them. They needed constant washing to keep them white and were often worn still damp which was bad for the soldiers’ health. The tunic has green facings so that the collar, cuff & cuff slash, shoulder straps and wings, were all green. They wear undress pillbox caps with a badge on the front. There are three men in the middle with crimson sashes on their right shoulder. One is the band sergeant, on the left, and the other two are of higher rank. The seated man wearing an officer-pattern peaked cap is the bandmaster who has Class 1 staff sergeant status. The other figure, standing in the middle is a young man with a white tunic that is officer quality, having gold lace around the collar and cuffs (as does the bandmaster). He also has an officer-pattern cap, and a sword. It would be reasonable to say that he was an officer except for the fact that he wears his crimson sash on his right shoulder instead of the left, and that he is wearing a white band tunic. It is hard to understand why such a young man should have such a high rank in the band.


Regimental Details | Band


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by Stephen Luscombe