| An interestingly posed photograph showing a private of the 4th Volunteer Battalion, the Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment). He is equipped in full marching order. His Lee-Metford rifle was of relatively current issue and his slouch hat follows then popular military fashion but he retains some rather outdated items in his kit. These include leather gaiters of the pattern more commonly in use during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and a similarly dated "Italian" Pattern water bottle. He appears to be positioned to receive a cavalry charge. The same exact pose was taken up by the front ranks of Wellington's squares at Waterloo almost 100 years before. Another interesting feature of this man's uniform in the use of shoulder patches to denote his unit affiliation. Traditionally these identifiers had been worn on the tunic's shoulder straps and/or collar. In this case his shoulder straps have been replaced by twisted cords and cloth badges moved to the very top of the sleeve just below the shoulder seam with the title "Queens" or possibly "The Queen's" above with a "4" and "V" below. This is an illustrative example of the early but growing trend in the use of unit designation shoulder patches. Cabinet Photograph George Barnes - Photographer 12 Oakley Place, London S. E., England c. 1900s |
