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A Virtual Museum of Victorian-Era British Military Photographs & Associated Research
Gunner, Royal Artillery
Bury, England
c. 1903
A Most Despised Cap
This military cyclist was photographed sometime after 1902 and the introduction of the much-disliked Brodrick Cap. Supposedly inspired by the German Feldmützen cap.
It was named for then Secretary of State for War Sir William St John Brodrick. Brodrick would later claim that he had absolutely nothing to do with the introduction of cap, even suggesting that the real culprit behind the cap's adoption was none other than the then Prince of Wales and future Edward VII. One tale goes as far as to partially blame the Brodrick Cap for the suicide of a despondent soldier who feared that the cap emphasized his Anglo=Boer War incurred scars.
The Broderick was never universally issued and was withdrawn from issue by 1905. Interestingly, it remained as a standard issue cap with the Royal Marines until sometime in the late 1920s. It was replaced by the ever popular peaked Staff pattern cap
This cyclist appears to be a gunner in the Royal Artillery, possibly a volunteer battery.
What's in a Name?
Uploaded to this website many years ago, this photograph depicts a young officer in Ottoman or Anglo-Egyptian service. The photograph's card mount bears an old pencil notation identifying the man as "George Merhige, Khartoum, Sudan, the brother of Monsur.". A further notation references "Eng. Pharmacy" and "two years in studying".
Research provided little additional information but did point to the man possibly being of Levantine origin and probably Christian. The photograph's status remained as such until recently after reopening the investigation into this officer's identity. As is so often the case the breakthrough such as it was came from an unexpected source, in this case an early 1900s example of a Kodak film wallet.
A film wallet was the paper folder in which a customer received his developed negatives and corresponding photographic prints back from the developing /printing studio. This wallet in this case was imprinted with the particulars of one George Morhig, propitiator of the English General Stores of Khartoum, Sudan. The stores are mentioned asl also serving as pharmacy's and photographic studios. Although circumstantial, the photograph's notation and the wallet's printed advertisement
seemed to indicate that Merhidge and Morhig were the same man. Things were pretty much confirmed by a photo postcard
Lieutenant George Naaman Morhig
Anglo-Egyptian Medical Corps
Khartoum, Sudan
c. 1900
Four Men from Edinburgh
Seemingly dating from the early Edwardian era, this cabinet photograph is a rather unusual item. Technically and stylistically it is a typical example of early 20th Century studio photography, What sets it apart is the image's military subject matter.
The photograph records the likenesses of four men. Seated in front are two British men The man on the right is a veteran sergeant of the Royal Scots who wears the Egypt Medal with a single clasp and the bronze Khedive's Star. The man on the left wears civilian clothes with the only noteworthy detail of his attire is what appears to be a Masonic fob on his watch chain.
The two standing gentlemen make the image interesting. Both men appear to be NCOs in the West African Frontier Force. The man on the left wears three gold chevrons point up surmounted by a king's crown on hs lower right cuff and a marksmanship badge on his lower left cuff. The man at right wear three gold sergeant's chevrons on his upper right sleeve. Both men wear a number of campaign medals which seem to include the East and West Africa Medal and the 1902 Africa General Service Medal.
The curious aspect of this image is what was the circumstance that bought these four men together in Edinburgh, Scotland in theearly 1900s? That is the subject of continuing research.
Sergeant of the Royal Scots & Associates
Cabinet Photograph
Edinburgh, Scotland
c. 1900s
Table of Contents
Home Service
The British Isles
India
The Jewel in the Crown
Southern Africa
Land of the Bantu & the Boer
Land of the Pharaohs
The Nile Valley, & the Mediterranean
Canada
The Empire's Wild West
The Southern Cross
Australia & New Zealand
The Far East
China, Hong Kong & Singapore
Mountains of the Moon
East, West & Central Africa
A Quiet Backwater
Bermuda & The West Indies
The Back of Beyond
The Furthest Corners of the Empire
Old Soldiers Never Die
Life After the Colours
By the Level & the Square
The Lure of Fraternal Brotherhoods
Sons of the Regiment
Children in Uniform
The Limelight
Victorian Soldiers Depicted on Stage
The Hollywood Raj
Victorian Soldiers in Motion Pictures
Oddities
The Strange, Unusual & Just Plain Odd
Through a Glass, Darkly
Original Glass Plate Negatives
The Great Game
Britain's Imperial Rivals
Rogue's March
Victorian Military Themed Sheet Music
Some Interesting Diversions
A Night at the Opera
Wagnerian Operatic Photographs
The Streets of Laredo
Denizens of America's Western Frontier
Quartermaster & Commissariat Department.
Merchandise for the Regimental Mess & Barracks
First in a multi-volume series, Soldiers of the Queen, Volume 1, Home Service features high resolution reproductions of Victorian-era British military photographic portraits. Selected from the extensive soldiersofthequeen.com collection, each portrait is accompanied by a detailed newly researched biography of the subject. Volume 1 showcases photographs taken in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Each 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch volume will contain fifty pages with 40 photographic plates and illustrations.
The second volume in the print version of Soldiers of the Queen, Volume 2, India: The Jewel in the Crown features high resolution reproductions of Victorian-era British military photographic portraits. Selected from the extensive soldiersofthequeen.com collection, each portrait or atifact is accompanied by a detailed newly researched biography of the associated soldier. Volume 2 showcases photographs taken in what was then British India and encompasses modern-day India, Pakistan. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Measuring 8 1/2 by 11 inches, Volume 2 contains seventy-two pages and 47 photographic plates and illustrations.
Rudyard Kipling's classic 1890 poem Gunga Din supplemented with a selection
of rare photographic portraits of British and Indian soldiers who served in Queen
Victoria's Indian realm. Each photograph is accompanied by a detailed
biographical sketch of the pictured soldier or description of the subject. 60 pages8 1/2 by 11 inches with more than 30 illustrations.