Military uniforms in Victorian and Edwardian Derbyshire

Over the years, in the course of accumulating images for my study of Derbyshire photographers, I've come across a number of portraits of men wearing military uniforms. Such uniforms present a valuable aid in the dating of photographs, itself an important tool in the identification of the subject of a portrait, but my lack of knowledge of this topic resulted in my leaving many of the pre-Great War era images in the "too hard" basket.

My early efforts at identifying uniforms of regular Derbyshire regiments and militia units made it obvious that I first needed a better understanding of how they were made up, and therefore of their history. I was given a great deal of help in my efforts by several kind members of the Victorian Wars Forum, a group devoted the study of British Military Campaigns from 1837 to 1902.

I must point out that I don't claim to be any kind of expert, and this article should in no way be regarded as authoritative. I've merely compiled the information from a number of different sources and, while I hope I've not made too many errors, I'm happy to receive suggestions for improvement, amendment, corrections, etc.


Derbyshire's Infantry Regiments, Rifle Volunteers, Militia & Territorial Forces, 1741-1909
The chart above (GIF/PDF) is a provisional and simplified view that I've compiled to show the evolution of the various infantry regiments, rifle volunteers, militia and territorial units in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire through Victorian and Edward eras, till just before the Great War. I should perhaps also explain that I've included Nottinghamshire as the military history of two counties has been, and still is, inextricably linked, as will become clear.


Officer, 45th Regiment of Foot, 1811
The first regular infantry regiments associated with the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire in the early 19th century were the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment and the 45th (1st Nottinghamshire) Regiment, formed in 1823 and 1741 respectively. Although they are hardly likely to be found in photographic portraits, by way of an introduction I've included an artistic representation of the typical uniform from the Napoleonic era above.

By the early to mid-1850s, when photographic portraiture became available to the general public, as opposed to to the wealthier classes, through the introduction of the collodion positive, there were two regular regiments of foot and three militia regiments in existence, as follows:
- 45th (1st Nottinghamshire) Regiment
- 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment
- 1st Derby Militia
- 2nd Derby Militia (Chatsworth Rifles)
- 59th Nottinghamshire Regt of Militia (Royal Sherwood Foresters)

Unfortunately I don't have any photographs of uniformed soldiers from these units, but some may be seen in the collection of the Sherwood Foresters Museum.


Unidentified Senior NCO or Instructor
6th (High Peak/Buxton) Corps, Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers
Carte de visite by William Housley of Bakewell, c.1869-1870
Starting in 1859 a series of Rifle Volunteers Corps were formed throughout the two counties, as part of a much wider Volunteer Force, "a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement." The senior non-commissioned officer in the above portrait is wearing the full dress uniform of the Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers, including 1868 pattern scarlet tunics with white facings which identified them as volunteers. The Bakewell man (above) also wears a cap more correctly described as a shako, with a regimental pattern white worsted ball (pom pom) and badge consisting of a French buglehorn surrounding the number 6.


Unidentified Rifleman
5th (Derby Artisan) Corps, Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers
Carte de visite by John Roberts of Derby, c.1869-1870
Image © & courtesy of Michael Jones
The Derby rifleman has a similar tunic, accompanied by a black patent leather cross belt with a pouch at the back and silver fittings comprising regimental badge on the front, whistle and chain and a bugle horn on the pouch, typically worn by Rifle Volunteers. The silver fittings have, however, been erroneously hand coloured gold. The cuff loop is of Trefoil type and indicates an 'other rank', as the cuff adornment of officers was always more elaborate to make the superior rank abundantly clear. His trousers are a very dark grey (virtually black) 'oxford mixture' with a 1/4-inch red seam down the outside of the leg. Instead of a shako, he is wearing his 'undress' pillbox cap - the Rifle Corps were the generally the only infantry unit to wear the pillbox cap - with a simple number badge (no horn). His rifle is either the 3-band 1853 Enfield or possibly the Snider Enfield 'conversion' which was phased in from 1866.


Lt. William Bemrose (1831-1908), Capt. John F. Thirlby (1839-1928) & Lt. Henry Monkhouse (1837-1905)
5th (Derby Artisan) Corps, Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers
Cabinet card by Richard Keene of Derby, August 1874
Image © & courtesy of Derby Local Studies Library
The next two portraits, a cabinet card and a carte de visite taken in the mid-1870s, show officers in full dress uniform. They are from the 1st Administrative Battalion of the Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers, which in 1880 became the 1st Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps. Bemrose, Thirlby and Monkhouse are officers of Field Rank, as marked by the elaborate cuff lacing.


Lt. Edwin Pratt (1836-1913)
19th (Elvaston) Corps, Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers
Carte de visite by Clement Rogers of Derby, c.1874-1875
Image © & courtesy of Derby Local Studies Library
Edwin Pratt served with the 19th (Elvaston) Corps.


Major George H. Gascoyne (1842-1916)
5th (Derby Artisan) Corps, 1st Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers
Carte de visite by J.W. Price of Derby, November 1880
Image © & courtesy of Derby Local Studies Library
George Gascoyne was a major in, and later colonel and commanding officer of, the 1st Derbyshire Rifles. This portrait shows him as Commanding Officer of the 5th (Derby Artisan) Corps, shortly before its amalgamation into the 12 Companies of the 1st Volunteer Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters (Derbyshire Regiment)
. The 1855 (modified in 1860) forage cap which he wears was replaced from the mid 1870s on, but continued to be used in parallel until as late as 1880. It has a horizontal leather peak and the "5 inside French buglehorn" badge.


Unidentified Major
1st Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
Carte de visite by J.W. Price of Derby, c. late 1870s
Image © & collection of Brett Payne
Both Gascoyne and the unidentified major in the portrait above are wearing a dark blue "frogged" Military Patrol Jacket (not worn by other ranks) of 1868, a garment that was required by an officer in addition to his full dress tunic and often worn both in the field and in barracks.


Soldier identified only as "Bonzo," probably G Company (Belper)
1st Vol. Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters (Derbys. Regt.)
Carte de visite by Jacob Schmidt of Belper, c.1884-1888
Image © & courtesy of Cynthia Maddock
This soldier is wearing the tunic of a man in a volunteer battalion of an infantry regiment, as evidenced by the Austrian knots on his sleeves, a snake buckle belt and a glengarry cap.


Unidentified soldier, probably A Company (Chesterfield)
2nd Vol. Battalion
 The Sherwood Foresters (Derbys. Regt.)
Cabinet card by H. Brawn of Chesterfield, c. 1899-1901
This soldier's white collar and cuffs (together known as "facings") indicate that he is from an English/Welsh county regiment, while the Austrian knots on his sleeves tell us that he is a "volunteer". He is wearing a 5-button frock rather than a 7-button full dress tunic, the former being of inferior material, cut more loosely and unlined. It was intended to be used in barracks as a working uniform, and due to cost-cutting measures it was eventually the only uniform issued to volunteers. He is dressed in Review Order (helmet and bayonet) and carrying the swagger cane or stick used when out of barracks in "walking out dress". The swagger cane or stick was carried by all other ranks at that time and was part of attempts to improve the soldiers view of himself and perception of him by wider society.

The blue cloth "Home Service Helmet" was introduced as a replacement for the shako in 1878 by most British line infantry, artillery and engineers, and worn until 1902, when it was replaced as part of the khaki service dress.


L/Cpl Thomas Charles Ison (1884-1938)
5th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters
Real photo postcard by H.P. Hansen of Ashbourne, c. 1911-1913
Image © & collection of Brett Payne
Lance Corporal Ison is clutching a forage cap with peak, first issued in 1906, and has white facings and scarlet piped white shoulder straps on his 7-button full dress tunic, which with only minor alteration was worn until 1914 by the 5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters.

Both the organisational chart and the series of images are incomplete, but they will serve as an introduction to military uniforms used by Derbyshire units, and will hopefully prompt further contributions of images to fill in the gaps. I am most grateful to Victorian Wars Forum members Frogsmile, grumpy, Old Stubborn, Patrick, Isandlwana, Peter and crimea1854, who all contributed to an informative and in-depth discussion of the above images. If you are interested in further details of clothing and insignia, I suggest you browse that discussion and the many others on the forum.

For other military-themed images this week visit Sepia Saturday, where I believe the regular contributers will do their best to oblige.

References

The Victorian Wars Forum

Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), Wikipedia & Wikimedia Commons

Beckett, I.F.W. (1982) Riflemen form: a study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement, 1859-1908, Ogilby Trusts, 368p.

Hay, G.J. (1987) The Constitutional Force, reprint of 1908 original by Ray Westlake Military Books.

Kelly (1881) Directory of Derbyshire.

Schick, I.T. (1978) Battledress: The Uniforms of the World's Great Armies 1700 to the present, illustrated by Wilhelm von Halen, London: Artus Books, 256p.

Wright, C.N. (1874) Directory of South Derbyshire, Derby: Bemrose & Sons.

Sepia Saturday 135: Dame Hannah and Ruddigore

A return this week to thespian themes on Sepia Saturday, and to a cabinet card portrait by Jacob Schmidt of Belper which I featured on Photo-Sleuth ten months ago.

Elizabeth Adshead of Belper, estd. c.1883-1886
Cabinet card by J. Schmidt of Belper
Image © and courtesy of Robert Silverwood
When I wrote about this portrait previously - Fancy dress or the height of fashion? - I was in two minds about whether or not the subject was wearing a costume for an amateur dramatic production, as suggested by relative Robert Silverwood. The general consensus amongst readers was in agreement with Robert, that is that it had to be a costume.

Unidentified woman in costume, estd. c.1883-1888
Cabinet card by J. Brennen of Derby
Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised then, to come across this cabinet portrait by Derby photographer James Brennen a few months later, but I found it remarkable how similar the two costumes, and poses, are to each other. To me, this makes the case for them being costumes in an amateur theatrical production even stronger.

Richard, Rose (Maybud) and Robin in Ruddigore
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
With the research for a recent Photo-Sleuth article on The Mikado still fresh in my mind, I wondered whether this could have been another Gilbert & Sullivan operetta. Ruddigore seems to provide the most appropriate cast of characters, even though the first date of production by D'Oyly Carte (22nd January 1887) lies towards the end of my date estimates for these two portraits.

Rosina Brandram as Dame Hannah in Ruddigore
Courtesy of Memories of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
This photograph of Rosina Brandram playing the role of Dame Hannah shows a very similar outfit to that depicted in the Schmidt and Brennen cabinets. I also found an 1892 reference to Dame Hannah being portrayed in "Quaker garb." Perhaps a reader more familiar with late Victorian musicals can suggest which other female theatrical roles might have employed such a costume?

Fancy dress or the height of fashion?

Elizabeth Adshead of Belper, c.1883-1886
Cabinet card by J. Schmidt of Belper
Image © and courtesy of Robert Silverwood
While compiling a new profile for Belper photographer Jacob Schmidt this week, including a large number of new examples of his work, I rediscovered this striking image of a cabinet card sent to me some years ago by Robert Silverwood. It depicts his relative Elizabeth Adshead (1849 - 1917) and, at the time he sent it to me, Robert was of the view that she may have been garbed in some type of fancy dress costume. The cabinet card is of particular interest because it has been hand-coloured. Whether the clothes actually were those colours is now uncertain, but it seems quite possible that they would have been represented in as realistic a fashion as possible. Unfortunately, the retouching has also given the subject's face a rosy-tinted appearance which does not help with estimating an age.

Jacob Schmidt arrived in Belper in the early to mid-1880s, and must have established his reputation quickly. This much is clear from the fact that a good number of examples of his work have survived, in spite of his death in 1893, after only a decade in the town.

Since Schmidt did not change his card mount designs frequently during this period, it is not easy to date the portrait with much accuracy from the card design alone, but other examples of this mount are probably from the mid- to late 1880s. The use of a very crudely painted classical "column" as part of the backdrop (at the left hand side), however, suggests to me that perhaps this may have been a fairly early work, and I estimate it was taken c.1883-1886.


Spring Styles, from Harper's Bazaar, 10 February 1883
Image courtesy of Victorian Fashions & Costumes from Harper's Bazaar 1867-1898 by Stella Blum
As I've made clear before on Photo-Sleuth my knowledge of fashions is fairly limited, and I tend to rely on several well-thumbed books and web sites. One of these is Stella Blum's collection of Harper's Bazaar engravings, from which the above 1883 illustration has been extracted. Although perhaps made from somewhat different materials, Elizabeth Adshead's dress shows many similarities with the outift depicted on the right, including a high collar, short sleeves with flounces immediately below the elbows, and an overskirt gathered back at the sides, towards the prominent bustle at the back. The blue skirt looks as though it may be a fine wool weave.

The headgear is the only notable difference: she is wearing what is commonly referred to as a mob cap, rather than the more fashionable straw bonnet trimmed with ostrich feathers worn by the Harper's ladies. Although most popular in Georgian England, the mob cap was still used by servants and nurses during Victorian times.

Although I am hesitant to question Robert's identification of the subject as Elizabeth Adshead, she would have been in her mid-30s at the time I estimate this portrait was taken, and it is my feeling that this woman is a little older than that. However, her looks are masked somewhat by the hand colouring, so I can't be sure. What do you think, both about her age and the clothing? If you are familiar with fashions in the 1880s, I'd appreciate your comments.

George Henry Swift of Chapel-en-le-Frith

George Henry Swift was one of those for whom photography was merely one of many talents. Looking at it from a slightly different perspective, his career as a photographer probably didn't last very long.

Although he was born in 1846 in the village Gamesley, near Glossop in Derbyshire, Swift grew up in Lockwood, near Huddersfield in Yorkshire, where his father and older brothers worked as stone masons. At the age of fifteen, by which time his father had died, George was an accountant's clerk. In 1868, however, he married Maria Penelope Whiteley. They moved to Chapel-en-le-Frith in 1870 or 1871 and George became landlord of the Shoulder of Mutton Inn in Townend.

Probably commencing some time in the mid-1870s, George Swift tried his hand at photography, and by the time of the 1881 Census was described as a photographist, although Kelly's trade directory for that year indicates that he was also secretary to the agricultural society and a rates collector. His wife died in late 1880, a couple of years after the birth of their fifth child. He remarried at Stockport in 1886, to Sarah Ann Harrison, and appears to have moved to Belper shortly after, as Kelly's trade directory for 1887 shows him as a Conservative registration agent, living in Campbell Street. It is interesting to note that photographer Jacob Schmidt, who had only recently moved to Belper from Bristol, was living next door in 1891. Swift, however, appears not to have returned to the photographic business, describing himself as a political agent in 1891 and a musical instrument dealer in 1901.


This carte de visite, sent to me by Ann Taylor, was taken by G.H. Swift, probably some time in the late 1870s. It shows, a church, churchyard, low wall and street. Unfortunately the location is not specified. It would be tempting to assume that it is the parish church of Chapel-en-le-Frith, in the Peak District of Derbyshire, dedicated to St. Thomas-a-Becket, "a stone edifice in the later English style." [Source: The National Gazetteer (1868), courtesy of Rosemary Lockie's GENUKI Derbyshire web site] However, modern images of that church (example) show some siginificant differences and I have my doubts.


St Edmund, Castleton, Derbyshire
Image © and courtesy of John Stanbridge (Flickr photostream)
In my view, a much more likely candidate is the parish church of St. Edmund in Castleton, situated a few miles to the east of Chapel-en-le-Frith, a photograph of which I first found in my copy of "The Old Parish Churches of Derbyshire" by Mike Salter (Folly Publications, 1998, ISBN 1 871731 33 X). A much better recent photograph by John Stanbridge, shown above, is included as part of his Flickr photostream.

The reverse of the card mount shows a hand stamp with the photographer's details, "G.H. Swift, Photographer, Chapel-en-le-Frith."


This carte de visite portrait of an unidentified elderly woman from my own collection is probably from a similar era, i.e. the late 1870s. It has an identical back stamp, suggesting that Swift may not have been in business for long enough to have had his own card mounts printed.