Busterdog

Sounds like a 2nd KEO Gurkha Rifles (Sirmoor) officer's jacket (if it is, in fact, rifle green). If it's blue then it could of course be an Indian Army cavalry pattern. Poona (now Pune) is still in India!

Re: The photo of the sitting Cameronian Rifleman. I believe the shirt is the old 'greyback' worn by ORs in India. Officers of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and the Royal Highland Fusiliers woregrey shirts in shirt sleeve order until their disbandment, officers and WOs1 of all Bns of the Royal Regiment of Scotland continue the tradition, a legacy of service on colonial India's NWF.

Makes me feel old..... I wore Fox's 'short, light, puttees'! Don't Fox still manufacture high quality cloth?

I believe the helmet on the left is 2nd Bn who wore green backing to their badge - 1st Bn wore red.

I've seen photos of Gurkha officers wearing black/rifle green FSH (not covers) taken in the 1890s. Perhaps 1st Cameronians did too. The Bugler's hairstyle - Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) didn't call them Drummers - unlike 'Heavy' Line Regiments, would suggest the mid 1890s. His 'trade' badge would be a bugle horn.

The Border clans were hardly city slickers! They are the 'Scotch-Irish' who did so much to develop the USA! Read about the Border Reivers - they regarded the Highlanders as Irish, Lowlanders as effete, and the English as beneath contempt (and all fair game). Sir Walter Scott's 'Blue Bonnets O'er The Border' is about them - not about the Jacobites! Back to the HLI and David Niven....the ball (not hackle) on the shako WAS green. ISTR the 'tourie' on the HLI's diced bonnet, adopted when they became a kilted regiment in 1948, was green also.

I've seen photos of the Seaforths in India with white hackles in their Wolseley helmets. Regiments of the North Irish Brigade also started wearing hackles in their caubeens around 1948. The Royal Irish Fusiliers wore a green hackle. The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers a grey hackle The Royal Ulster Rifles a black hackle.

Interesting topic. There's a wonderful painting by Lady Butler entitled 'Steady The Drums and Fifes' depicting the old 57th Foot 'The Diehards' (later The Middlesex Regiment) at Albuhera showing Drummer Boys standing rigidly to attention with shock and horror on their faces. Corporal punishment, as an official form of punishment, was still inflicted on Band Boys and Drummer Boys serving with infantry Bns as late as the 1930s by the Band Master and Drum Major. Boy Soldiers of the Infantry Boys Bn (later the Infantry Junior Leaders Bn) were also subject to corporal punishment 1952-53. 15 year old boys were still enlisted in the Infantry Junior Leaders Bn until the late 1960s when the minimum age was raised to 16. Junior Leaders enlisting at 15 years of age completed two and a half years of education, leadership, and military training before graduating and posting to their respective regiments - they were invariably promoted to Lance Corporal soon after (and in some cases on arrival) reaching their Bns.

More likely 1st Bn circa 1912

The first photograph in the series 'Picking Remounts' shows soldiers of the KOSB - that particular regiment did have a MI Company. Lt Coulson DSO KOSB won a posthumous Victoria Cross with the MI. Interesting photos by the way - thanks for posting them.

I'm amazed that anyone would think the British soldier of the Victorian era was not 'into' war-fighting! Sikh Wars - against a numerically superior and equally well armed foe. Various wars in South Africa against Boers and Zulus, The Sudan, Egypt, Gold Coast, Fenian Raids in Canada - logistic excellence there I might add, the Indian Mutiny, China, 2nd Afghan War, Burma, Chitral, Tirah. All pretty decently supplied and victualled over vast distances with the LoC and MSR having to be protected. The Crimea provided the catalyst for improvements in logistics, medical services and soldiers welfare., though progress in those areas was indeed slow. The British Officer Corps was certainly amateur - commission by purchase being the norm for most of Victoria's reign - though despite this produced some able Generals - Roberts, Wolsely, Kitchener - to name but a few - and many, many brave and enthusiastic officers. British 'Other Ranks' i.e. - Enlisted Personnel - were subjected to extremely harsh discipline - flogging was extant until, IIRC, 1868 - were brave though were not required (officially) to display initiative. it was not until the last years of Victoria's reign that Baden-Powell (founder of the Boy Scout movement) started to encourage and train his soldiers to act independently - this caught on throughout the Army though was not universally popular among hide bound traditionalists in the Officer Corps. I highly recommend a book called 'Old Soldier Sahib' written by Frank Richards DCM MM, a memoir of his service as a Private Soldier with the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers in Britain, India, and Burma. from 1900 through 1908 - not much had changed during his time from the late Victorian era and shows the enthusiasm for soldiering and loyalty to Regiment pervading the British infantry of that time.