Officer, The Queen’s Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry, 1900

Description

The regiment was first raised in 1796 as The Glasgow Light Horse. It was disbanded in 1822 but re-raised as The Glasgow and Lower Ward of Lanarkshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1848. The additional title of “Queen’s Own Royal” was conferred by Queen Victoria the following year. It saw action in the Second Boer War and the First World War. After WW I it became part of the Royal Artillery and fought in the Second World War as an anti-tank regiment. After that war it became mechanised cavalry and joined the Queen’s Own Lowland Yeomanry, with the Lothians and Berwick Horse. Its lineage was revived by B (Lanarkshire and Queen’s Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry) Squadron, the Scottish Yeomanry in 1992 until that unit was disbanded in 1999. This officer’s dress is like that of the Royal Horse Guards but the heavy dragoon helmet is embellished with black feathers instead of the more usual horse-hair plume. This is a survival of the days before 1854 when a few other regiments had a similar helmet. In other respects, the uniform is modern. A peculiar feature is the slinging of the sword from the waist-belt. In most mounted regiments the sword slings were attached to a web belt under the tunic, infantry and other dismounted arms hanging them as they are here.

Sources: Regimental photographs; plate by Richard Simpkin, artist and illustrator of military uniforms (1850-1926).