United Kingdom

Royal Horse Artillery

Cabinet Card Atelier Saché & Hennah in Calcutta

Surgeon in the RHA

This early Cabinet Card displays the beautiful uniform of a Captain in the Royal Horse Artillery (rank shown by the "eye" braiding around the cuff ornament, as well as the Crown and Star displayed on the collar) ; some very interesting elements are worthy of note :

Our captain proudly displays the New Zealand Campaign Medal. This Medal is certainly not very common to Artillery Officers. It was awarded for Maori Wars of 1845-7, 1860 and 1864-72. It was not sanctioned until 1869, and distributed from 1870.
No Battery of Horse Artillery was employed in the Maori Wars, and our sitter won it in another appointment.


This Officer is sporting the typical pouch belt of Surgeons. Medical and Veterinary officers generally wore the pouch belts of the regiment they were attached to, but all Surgeons had a specific pouch belt, containing medical instruments.

He is also wearing black cap lines, as opposed to the gold ones worn by regular officers of the RHA.

Thanks to Dave Knight for his help

This photograph came with an album page richly illustrated by R. Caton Woodville. The album is probably of a later making, as the uniforms displayed show the 1881 pattern helmet for Royal Artillery (the ball replacing the 1878 spiked model - a good idea when you're around horses !)

Other such album pages are shown here :
- Royal Horse Artillery Lieutenant
-
Grand Duke Nikolaus Nikolajewitsch as Oberstinhaber of an Austro-Hungarian Regiment