United Kingdom

Cabinet Card (no studio backmark)
The Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment)

The first troop of Staffordshire Volunteer Cavalry was raised in 1794 at the Swan Inn, Stafford.
After the coronation (June 1838), one of the first acts of Queen Victoria was to bestow the Royal title upon the Regiment, that had escorted her six years before during her visit to Shugborough.

Though there is no mention of the location of the photographer (the usual link to attribute a photograph to a Yeomanry Regiment), this photo displays many specificities that enable us to identify without doubt a Staffordshire Yeoman.

The main clue lies in the buttons :
- First the buttons are adorned with the Stafford Knot (a magnifying glass is somehow of help here);
- Moreover this tunic displays the quite unique feature of buttonholes plus braided loops.

This tunic was introduced in 1881, replacing the former model that was of the Light Dragoons pattern (five rows of braiding only).

The tunic is dark blue with scarlet facings (collar and cuffs). It is lined with white worsted braid, that only extends at the base of the collar. The usual Austrian Knots cuff ornaments were replaced with that pattern with a simple trefoil.

The cut of the skirts of the tunic is quite rounded (though square models have been observed). The scarlet pillbox was introduced in the 1880s ; the model differed greatly according to rank.
Here we can see the Private pattern : the band is black, as are the four-part figure and button on the top.

The Staffordshire Yeomanry had been sporting hussar-like tunics since 1808, but they retained dragoon-like helmets as late as 1894 when the busby was introduced. No cap lines seem to have been worn with the helmets, which helps to state that this photograph is post 1894.