Keywords: Captain Longueville Clarke.jpg en This albumen print photograph was taken by an unidentified photographer in India sometime between the 11th of February 1856 and around the end of April 1857 The 11th of February 1856 was the date of his appointment to the 3rd Regiment of Oudh Irregular Infantry and is the first date that he would have been available to have his photograph taken in this uniform With the start of the mutiny on the 10th of May 1857 Captain Clarke would have been occupied with the business of trying to survive amidst a mass of mutineers up to the date of his death on the 11th of June 1857 The uniform is that of the 3rd Oudh Irregular Infantry I have found little in the way of specific information about this uniform If anyone has information I would appreciate hearing from you The following suggestions are based on what is known about the Oudh cavalry uniform The uniform is either undress or mess dress The forage cap is rich dark green in colour with a tipped down patent leather bill rounded along the front edge similar in design to the forage cap adopted by the British Army from 1878 to 1902 The lace on the forage cap is believed to be silver with an embroidery design that is similar to the pattern worn by the Royal Artillery The cap also is accented with silver cord The chinstrap appears to be black patent lather and runs across the top of the cap The shell jacket may be scarlet with white facings and silver embroidered lace on the cuffs and down the front Captain Clarke is wearing a mourning band on his left arm above the elbow The epaulettes show a looped knot on the end over the top of the shoulder and are probably silver The sword belt is white leather The sword is of a pattern similar to the 1822 pattern infantry officer's sword with the so-called 'Gothic' hilt The sword scabbard is metal The trousers are probably rich dark green in colour All in all a very interesting and rare photograph of an officer in a pre-mutiny Bengal Irregular Infantry uniform 11th of February 1856 and around the end of April 1857 http //www members dca net/fbl/dtclarke html by Fred Larimore PD-Art Historical regiments of the British Army Mourning bands |