The Regimental Museum at Lincoln has this display with the ‘last Colours’ on the wall behind two figures dressed in the uniforms of the 1860s and 1970s. The Regimental Colour on the right is almost identical to the illustration on the 1930s cigarette card. The Queen’s/King’s Colour on the left appears to be of Victorian vintage (her crown can be glimpsed in the centre of the Union flag). This Colour would have been devoid of battle honours up until 1919 when ten honours for battles fought in World War One were permitted to be borne on the King’s Colour. This was increased to 20 after WW2, to include battles fought in that conflict.
In 1930 regiments who had not previously been permitted to display their badge in the centre of the Colours were then allowed to do so. The 10th had always had the Roman numeral X in the centre of their Colours and, as these ‘last Colours’ show, they never did exchange it for the regimental Sphinx badge. They probably never felt the need as they had, since the middle of the 19th century, displayed the Sphinx as a battle honour. There is evidence that contradicts this, a Gallaghers cigarette card of 1899, and the Simkin print of the 1891 Colour party, show the ‘correct’ Regimental Colour.
It seems that the Lincolnshire Regiment were proud in their defiance of War Office orders since 1881. In that year the non-Royal English regiments were ordered to abandon their distinctive facings and wear universal white. The Lincolns complied with this so that their dress uniforms and frock tunics had white collars and cuffs instead of yellow. The regimental Colours of each of the English infantry regiments were to follow a strict pattern which made them all look very similar. Instead of a yellow flag, the Lincolns were to have the flag of St George, without the Union flag in the top corner. They were also required to arrange the battle honours in a circular pattern around the central wreath. However, the regiment continued to carry their old yellow Colour to remind everyone that they were a yellow-faced regiment before they were ordered to change to white.
