The Chinese city of Tientsin (Tianjin) had been under the control of Western powers since the war of 1860 when the Taku Forts were defeated. It was captured by the Boxers in 1900, but later that year an Eight-Nation Alliance recaptured Tientsin and garrisoned the city. The British supplied two battalions, one of which was the 2nd Bn The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders.
This photo shows men of the 2nd Battalion parading for guard duty at the Legation in the British Concession. The white helmets are mostly the old pattern foreign service white cork helmet introduced in the 1890s but one private has a Wolseley pattern which was approved for issue in 1904. The other type continued to be issued while stocks lasted.
The men wear the Highland version of the Infantry frock, a second-best jacket worn on foreign service. It was all scarlet apart from the collar which was blue, with collar badges. The scarlet cuffs were edged with white piping, as was the base of the collar. Pocket flaps were short and had three small buttons with white loops. The front was fastened with six buttons instead of the eight on the dress doublet, and the skirts were rounded to show the sporran.
The Lee Enfield Rifles have fixed bayonets and the men wear unusual dark pouches for .303 ammunition attached to their white leather waist-belts.
