The band of the 1st Battalion were photographed in Gosport where they were stationed in 1885 prior to embarking for Gibraltar. They are wearing khaki service dress which appears to be styled especially for the Norfolk Regiment as it has a pleated front based on the Norfolk jacket. Their undress blue glengarry caps have a regimental badge on the left side.
The time beater in the centre has a white apron and a very wide bass drum. A side drum is also on view which is the instrument carried by the boy next to it. He has a drum carriage on his right shoulder, in contrast to the rest of the band who have a white belt on their left shoulder to support a white pouch on their back for sheet music. This boy drummer may be borrowed from the corps of drums but his service dress does not look different.
The band sergeant is seated third from the right, wearing a crimson sergeant’s sash on his right shoulder and holding a clarinet. The two officers dressed in blue patrol jackets and peaked forage caps are Lieutenant Edward Henry Charles Wellesley who was commissioned on 22 Oct 1881. The other officer seated next to the band sergeant is Captain Octavius Allcard who joined the regiment as an ensign on 29 May 1867.
Regimental Details | Band and Drummers
