These photos were taken within a few years of each other, both being photos of Drummer Fred Cook. The left hand photo is the earliest, indicated by the single good conduct stripe on his left forearm. The identity of the regiment is established by the badge on his blue forage cap. The drum has the royal arms and battle honours but the lettering is not clear. Perhaps the uppermost scroll has 2nd Bn THE NORFOLK REGT inscribed.
The tunic he wears is unusual. It would seem, from the glimpse of his collar, that it is the dress tunic of a drummer belonging to the corps of drums, rather than a time-beater from the band. However, the usual drummer’s tunic had crowned lace on the front of the sleeves, and Drummer Cook does not have that.
The right hand photo shows him with two good conduct stripes on his sleeve which indicates 6 years service. Cook is in undress, with a blue field service cap worn on top of his head, not tipped to the right side as worn in the 1930s. His undress frock tunic has drummers’ red and white piping on the pointed cuffs, forming a trefoil at the point, and similar piping on the collar.
