The scarlet tunic of the King’s Dragoon Guards had blue velvet collar, cuffs and piped edge to the front of the tunic. It was fastened with nine gilt buttons and had gold lace three quarter inch wide of Artillery Wave pattern on the top and bottom of the collar for field officers i.e. above the rank of major. After 1881 there were no rank badges on the collar as they were now sewn on the plaited gold shoulder cords. The cuffs were ornamented with round-back gold cord traced all around with gold Russia braid. Subalterns had a single Austrian knot. Captains had a double knot and majors and lieutenant-colonels (and colonels) a triple knot as seen in this photo.
The pouch-belt and the waist-belt are of the same pattern gold lace that had been worn by the KDG for the previous 60 years: Basket Check and Vellum. His sword is slung on two gold lace slings attached to a webbing belt concealed beneath the tunic. His helmet is by his right arm, the 1871 pattern with red horse-hair plume.
The officer is named as William Vesey Brownlow. In 1885 he was Assistant Commandant of the Cavalry Depot at Canterbury with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. The regiment was at that time serving in India. He has a medal for his service in the Zulu War of 1879. He had also fought in the First Boer War of 1881 and been wounded twice, but there was no medal awarded for that conflict.
