John Emslie rose through the ranks to become Quartermaster Sergeant of the 1st Battalion Cameron Highlanders, serving in Egypt and Sudan. He was at Tel-el-Kebir on 13 Sep 1882 and with the Nile Expedition to attempt the rescue of General Gordon. He served throughout the operations of the Sudan Frontier Force of 1885-86 and was present at the siege of Fort Kosheh and the battle of Ginnis. He was mentioned in despatches and awarded the silver medal for distinguished conduct in the field. He was subsequently commissioned as Quartermaster in the 2nd Battalion on 13 April 1887.
The photo shows him in Egypt before the battle of Tel-el-Kebir in 1882. Here he poses with other NCOs, displaying his rank of Quartermaster Sergeant as four gold lace stripes on his right sleeve, with an embroidered eight-pointed star badge over the stripes. He wears a scarlet frock tunic which is distinctive as having gold lace on the collar and gold braid on the cuffs and false pocket flaps. He holds an officer-style broadsword, a symbol of his status, while most of the other sergeants have rifles and bayonets. He is also armed with a pistol of similar pattern to that carried by officers on campaign. The photo includes his pet dog which probably accompanied him whilst serving in Gibraltar.
