This sample of drummer’s lace was reproduced in the History of the Norfolk Regiment 1685 - 1914 by F Loraine Petre. It is captioned ‘Braid formerly worn by the drummers of the Regiment in memory’ and accompanied by an illustration of the burial of Sir John Moore at Corunna on 16 Jan 1809.
From 1855 infantry drummers wore a red tunic like the rank and file, but with regimental pattern lace down the front and back of the sleeves, on the cuffs, the back seams and the shoulder wings. In 1866 the different lace patterns were replaced by a universal white tape that had a repeating pattern of red crowns which remained the pattern until the end of full dress in the 20th century. But the 9th East Norfolk Regiment adopted their own lace pattern in 1859. It was white with black edges and a wider black line down the centre. It was worn until 1871 when it was replaced by the red crown pattern.
The lace pattern established for the rank and file of the 9th Foot in 1768 was white with two black lines near the edge as shown in Grenadier 1768. This lace was also worn by the drummers up to 1859 when the ‘memorial’ lace replaced it. The Simkin illustration Drum-Major & Drummer 1864 shows a drummer in dress uniform but the reproduction is not good enough to show the lace pattern.
