This week’s postcard is another of those fine Edwardian colour images of a regiment’s full dress uniform, in this case for the 1^st Dragoon Guards:

This image looks to be a colourised photograph rather than a painting as seen from some other manufacturers. The 1st King’s Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment  raised by Sir John Lanier in 1685 as the 2nd Queen’s Regiment of Horse, named in honour of Queen Mary, consort of King James II. It was renamed the 2nd King’s Own Regiment of Horse in 1714 in honour of George I. The regiment attained the title 1st King’s Dragoon Guards in 1751. The regiment served as horse cavalry until 1937 when it was mechanised with light tanks. The regiment became part of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1939. After service in the First World War and the Second World War, the regiment amalgamated with the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen’s Bays) in 1959 to form the 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards.

Here, in the pre-World War One period, it can be seen that dragoons wore a red tunic with dark blue facings and gold lace. This dragoon is a trumpeter and so wears additional gold aiguillettes to indicate his role. The uniform is worn with white leather gloves and belt. The helmet is made of polished brass with a white horse hair plume on the top:

The tunic is worn with dark blue breeches, with a broad gold stripe down each seam and high black boots. The sword is carried in a scabbard attached to the saddle so that his hands are free to control his horse and blow his trumpet: