I do like the illustrations you have found. Have you seen http://www.25thlondon.com/soldiers-on-cycles.htm Now there’s a project in 54mm... http://www.25thlondon.com/cycling.htm
Delightful scenes of the Rifle Volunteers! I know the Victorian papers were keen reporters of local volunteer soldiery and their activities but I've not seen these particular vignettes.
I've detected a curve where the press was positive the first few years (fresh on the invasion square post-Crimea) but seems to tend towards gentle ridicule in later years.
You should also know I'm working on another 4 Cheshire Rifles to bring it to full strength for my games. When I painted the first 6 I didn't know I'd end up using 10-man units.
Did you also know there was a Bass Brewery volunteer unit? Dark grey uniforms with green facings and the helmet badge had the Bass red triangle as a background!
That's wonderful. I wasn't aware of the Bass Brewery unit but as I read the name I immediately wondered whether the red triangle would be an influence on facings - not so, but they went one better with the helmet badge! One of the interesting things about the movement was how employers and trades would coalesce to form a unit, such as the Cheshire Railway Volunteer Corps which served in the Boer War or the Post Office Rifles which served in the Sudan.
If you haven't already, I'd recommend reading Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908. by Ian Beckett.
I greatly look forward to seeing your batch of Cheshire riflemen. I might even have a handful of my Perry British infantrymen left - enough for the Bass Brewery Rifle Corps perhaps?
I do like the illustrations you have found. Have you seen
ReplyDeletehttp://www.25thlondon.com/soldiers-on-cycles.htm
Now there’s a project in 54mm...
http://www.25thlondon.com/cycling.htm
I just like how press depictions seem to not take the Volunteers entirely seriously.
DeleteDelightful scenes of the Rifle Volunteers! I know the Victorian papers were keen reporters of local volunteer soldiery and their activities but I've not seen these particular vignettes.
ReplyDeleteI've detected a curve where the press was positive the first few years (fresh on the invasion square post-Crimea) but seems to tend towards gentle ridicule in later years.
DeleteYou should also know I'm working on another 4 Cheshire Rifles to bring it to full strength for my games. When I painted the first 6 I didn't know I'd end up using 10-man units.
DeleteDid you also know there was a Bass Brewery volunteer unit? Dark grey uniforms with green facings and the helmet badge had the Bass red triangle as a background!
DeleteThat's wonderful. I wasn't aware of the Bass Brewery unit but as I read the name I immediately wondered whether the red triangle would be an influence on facings - not so, but they went one better with the helmet badge! One of the interesting things about the movement was how employers and trades would coalesce to form a unit, such as the Cheshire Railway Volunteer Corps which served in the Boer War or the Post Office Rifles which served in the Sudan.
DeleteIf you haven't already, I'd recommend reading Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908. by Ian Beckett.
I greatly look forward to seeing your batch of Cheshire riflemen. I might even have a handful of my Perry British infantrymen left - enough for the Bass Brewery Rifle Corps perhaps?