Officer of the 17th Lancers

The 17th Lancers are mostly notable for their part in the charge of the light brigade, commemorated in a famous picture by Caton Woodville. The officer in my picture, however, is arrayed in the full dress uniform of 1914.

And if the thought of soldiers wearing such a uniform on the eve of World War I seems alarming - or ridiculously picturesque - in fact this outfit was reserved for such things as royal weddings. On campaign it was switched out for a set of khakis.

The British, fresh from the lessons of the Boer War, had probably the most practical uniforms of the early part of the war. The French were still gallivanting around in red trousers, while the Germans, although they had adopted field grey instead of their former vivid colours, had retained all the stylings of the old uniforms. So their lancers went into combat with caps as awkward as the one in this picture, if less colourful.

None of which obviates the fact that as the lamps were going out all over Europe, every army sent men equipped with lances riding against machine guns and artillery. The French even gave lances to their bicycle corps, but the less said about that the better. There was in fact a single cavalry combat on the 9th of September, 1914, when the 9th Lancers met the German Guard Dragoons at Moncel, but it was resolved when one side dismounted and used their rifles. Soon after, it was mud and trenches, a lot of tedium and a bit of terror. Things were different on the Eastern Front, of course, but that's another story altogether.

I did this picture years ago, relying on various sources. I had a roll of butcher's paper, and somehow a series of soldiers seemed apt. It was done with watercolours and acrylics, and I made no attempt at high realism. I don't really recall why I gave the guy a black eye.