Campbell’s Cavalrymen #6: The Rough Rider

I’ve been revisiting the pile of my unpainted metal yeomanry figures once more and added another to my collection of 54mm Yeomanry.

This latest figure is once again from Chota Sahib, a manufacturer who has so far provided me with some very nice figures of the Lincolnshire Yeomanry and the Lancashire Hussars.

This new figure is an officer of the 1st City of London Yeomanry, a regiment also officially described in parentheses as being the “Rough Riders”. The regiment claimed a lineage connection going back to the Loyal Islington Troop (est.1798) and the Loyal London Volunteer Cavalry (est.1803). However, the formation’s incarnation as the Rough Riders was not to take place for another century.

René North’s illustration of the Loyal London Cavalry, c.1804.

Following early British setbacks in the Boer War, the “Imperial Yeomanry” was formed from existing yeomanry volunteers so as to assist the regular forces to cope with the challenges posed by highly mobile Boer marksmen. As part of this response, the 20th (Rough Riders) Battalion of the Imperial Yeomanry was raised on 17 March 1900 in London by the Earl of Lathom. The formation was intended to replicate the Boers’ ‘Rough Rider’ irregular cavalry tactics and referenced Theodore Roosevelt’s own Rough Riders of the near-contemporary Spanish–American War.

After service in the Boer War, the Rough Riders were established on 27 July 1901 as the 1st County of London Imperial Yeomanry (Rough Riders) under the command of Viscount Maitland. Following petitions by influential Londoners (including the Lord Mayor of London himself), the following year the name of the new regiment was changed to 1st City of London Imperial Yeomanry (Rough Riders) before eventually dropping the word ‘imperial’ altogether.

All newly established, post-Boer War, yeomanry regiments were encouraged to adopt khaki uniforms. However, the temptation of these volunteers to adopt a more pleasingly extravagant and colourful uniform proved too great and a good number instead tended towards the more exotic. The Rough Riders elected to wear ‘French Grey’, effectively a shade of light blue. This was contrasted with purple collars, shoulder straps and cuffs with French Grey overalls sporting two purple stripes. The early uniform included a slouch hat with a purple pagri as can be seen depicted below in Smitherman’s “Uniforms of the Yeomanry Regiments.”

A Quartermaster Sergeant of the Rough Riders, c.1903 by P.H. Smitherman.

In 1908, the regiment adopted a conventional lancer uniform.

“This uniform was acknowledged to be one of the most popular in the London area; certainly one to catch the ladies’ eyes as demonstrated on a regimental recruiting poster c.1914.“

R.G. Harris in ’50 Years of Yeomanry Uniforms.’

This post is titled as a “Campbell’s Cavalryman” because an officer wearing this regiment’s dress was depicted by Edmund Campbell in “50 Years of Yeomanry Uniforms” by R.G. Harris:

Harris is even mentioned in the painting guide notes, stating “we are grateful to the following for their assistance in the research of this figure: R.G. Harris Esq., P. Colledge Esq., and Major R.J.B. Gentry” (Gentry was a curator to the Inns of Court & City Yeomanry Museum). Another great yeomanry artist, R.J. Marrion, also depicted a Staff Sergeant Major in this lancer uniform on the back cover centre illustration of “The Yeomanry Force at the 1911 Coronation”:

Finally, legendary 19th/20th century military artist, Richard Simkin, also depicted a Rough Rider officer in a watercolour that I believe was originally made for Army and Navy Illustrated magazine.

As can be seen from all the above illustrations, the interpretation of the colours of the uniform vary. The painting notes provided by Chota Sahib state that “the colour of the tunic, breeches and lance cap top is sometimes known as ‘Austrian Blue’ but is officially described as ‘French Grey’ and this shade of French Grey did indeed vary over time for the regiment. The significant colour differences can be seen in the different examples of the uniform shown below.

The same is also true of the shade of purple used on the cuffs, collar leg stripes and plastron. Chota Sahib:

“The purple, as seen on garments in the regimental museum, differs widely from a ‘royal’ purple, to a very dark, rich, ‘plummy’ purple.”

I opted for something which inclined towards the more contrasting ‘plum’ and mixed a couple of existing Vallejo colours in my collection until I ended up with something I was happy with.

The lancer cap held under the officer’s right arm is of black patent leather, with French Grey panels, gold lace and a cap plate which included the coat of arms of the City of London with the regiment’s Boer War battle honour “South Africa 1900-1902”. The falling plume was of dyed swan feathers and appeared as a slightly lighter blue in Campbell’s drawing than the uniform, a difference which I’ve tried to reproduce on my figure. I left the cap braid on the cap top as black as I’d seen it in one example, but may add Campbell’s gold lace instead.

The figure is mounted on my usual Ukrainian-made alder wood base with added engraved panels.

Overall, a particularly colourful, exotic and pleasing figure from Chota Sahib to add to my already diverse collection of 54mm yeomanry. I’m already finding myself musing over what could be the next figure in the series.

Campbell’s Cavalrymen #5: The Lancashire Hussar Officer

Aside from quietly, steadily progressing with my WWI Serbian project, I’ve been sustaining my hobby muse by occasionally dipping into another of my growing collection of 54mm Yeomanry figures.

A 54mm single figure was perfect for a diversion as I could make small additions to it whenever it suited me, whereas with a larger group of figures I find that when painting one, I’m logically obliged to paint all the others at the same time making for a bigger time commitment.

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This yeoman is an officer of the Lancashire Hussars in 1913. The model is another made by Chota Sahib, a manufacturer whom I first encountered with the last yeomanry figure I tackled; the Lincolnshire Yeomanry officer.

The Lancashire Hussars were raised in 1848 by Sir John Gerard (Baronet) and were known locally as Lord Gerard’s Own. The county of Lancashire was also represented at this time by the Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry (a figure from which I painted last year).

The ‘very rich’ early Hussar uniforms were based upon that of the 11th Hussars who wore crimson-coloured trousers (unique among British regiments), and the Lancashire Hussars were to be inspired by this famous colour distinction in various ways. The ‘field uniform’ consisted then of a tall crimson shako and examples of this uniform can be seen in two oil paintings by John Ferneley, painted in the 1850s. Apparently affected by a fire at some point in their history, the paintings now show the blue uniforms a little darker than originally depicted.

Red shako just visible, Lieutenant Colonel Sir Robert Tolver Gerard, Bt, and His Regiment, the Lancashire Hussars, on Parade by
John E. Ferneley I (1782–1860). This was one of two similar paintings. Photo credit: Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry Museum.

Geoff Wright, writing for the Southport Visitor provides an excellent history of the Lancashire Hussars with plenty of great images. He has this to say about the regiment’s early incarnation:

Many of the first volunteering mid-19th century soldiers were largely recruited from among the rural tenants of Sir Gerard and his neighbouring estates, made up of farmers and agricultural labourers, and so they were affectionately nicknamed the ‘Cabbage Cutters’.

The trained-up and smartly-dressed troops were always a great attraction in the countryside en-route from their Ormskirk base to their annual training ground – Southport Sands; the crowds of fellow workers, mainly farmers and village labourers, always gave them a hearty wave and cheer, they were greeted everywhere they went.

Nostalgia: The lost story of the Lancashire Hussars, Part One

(Note: Part Two of this history can be found here).

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In 1879, the regiment’s uniform changed to a more typical hussar pattern, though still inspired by the 11th, and this new uniform was retained with minor changes up until the era depicted by this figure, 1913. The photograph below is included in my copy of “The Yeomanry Force at the 1911 Coronation” by Smith and Harris:

Above: Major F.B.J. Stapleton-Bretherton of the Lancashire Hussars at the 1911 coronation of King George V. Looking very similar to my figure, he wears dismounted review order and, being a veteran of the Boer War, displays a South Africa War Medal with 2 clasps.

I’ve designated this figure as being another of “Campbell’s Cavalrymen” as the painting notes provided by Chota Sahib reference R.G. Harris’ “50 Years of Yeomanry Uniforms” in which E.A. Campbell was the illustrator of the plates. Campbell’s depiction of the Lancashire Hussar can be seen below:

The busby is described as being a dark brown fur with a crimson bag and silver cap lines which ended plaited over the right breast in a pattern apparently imitating their muse, the Cherrypickers. The white-over-crimson plume ends in a silver holder. I thought the busby was very convincingly sculpted by Chota Sahib.

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The blue tunic worn by the officer has lines of silver braiding and loops. The shoulder belt for officers only was silver-covered with a silver picker plate and boss, apparently of a Lancashire rose design.

As for legwear, these were usually blue, as shown in this Simkin illustration of the regiment found in my old copy of “British Yeomanry Uniforms”.

Richard Simkin’s depiction of a Lancashire Hussar officer originally made for Army and Navy Illustrated magazine.

However, Campbell’s portrayal of the officer wearing crimson overalls (which was only for officers) makes for a more colourful and distinctive uniform than the more usual dark blue. His overalls in the book, however, were reproduced in a shade of red which seemed just a little bright to me and so I’ve toned my figure’s overalls down to a deeper shade of red which I hope is just a touch more ‘crimson’.

The rear of the jacket has more silver braiding detailing and a silver pouch. You can also see the slings attached to the sword. Unfortunately, I oafishly broke a spur but I am sure I’ll fix this by and by…

After painting this officer’s face, I noticed that I seemed to have given him a squint. Rather than correct this, I left it as it is as I was quite pleased with it!

A year after this figure’s 1913 incarnation, various units of the regiment would go on to serve in the First World War as either cavalry, infantry or even cyclists. After The Great War, The Lancashire Hussars, as with many other Yeomanry regiments at this time, were converted to an artillery role being re-designated as the 2nd (Lancashire) Army Brigade, Royal Field Artillery.

More crimson! The Lancashire Hussars drum banner and cap badge as seen in Player’s 1924 cigarette card series. By this time, the regiment has already converted to the Lancashire Yeomanry Brigade of RFA (Royal Field Artillery).

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There are still more of these turn-of-the-century 54mm yeomen in my collection to paint, some of which are still courtesy of the excellent Chota Sahib. As these have been a pleasure to paint, I don’t envisage leaving it too long before tackling the next one!

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Campbell’s Cavalrymen #4: The Lincolnshire Yeomanry Officer

I’ve returned to my 54mm scale Yeomanry Cavalry project by tackling a figure representing an officer of the Lincolnshire Yeomanry.

Various Lincolnshire small and independent troops were raised in 1794, becoming eventually the single North Lincoln Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry until it was disbanded in 1847. The county was then without a yeomanry regiment until the “Lincolnshire Imperial Yeomanry” was raised in 1901 following a call for volunteers to serve in the Imperial Yeomanry in the Boer War. The nominated regimental commander was the Earl of Yarborough.

The full-dress uniform the regiment adopted was that of a lancer regiment, Lincolnshire being one of five newly-raised, post-1900 yeomanry regiments to adopt this pattern of uniform (see my East Riding of Yorkshire and Surrey figures as being among the others). It is this full-dress uniform that Chota Sahib have depicted.

Previous yeomen in the project have been manufactured by Dorset Metal Model Soldiers, Mitrecap, Tradition and Ensign Miniatures. My Lincolnshire yeoman figure is by Chota Sahib, the very first that I’ve painted from this manufacturer who produced (so far as I’m aware) at least six yeomanry figures in this scale.

I did visit the Museum of Lincolnshire life in Lincoln some years back and, though the memory fades since 2014, I don’t recall any yeomanry in their military gallery, although I understand it must have been there. Instead, I relied on a postcard and some some books already in my collection, including the plate below by Edmund A. Campbell taken from R.G. Harris’ “Fifty Years of Yeomanry Uniforms”. Harris provides a good description of the uniform in question.

It’s most likely that Campbell’s illustration directly influenced the Chota Sahib sculptor as the year and details of both (nearly) match. What’s more, all the other figures in their range also appear in Harris’ book, their Loyal Suffolk Hussars figure being identical in practically every way.

Postcard on the Lincolnshire Yeomanry, part of a series, with an illustration by Bryan Fosten.

I found an extract from an old Chota Sahib catalogue online which had this below image of a painted version of their Lincolnshire Yeomanry officer. From the low-resolution photo I can still tell how beautifully painted it is. The painter has included a white falling plume whereas the Harris/Campbell book and the postcard of the same uniform all agree that the plume by 1911 was green, R.G. Harris confirming that “a silver cockade with green-velvet front carries a green plume of cock’s feathers.” Apparently, a trial-pattern only, full-dress uniform in 1902 did include a white plume, so presumably this influenced the painter.

Figure Y8 from the original Chota Sahib catalogue.

Hidden under that green falling plume is a very nicely sculpted cap plate of white metal carrying “the arms of Lincoln – argent, a cross charged with a Fleur de Lys – surrounded by a laurel wreath and surmounted by a crown. the Regimental title on triple-scrolls below“. All of which seems to have been beautifully sculpted on this figure only for the plume to sadly hide it all away! An image of the cap at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life is available and shown below.

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  Czapka plate as shown in Smith and Harris’ “The Yeomanry Force at the 1911 Coronation”.

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  By Rept0n1x – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15604411

The lance cap is otherwise made of black patent leather (I’ve used glossy black for this), with white panels and silver cord quartering the top.

The lancer cap itself, as with the rest of the Lancer uniform, was apparently based on that of the 17th Lancers. The principal difference presumably being the green rather than dark blue cloth. The green is supposed to be a shade called ‘Lincoln-Green’, “a lighter shade than dark rifleman’s green”. I’ve not fussed as to interpreting what this subtle colour difference could actually mean and simply painted it something that looks green! Both E.A. Campbell’s and Brian Foster’s (below) illustrations seem to look pretty much like rifleman’s green to me!

The plastron is white (a la 17th Lancers) and the pouch belt and pouch is silver for officers. I’ve also picked out in silver the cap lines, the pricker, plate and chain, as well as all the buttons.

Lincolnshire Yeomanry lancer’s tunic in green with white plastron, collar and cuffs the latter two items edged in silver.

The shoulder cords are silver and the edges of the tunic are white as are the flaps to the rear.

The overalls are green with two broad white stripes down each leg.

The girdle around the waist is silver with two scarlet-silk lines within it, although “The Yeomanry Force at the 1911 Coronation” says this is green.

The figure required some gluing, both the arms and the plume were attached separately. No doubt down to my ham-fisted assembly efforts, I was left with a centimetre gap between the scabbard slings. Thankfully, I found some nickel strips which I used to bridge the gap I hope convincingly enough.

Trouble attaching the figure to the plinth has left me with the scabbard hanging a few millimetres high in mid-air rather than rested on the ground but I think it’s barely noticeable. It’s the sort of thing that flock or grass scatter would hide if he wasn’t based on bare wood.

It’s all finished off with the usual engraved plates detailing the regiment (front) and rank / year (rear).

After serving in the First World War, Lincolnshire lost it’s yeomanry regiment once again after it was disbanded in 1920 and the notion of a British lancer uniform in Lincoln Green became history.

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I often find myself tinkering and making small improvements to my 54mm painting even after the figure is varnished and based on the plinth. I will probably do the same with this officer too as there are a few small things I still want to attend to. I’m pleased with my first Chota Sahib figure. It’s very very slightly more slender than my other yeomanry figures, but otherwise fits in very well.

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I’ve also been working on my more familiar 1/72 scale lately. More on that soon!

Officer of the Lincolnshire Yeomanry photographed at the 1911 Coronation wearing his Full Dress uniform with green feather plume.

Campbell’s Cavalrymen #3: The Worcestershire Yeomanry Sergeant

Presenting my latest figure for the ongoing 54mm Yeomanry Cavalry project:

This figure is the last of my Mitrecap Miniatures yeomen, a sergeant of the Worcestershire Yeomanry c.1900. The other Mitrecap figures I’ve attempted have all been terrific and there are about five more (that I’m aware of) made by Mitrecap in this range but which have so far eluded my online searches.

The accompanying guidance by Mitrecap reads: ‘This figure is based on an illustration in “50 Years of Yeomanry Uniforms” by R.G. Harris, Plate No.29‘. Harris is the book’s author but the plate mentioned is by the military artist Edmund A. Campbell.

Campbell’s work inspired and informed a number of other yeomanry uniforms by Mitrecap including their Surrey Yeoman below:

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This figure shows a sergeant in stable dress

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In Campbell’s illustration below right, there’s a crown above the sergeant’s stripes which has not been included by the sculptor but which I may add freehand. My figure also holds a riding crop in his hand instead of the sword shown in the plate.

Oops, I’ve now noticed that I’ve forgotten to paint the metal spurs…

R.G. Harris’ text indicates that the plate is based on an original photograph taken in the military town of Aldershot in 1891/92 and was included in the book to ‘show the workaday dress of the yeoman of the late 1890s and presents a most serviceable uniform both comfortable and hard-wearing’.

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He goes on: “The white gloves.. had a practical function for, when inspecting horses, the seasoned N.C.O. would rub the inside of his gloved hand along the horses flank and, should it come away soiled, some ‘idle man’ would find his name in the book.”

This was a straightforward and simple uniform to paint but has provided a really good contrast to some of the other more elaborate uniforms in my yeomanry collection. I’ve a number of other yeoman still to paint and the difficulty is selecting which one but I suspect it will be a figure from a manufacturer I’ve not painted before – Chota Sahib.

My impression of the original Aldershot photograph. It would be interesting to see the original.

In the meantime, it’s back for me to my numerous 1/72 scale Saxon Infantrymen being attempted as part of Ann’s Immaterium’s “Neglected but Not Forgotten” painting challenge.

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Campbell’s Cavalrymen #2: Yeoman of Yorkshire

I’ve been quietly making a return to the 54mm yeomanry figure painting with one of my two remaining Mitrecap Miniatures figures. The figure in question is a 1908 officer of the East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry which, together with the Yorkshire Dragoons and Yorkshire Hussars, are one of all three Yorkshire yeomanry regiments covered by the manufacturer. This bias towards Yorkshire can be explained by the manufacturer heralding from Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

The painting instruction for this metal 54mm figure includes the following advice:

Thankfully, I already had one of these references, the former being a plate illustrated by E.A. Campbell in R.G. Harris’ 1972 book. This artist also inspired the previous Mitrecap figure I painted this year of the Surrey yeomanry. Campbell’s illustration of the East Riding soldier appears at the end of the book:

The other reference comes from the April 1983 edition of Military Modelling which I sourced cheaply from eBay. The relevant article is “The East Riding Yeomanry (Wenlock’s Horse) 1902-1947: Part 1” by Major R. Wilson. It contains information on the regiment’s formation, a detailed description of the uniform and a number of watercolour illustrations by an artist identified only with the initials “M.J.T.”.

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The first challenge was trying to replicate the particular shade of the tunic which has variously been described as being either “claret” or “maroon” both in the Harris book and in the painting advice provided by Mitrecap, but simply as “maroon” by Major Wilson in the article. Not having a ready-made maroon/claret in my paint rack I had to set about mixing my own shade and, after a couple of abject failures, finally settled on one I was content with which, I hope, does the job.

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This is the first 54mm yeomanry figure I’ve painted wearing a lancer cap (Czapka). It’s cloth panels are a colourful light blue with a black patent leather skull cap and gold lines and chin scales. The plume is described as a white and pale blue feather affair, the blue is really clear on Campbell’s illustration but less so on MJT’s which appears largely white. I’ve gone with MJT with just a hint of light blue peeking between the white feathers.

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East Riding Museums have this lovely yeomanry czapka as an exhibit available to view online which seems to be white with a very feint hint of pale blue about it.

The light blue appears again as double stripes on the dark blue overalls. My captain also wears a lancer’s girdle of red and gold bands which had to be painted freehand, a bit tricky as there were no sculpted lines.

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Pale blue piping is also on the rear and edges of the jacket. These rear views show my addition of some details on a plaque. The plinth is alder wood and hand-made in the Ukraine – very posh!

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The figure came with a sword and scabbard with slings but, no matter what I tried, I just couldn’t place it anywhere which looked natural. So as he looks entirely happy without it, I simply left it off completely. However, since taking these photos, I’ve found an image which better explains its positioning so I’m going to have another go but it’s just too late for this post, I’m afraid!

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The plastron on the chest, the shoulder straps and collar are also pale blue which, as a combination with the maroon/claret jacket, puts me in mind of the claret and blue of the football strips of West Ham or Aston Villa). The overall effect is to add a nice addition of more vibrant colours in contrast to the predominantly khaki and dark blue colours featuring on the rest of my 54mm Yeomanry Cavalry figures.

Watercolour of a 1906 East Riding Yeomanry officer appearing on the East Riding Musems site. The artist shows a pale blue plume!

Finally, the regiment has a badge on the collar featuring a guilt metal fox with the legend “Forrard” which wasn’t at all present on the figure so I’ve simply painted my own approximated version.

Overall, I’m very happy with this new addition to the yeomanry fold. I’ve a number of figures to keep adding to the project but only one Mitrecap version. The now sadly demised Mitrecap Miniatures made some terrific yeomanry figures and I’d dearly love to source those remaining ones one day (there are about five that I know of). The sculpting on this Captain of the East Riding yeomanry stands as testament to their quality figures.

Ensign Miniatures and the drawings of René North

Over the past few years, I’ve picked up a few 54mm metal yeomanry figures from the Napoleonic Wars which have been made by Ensign Miniatures. They have a distinctive sculpting style which didn’t fit well with my other Bob Marrion / Edward Campbell-inspired yeomanry from the late 19th/ early 20th century era. Occasionally, one would turn up at an affordable price and I would add to my collection meaning I now have three different figures.

Two of my Napoleonic yeomanry by Ensign Miniatures

A couple of years ago, I had nearly finished painting a pair of their Leicestershire Yeomanry figure but held off from completing pending a visit to my local Leicestershire Yeomanry museum in order to review any exhibits and information relating to these early uniforms. An extended period of closure ‘for refurbishment’, and also the COVID-19 virus has prevented a visit since. So. now I’ve pushed on with them and present my two Leicestershire Yeomanry officers.

The reason I had painted two was that strangely they came in an auction as a group of five identical figures. A misspelling of ‘yeomanry’ meant that I won the lot for a tiny sum. I found some spare wooden bases to use and added plaques as a finishing touch. What to do with my extra yeomen, including painted and unpainted version, I’m not so sure!

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The figure came with a 1796 Pattern Light-Cavalry Sabre and nickel strips for use as sabretache slings. I’ve done my ham-fisted best with these.

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The overalls were described in the painting instructions as being sky blue with either ‘scarlet bands to outer seams’ or ‘silver with central red piping’. At the time I painted these, I found some excellent colour photographs of an original uniform which showed the latter design, so I stuck with that. Sadly, this invaluable website appears to be now unavailable.

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The helmet instructions were detailed and again I benefited from the example online which included a pink turban around the Tarleton. I was satisfied that my colouring seemed to hit the right note.

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The faces of the two, despite being identical, I’ve somehow manage to create individual expressions which I like the look of.

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  Wistful yeoman #1

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  Surprised yeoman #2

The rest of the uniform consists of a scarlet jacket, sky blue collar, cuffs and turnbacks, silver shoulder scales and buttons, with a sash described as crimson. Seeing the original uniform helped enormously at the time I painted these.

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René North

Further to these yeomen, I had once read somewhere that Ensign Miniatures made a large quantity of figures relating to the yeomanry. However, another random purchase (I know ‘another‘ purchase, I despair of myself, I really do…) has thrown up some interesting information on these Ensign figures.

Leicestershire Yeomanry officers by René North. In a nice coincidence, there are two of them.

My purchase was for a set of six 1960s postcards with illustrations on them of Napoleonic English yeomanry, 1800-1809 all by an artist named René North. These black and white drawings came with painting instructions written under the illustration, which I thought could maybe prove useful in any future yeomanry painting endeavours. When they came through the post, however, I immediately recognised a pattern emerging among the six regiments. The regiments included:

1. The Warwickshire Light Horse, Private, 1801
2. The Surrey Yeomanry, Private, 1800
3. The West Kent Yeomanry (Sheppey)*, Officer, 1800
4. Loyal London Cavalry, Private, 1804
5. The Leicestershire Yeomanry*, Officers, 1808
6. The South Bucks (Eton Troop)*, Officer, 1809

Three of the above were exactly the same Ensign Miniatures figures which I had in my possession* and very specifically the same troops for both the South Bucks and West Kent yeomanry. This seemed more than coincidence, so I delved further into it.

A little research eventually dug up a pdf copy of an old Ensign Miniatures catalogue. This catalogue showed that my yeomanry figures were part of the ‘A’ Range (summarised somewhat vaguely as “A variety of British figures at home and overseas…”) and consisted of nearly all of the six regiments specified in the René North cards. The sole exception was the “Loyal London Cavalry” which was not featured. Instead, two Scottish yeomanry regiments from the same period were also available.

Some of Ensign Miniatures’ ‘A’ Range

The catalogue cites Bob Rowe as being the designer of this series of figures. It seems clear that René North must have been a key inspiration or information source for much of Bob Rowe’s Napoleonic yeomanry designs. Who was this illustrator René North and why did he produce this monochrome set of cards? A quick glance at eBay shows a number of other “Paint-Your-Own” uniform sets covering a wide range of military topics, all black and white line drawings with full colouring information included in text.

The excellent Helion Books blogged a very informative biography of Mr North who was both the illustrator and researcher for all the cards in this series. Cost was a driving factor in issuing colourless cards, but they also encouraged the collector to colour the illustrations themselves.

“Initially the colouring information was on the actual card, but on later sets it was moved to the accompanying text sheet leaving the card purely for the illustration itself.”

My English Yeomanry series was one of the earlier releases, set #22 of a total 113 sets issued, my illustrations being dated 1961. The text on the card notably includes the sources for each illustration. The Warwickshire Yeomanry card, for example, quotes a painting which I’ve seen in their museum and which inspired my own 28mm figures which now reside there. The Leicestershire Yeomanry card cites the original uniform as the source which I had seen online.

Notably, North also produced some uncoloured cardboard soldiers, “essentially forerunners of Peter Dennis’ excellent ‘Paper Soldiers’ series published by Helion”. Described as being “modest and softly spoken with a gentle twinkle in his intelligent eyes“, one person who knew him goes on to say;

“René North’s name is rarely mentioned today…but his work is the foundation of many of the studies of British Napoleonic Uniforms and he deserves to be better remembered.”

René North passed away in 1971. Not entirely forgotten though, I can vouch that his work is still inspiring painters like myself nearly half a century after his death.

The blog post by Helion is very well worth a read for anybody interested in the topic of military uniforms and uniformology.

Campbell’s Cavalrymen #1: Soldier of Surrey

The purchase of some old unpainted Mitrecap Miniatures figures, which I mentioned in my previous post, included a Lieutenant of the Surrey Yeomanry c.1905.

This figure appears to have been inspired by this 1943 illustration by Edward A. Campbell seen in R.G. Harris’ “50 Years of Yeomanry Uniforms”:

The Campbell plate was itself based upon a photograph of the commander of A Squadron, Captain P. Noble Fawcett. Doubtful whether Mitrecap’s captain can be pinned down specifically as he, however, as I note that their figure does not sport his bushy moustache.

I posted recently on a portrait of an officer of the Surrey Yeomanry from the early 19th Century. The regiment in this early incarnation survived intermittently until disbanding in 1848. It was not then re-raised until 1901 when the Surrey Imperial Yeomanry were the first of a number of new yeomanry regiments raised after the inception of the Anglo-Boer War. Their uniform was originally based on that of the New South Wales Lancers, a unit which had attracted much admiration when they arrived in Britain as a delegation from Australia for Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee in 1897.

In this BFI clip, I believe four of the New South Wales Lancers can be seen riding past holding their lances (45 seconds into the footage).

In adopting this khaki uniform, the newly formed Surrey Yeomanry were correctly obeying the new instructions regarding the colour of Yeomanry service dress uniforms. The text accompanying a plate of a 1911 Surrey yeoman by P.H. Smitherman explains;

“In an attempt to curb the extravagance of dress in the mounted branches, Yeomanry regiments formed after the South African war were encouraged to confine themselves to khaki service dress… The trooper in this plate (see below) is wearing the type of uniform that all yeomanry regiments should have adopted after the Boer War, but which few of them did. As can be seen, it is a smart and practical dress, although not perhaps as flamboyant as was customary for the yeomanry. It is a dress of lancer pattern with cap lines although the regiment never wore the lance cap.” (P.H. Smitherman “Uniforms of the Yeomanry Regiments 1783-1911)

It’s interesting to note that despite the push to place Yeomanry troops in khaki, “few of them did”. R.J. Smith and R.G. Harris acknowledge that “the Yeomanry have always had the reputation of being a law unto themselves concerning some aspects of military regulations…” (“The Yeomanry Force at the 1911 Coronation”).

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The Marrion’s, Smitherman’s and Campbell’s interpretation of the colour of khaki worn varies considerably, so I’m happy that my figure’s khaki exists somewhere between these extremes. Below is R.J. Marrion’s vision of a Surrey trooper at the time of the 1911 coronation:

I confess to making a mess of attaching the hat and left hand to the figure. It took me a while to work out how it was to be held but, after spreading glue liberally in places it wasn’t needed, I finally got it about right.

The face of the yeoman appeared to me to wearily have his eyes closed, the consequence of a long day in the saddle. After the application of paint, it seemed to work well so – possibly for the first time – I’ve painted a figure with his eyes shut.

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Once again, a lovely piece of sculpting by Mitrecap. I’m not sure whether I’ve done it justice or not but I’ve enjoyed painting this figure which now takes it’s place as the 9th 54mm yeoman in my collection.

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Stop Press! In typical style, I forgot to add a small silver badge to the turned up side of the slouch hat. To be fair, the sculptor hasn’t included it either, but it’s something I’ll include anyway.

It appears to be this white metal cap badge. This Other Ranks version being the crest of Lord William St.John Freemantle Brodrick, 9th Viscount Midleton, Hon. Colonel of the Regiment. The Surrey Imperial Yeomanry wore this badge on the turned up side of their slouch hats.

Brodrick was Secretary of State for war and gave his name to an unpopular British army undress cap of the time.

Mitrecap Miniatures

I mentioned in a post recently that I’d won a figure in auction to add to my steadily growing 54mm Yeomanry Cavalry series (aka Marrion’s Men). I’d missed out on this figure a year or so ago and so was understandably delighted to get my hands on it this time around. It’s an officer of the Sussex Yeomanry, circa 1908. The pose though not identical is very similar and the painting guide actually directly references the Marrion illustration seen below.

This illustration by Bob Marrion features on the cover of the first book in the Ogilby Trust series on British yeomanry uniforms which ran between the late 70s and the early 90s. On the same cover is another illustration of an officer which I’ve previously painted in 54mm (see below).

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Mitrecap Miniatures was, so far as I can find out, established by Dennis Johnson in 1979 and did well until it eventually was brought to a close possibly sometime in the early-mid 2000s with the proprietor’s emigration to Spain. Names of some of the sculptors for Mitrecap that I’ve seen referenced elsewhere are Keith Durham and Peter Loxley.

This July 1984 edition of Modelworld News announced that “a new name to us is Mitrecap Miniatures 23 Queen’s Road, Sheffield, South Yorks. They have quite a big range of 54mm cast figures in kit form, including the British yeomanry (i.e. TA cavalry) regiments of the pre-1939 period…“

Recently, I discovered that my previously unsourced Westmorland & Cumberland yeoman figure in the Marrion series (painted back in 2018), is indeed another Mitrecap Miniature. Sure enough it is featured in their list of ‘figurines and accessories’. Their entire list demonstrates that they did a good line in volunteer troops of all kinds (militia, volunteer associations, rifle volunteers, etc).

These “Turn of the Century” figures, for example, include yeomanry of:

• The Oxfordshire Hussars (1900)
• Westmoreland & Cumberland Yeomanry (1900)
• The Leicestershire Yeomanry (1910)
• Yorkshire Dragoons (1900)
• Yorkshire Hussars (1900)
• Worcestershire Yeomanry (1900)
• East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry (1908)
• Westminster Dragoons (1909)
• Fife & Forfar Yeomanry (1895)
• Surrey Yeomanry (1905)
• Sussex Yeomanry (1908)

Great to hear there were other yeomanry figures made under this manufacturer.

My Mitrecap Miniatures’ officer of the Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry.

Now I know that the Sussex and Westmorland & Cumberland Yeomanry figures are inspired by Bob Marrion illustrations, I wonder how many of the others are too? Bob Marrion certainly produced illustrations of the Yorkshire Hussars, the Yorkshire Dragoons, the East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry, the Worcestershire Yeomanry and the Westminster Dragoons; all of which are listed by Mitrecap. So plenty of scope for another Marrion-inspired Mitrecap figure there.

…But now I’ve snapped up two more Mitrecap yeomanry figures which came up for auction this week for a very reasonable price indeed!*

*Honestly, Mrs Marvin!!

Neither of these figures are taken from the Marrion series of illustrations. However, on opening their still-sealed packets, I discovered that the figures were actually inspired by another artist well known to me. The painting guides reference Plate 25 and Plate 32 from “50 Years of Yeomanry Uniforms” by R.G. Harris and I thankfully have a copy of this 1972 book – a Christmas present received a couple of years ago.

One of these figures is based on this below illustration of a Lieutenant of the Surrey Yeomanry. Similar to the pose shown below in Campbell’s painting, the 54mm figure has his slouch hat detached and held in a hand:

The other figure references a plate of an officer of the East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry wearing a lancer uniform. This time the sculptor depicts the soldier wearing his lancer cap rather than following the illustration. The painting guide for this figure points to Plate 32 of Harris’ book and also Military Modelling’s 1983 April and May Issues.

The plates in this book are all work by the artist and former volunteer soldier, Edmund A. Campbell, who died in 1951 leaving behind a considerable number of military artworks from his extensive and first hand research. I suspect that the Mitrecap figures listed for the Fife & Forfar Yeomanry and the Oxfordshire Hussars at least could well be inspired by their respective Campbell plates (nos. 4 and 21). So it may be that I find myself developing a 54mm yeomanry series referencing the work of another military artist: Campbell’s Cavalry, perhaps?

Tis’ the Season for Giving… and Receiving!

This time of year, I get to enjoy two days of opening presents. With my birthday being on the same week as Christmas Day, if I’m lucky, I tend to end up with plenty new model kits and books. Time for a quick overview of some of the military related gifts that I’ve received this year.

Firstly, following on from the very pleasing painting of Strelets French Army Sledge Train figures earlier this month, at my suggestion for a birthday present I’ve been kindly supplied with set 2 of this series. It will probably be December 2019 before I even think of getting to work on them, however.

I’ve also come into ownership of two boxes of RedBox’s Ottoman (or Osman) infantry: namely the elite Yeniceri (Janissaries) and Eyalet troops. They are really great quality figures for sure and I’m now committed to developing Ottomania – my Ottoman Turkish army project.

Apropos of this, my father-in-law was visiting a military bookshop in Birmingham recently and asked if there was anything I’d like for Christmas whilst he was there. I mentioned a book on Ottoman armies by the peerless Osprey to further assist my Ottomania project and it seems he took the idea and ran with it!

Written by David Nicolle and illustrated by Angus McBride and Christa Hook, no less than three books on the topic were unwrapped on Christmas Day;

• The Janissaries (Elite series No.58)
• Armies of the Ottoman Turks 1300-1774 (Men-at-Arms series No.140)
• Armies of the Ottoman Turks 1775-1820 (Men-at-Arms series No.314)

Christa Hook’s illustration of 16thC Ottoman Janissaries.

A bit more reading material – something that I’ve wanted for a while is the now well-out-of-print book by R.G. Harris on “50 Years of Yeomanry Uniforms: Volume 1”. Harris was one of the contributors to some of the books in the essential Ogilby Trust “Uniforms of the British Yeomanry Force” series in the late 80s / early 90s.

This 1972 edition has that evocative musty smell of old bookshops and features 32 terrific full page and full-colour illustrations by Edward A Campbell. I was interested to read in the preface that Campbell was responsible for the artwork in the 1931 Players cigarette card series Military Headdress, which I am well familiar with from my own collection.

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Campbell’s illustration of an officer of the Norfolk Yeomanry (see also my post on the Norfolk and Suffolk Yeomanry collection).

Campbell’s paintings were based on ‘painstaking research’ of which most apparently is sadly unpublished. Even more tragically, the preface informs me that “the author of the text is preparing a second volume on the Yeomanry which will incorporate a further selection of Captain Campbell’s work…”, yet I can find no evidence that Volume 2 was ever published.

Uniform of the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, an example of which I saw earlier this year in Northampton.

Officer of the Shropshire Yeomanry, another uniform that I saw earlier this year during my trip to Shrewsbury.

So much to read, so much to paint, but so little time. I really need to get on with some chores, not to mention hours of overtime that I need to do. What’s that quote? “Starve your distractions – feed your focus!”. Trouble is, I rather prefer the distractions…