Tonight we will discuss something which can also be seen as good and bad, and that is uniforms.
Most schools have some kind of uniform, and it is often not to the liking of the children, some of whom resent the fact that they cannot just wear comfy clothes that are more suitable to play in. The truth behind the matter is that they are not going there to play, but to work, and when they grow, they will change the school uniform for a work one. There are other things as well, including the link to this card, as in its most basic form, a uniform serves to turn a motley group of strangers into a unit, and it also enables them to recognise each other should necessity arise. And, if we are honest, it stops anyone standing out by showing off that they can afford better clothes than the rest of the class - and, in that, it is the best leveller of all.
Our soldier is an Officer, from the 6th Dragoon Guards, as they were in 1760, a cavalry, or mounted Regiment, also known as the Carabiniers, though this is not strictly true, for carabiniers was the term for a unit within any regiment which included mounted soldiers with a kind of shortened musket known as a carbine.
The card tells us that this uniform comes from a time between them being the Queen Dowager`s Cuirassiers, and being renamed to the 3rd Irish Horse. But the Regiment was actually formed in 1685 by Richard Lumley, the first Earl of Scarborough, in order to help quell the Monmouth Rebellion, against King James II, and led by his nephew. After that, it came to be known as Lord Lumley`s Regiment of Horse. The Dowager mentioned on the card was actually Catherine of Braganza, the widow of Charles II, and it was as a mark of his continued support that Lord Lumley asked if he could call his Regiment after her. She agreed, but not long after that, in 1687, Lumley was removed from office, over not allowing Catholics to join, and was replaced, by Sir John Talbot.
In 1692, it was again renamed, to The King`s Regiment of Carabiniers, and this was only slightly changed, in 1740, to His Majesty`s 1st Regiment of Carabiniers. That only lasted for sixteen years, then there was a bit of a shuffle of words and it became the 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carabiniers). They became the 6th Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1788. And that lasted for centuries, right until 1922, when it was amalgamated with the 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's) to form the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards,
This is actually a more complex set than most collectors realise, and you can read all about that at its home page, which is situated with the first series of this set, our Card of the Day for the 11th of July, 2025.
The group appears first in our original John Player reference book, RB.17, issued in 1950, where our part of the set is listed as :
- REGIMENTAL UNIFORMS. Small cards. Fronts in colour. Backs with descriptive text.
166. 50. Second Series. Numbered 51-100. Backs in brown. Home issue, March, 1913. Several minor varieties are known.
They next appear in our original World Tobacco Issues Index, as
- REGIMENTAL UNIFORMS. Sm. Nd. ... P72-47
2. "Second Series". Nd. 51/100. (50). Back in brown.
In our updated version of the World Tobacco Issues Index, the only change is a new card code, which I will add in a minute.