Entitled “Field firing and tactical instruction”, this superb image shows a Welsh Regiment soldier training with a Martini-Henry rifle in Natal (the date suggests it would have been the mark III version of the weapon).
We do not know who took the photograph, but it is likely it was taken in a studio. The name of the soldier is unfortunately not recorded.
This photo of a Welsh Regiment soldier is mounted on a card in the carte de visite style, and the reverse records that the soldier is wearing the field dress recommended by Lt. Col. A. B. Tulloch. Sir Alexander Bruce Tulloch (1838 – 1920) was a soldier and military intelligence officer. He joined the 1st Royal Scots in 1855 and served in the Crimea, India, China and Egypt. He worked in the Intelligence Department of the War Office and was in charge of the Intelligence Department in Egypt; he was sent on missions to Belgium, Crete and elsewhere. Doubtless the field dress was recommended by Tulloch as a result of his experiences soldering in warmer climates.
He became a Major in the Regiment during 1881 and eventually became its Colonel in 1919. Although born in Edinburgh, his second marriage saw him move to Glaslyn Court near Crickhowell, Breconshire, where he lived until his death. The house still stands and is now a nursing home.
