Light Dragoon sergeant's wings, old Sheffield plate, a pair, British (c 1784-90)

Title	Light Dragoon sergeant's wings, old Sheffield plate, a pair
Nationality	British
Period	c 1784-90

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These were worn by sergeants of Light Dragoon regiments, and were replaced with silver lace by the Dress Regulations of 20th November 1790. The 1784 uniform was a curious arrangement of a dark blue jacket worn under a sleeveless dark blue shell (a bit like a modern gilet/waistcoat), replaced finally by the waist-level Light Dragoon jacket of 1796.

The officers had similar wings, but usually in scale as opposed to chain format.

The illustration is from British Military Uniforms by James Laver, published by Penguin, 1948, and shows a military tailor's pattern book, c 1800, where the chain wings are clearly displayed, both in the gilt variety on a red tunic and the silver on blue. In practice, several regiments flouted the 1790 dress regulations, as these chain wings were clearly still being worn as late as this tailor's pattern book indicates, ie c 1800. The tunics shown here are clearly the 1796 pattern, a shell jacket with integral sleeves.

These are extremely rare survivors and, although somewhat mothed in one case, have all their original stitching intact, with only some slight distortion of the chains through storage. The chains are very tarnished and are probably best left uncleaned in order to avoid damaging the cloth.

If you want to comment on this item—re quality, age, etc—please email me.

[Militaria : Tunics : British : 18th Century]

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