Three Soldiers of the Royal Sappers and Miners 

10" x 8" glass plate negative showing three soldiers of the Royal Sappers and Miners who served in the Crimean War. From right to left are Colour Sergeant Joseph John Stanton, Colour Sergeant Kester Knight and Private William Bruce. Knight, standing in the middle, is resting a leg on a metal case and a hand on his rifle. He is looking slightly right towards Bruce and has a rucksack on his back. Bruce is almost in profile and resting an arm on a wooden table beside him while holding the handle of a spade in the other hand. All three are wearing military uniform.

Throughout the war Queen Victoria had taken an active interest in the welfare of the troops and on their return from the Crimea she met a number of the veterans at Buckingham Palace, Chatham Military Hospital and Aldershot Garrison. Following these meetings she commissioned a series of photographs of the veterans from the photographers Joseph Cundall and Robert Howlett. 

The glass plate negative has been photographed showing the coated side and therefore the image appears laterally reversed. Prints from this negative exist in the Collection (e.g. RCIN 2500209).