Alfred William Lambart Bayly was born 18th February 1856 in Paisley, Scotland. Educated at Wellington College, Berkshire, England and gazetted as Lieutenant to the 108th Foot 13th June, 1874. He moved to the Bombay Staff Corps 1879 and passed through Staff College in 1893.
The photo above shows Gen Bayly after his appointment to Commandant of the Indian Staff College at Quetta.
He served in the Afghan War of 1880-1881 and was awarded the Afghanistan medal with Kandahar clasp. He also served in the Sudan, 1885 and Burma, 1886-7 earning medals with clasps and The Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. He was made commander of the 126th Bombay Infantry (Baluchistan) Regiment in 1896 and fought in the 2nd Boer War once again being decorated , mentioned in despatches and was made a Companion of the Bath.
His Wolseley is an early example of the variations in shape from the images published in The Dress Regulations for the Army 1900. This was not uncommon with different manufacturers using differing hat-blocks.The crown is taller than those that were to follow (and follow the regulations).
This helmet was manufactured by Ellwood’s and retailed by Badham , Pile & Co. BOMBAY, POONA & SECUNDERABAD. The name is clearly inked inside both on the headband and the crown interior.
The helmet was acquired with an acanthus leaf base into which is screwed a cup and ball. The threads are a close match but a bit loose. Since the cup and ball were used by Royal Artillery, Army Service Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, and Army Veterinary Department it seems that this aspect of the helmet was a later addition.
A side profile of the helmet.
Jon Maguire
January 2019
Sources:
- The London Gazette
- AngloBoerWar.com
- https://prabook.com