King's African Rifles Band with European Officer, Malawi, ca. 1914-1918

Black and white lantern slide featuring a military band of the King's African Rifles posing in a group with a European officer in the centre. Drums are arranged on the ground in the foreground of the image. The band members hold bugles, and wear fezzes (which would be black for Nyasaland units) and wear dark jerseys, in contrast to the usual khaki worn by troops from the King's African Rifles during the First World War. The uniform may be that worn before the First World War, when dark blue jerseys and puttees (cloths wound around the lower leg) were worn by the King's African Rifles. The European officer wears a khaki uniform with long shorts and a pith helmet, and looks noticeably more relaxed in posture than the African members of the band. By the side of the European sits an African man in a khaki trouser suit and black fez, who may be a more senior officer or band leader. This slide comes from a set on the activities of the King’s African Rifles battalions in Nyasaland. It was originally held by the Church of Scotland, and generated by J.W MacKay.