TOPIC:

My great grandfather was a Private 1st Battalion Scots Guards. South Africa Field Force.
I have seen many mentions of soldiers wearing 'khaki' but obviously all the photos are black and white.
Can anyone give me a better indication of the correct colour for the Boer War period, as the term khaki can be used for anything from sand colour to almost a sage green.
Are there any colour photos anywhere?

TIA Lauren

Khaki - Wikipedia
The color khaki is a light shade of tan with a slight yellowish tinge. Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage relative to sandy or dusty terrain. It has been used as a color name in English since 1848......

Hi Lauren

Museum examples


Also, the excellent skills of Tinus le Roux represent a very good example of clothing that was used during the conflict.




Best wishes

Dave........

To add to the above, it might be worth noting that there were variations in hue, especially when it came to khaki drill versus drab serge. The photograph below shows the 1900 sealed pattern of the officers' khaki frock. As can be seen the serge sample (described on the label as "Pimlico Drab Serge") is somewhat greyer. Serge appears to have been particularly popular with officers (i.e. with those who had a choice).



..

I agree with Neville's observation about variation - I too have found a considerable variation in shades of "khaki", esp. when it comes to South African units. You can get a good idea from Andy May's accurate paintings
www.angloboerwar.com/forum/21-uniforms-b...0-andy-may-paintings
and likely to be even more reliable are Clive Dixon's accurate and faithful contemporary watercolours.
www.angloboerwar.com/forum/13-miscellany...16th-lancers?start=0
Once Canadian, NZ and Australian colour schemes are included, the range gets wider still.

Thank you everyone, the sketches are lovely, but I'm specifically interested in the colour of a British army private.
It sounds from the descriptions above that the sandy end of the khaki spectrum is most likely.