Aly,
You wrote:
He was definitley South Lancs, as I have had that infomation from family, Marriage Certificate, two birth certificates and the regiment itself, which is where the number came from. They have all the records of him except where and when he was born.
I don't doubt the documents you have, but the man in the photograph can't be the same man.
The man in the photograph is a Sergeant in the Royal Regiment of Artillery, pre-1880. He wears a blue uniform with a pillbox hat, if you look at the image you will see a cannon in between his stripes and crown on his badge of rank, as has already been pointed out.
Whereas a soldier in The Prince of Wales's Volunteers (
South Lancashire Regiment) in the 1890's would have worn a scarlet tunic with white facings on his collars and cuffs and blue trousers with a narrow scarlet stripe down the side. As an infantryman he would have initially worn a glengarry cap, and subsequently a field service cap as opposed to a pillbox hat worn in photograph. In full dress he would have worn a spiked Home-Service helmet. For an example of the uniform in colour do a search on Google images there are at least two companies in the U.K. selling an 1890's Richard Simpkin print of the South Lancs.
Sorry but the man in the photograph does not go along with the documents.
Isandlwana(Which isn't too far in South African terms from Ladysmith.)
