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C. L. A.
Feb 1906
Basil

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Caption: No Caption

The sword tells you this is an officer. The pith helmet is a Boer War era sun helmet. Cavalry helmets had a long stiff back that went over the nape of the neck, which would have made this one tip up a bit as it sat on the plinth, so I think this one is for infantry.

Since I don't see anything in his uniform that tells me differently, I'm going to say he was in the Suffolk Regiment. The cuff we can see looks like the Suffolk Regiment officer's cuff and has one, centred emblem, which means he was a 2nd Lieutenant. He has a collar badge that I can barely make out.

Since the 2nd Boer War ended in 31 May, 1902, this young officer was probably not in that war, but it's entirely likely, if he stayed as a career officer he was in WW1. The 1st Bn served in the Boer War, but I don't have any record of where they were located between 1902 and 1914. I don't know if they stayed in South Africa or came back to Suffolk.

Alas, I can't figure out his unit. The 2nd Bn, Suffolk was stationed in India and Burma at this time, so he could have been associated with them. Or he could have been visiting the town from another Suffolk unit and decided to have his picture taken.