King's Own Royal Regiment Museum

The King's Own in the Victorian and Edwardian Era

Where the sun never sets

At its peak, the British Empire was the largest the world had ever known. Soldiers in the British Army posted overseas played a crucial part in the colonial encounter. The relationships of people, culture and power defined the era and shaped the world as we know it today.
The Victorian and Edwardian periods saw the King's Own stationed all over the world, from India to Burma and from South Africa to Egypt. For a soldier of the King's Own, enlisting was an opportunity for adventure, to see the world and to make a career along the way.
Following the exploits of the British Army overseas, photographers brought back images of distant and exotic places. With these images came lessons about different cultures, racial hierarchies and the ways in which people and places were connected to each other through the reaches of the Empire.


View of Mount Kinghinjunga (Kachenjunga), Himalayas in the evening light, taken from the hill-station of Darjeeling.
Accession Number: KO2490/590

The hill-station of Lebong, Darjeeling.

Accession Number: KO2490/591

Moses Well, Suez. From the album of Cecil Arthur Borrett, circa 1890's.

Accession Number: KO0809/01

1st Battalion King's Own, G Company at Chakrata, India, 1910 in a waterfall (possibly Tiger Falls).



Accession Number: KO0540/02

View of Hong Kong, 1890's.




Accession Number: KO0594/02-20

Guard of Honour for King Edward VII landing at the Custom House, Malta, April 1903.


Accession Number: KO0594/02-47

The troopship HMS Malabar anchored at Malta Harbour, 1895-96. The 1st Battalion King's Own had just disembarked.
Accession Number: KO0738/15