Edwardian dress tunic of a Lieutenant Colonel Indian Army

The scarlet dress tunic is in far better condition than usual without moth damage and with an intact, clean lining. It is a London made tunic with a label of J B JOHNSTONE, LONDON AND DUBLIN, dated 8.7.06 and named to Col J M Heath, late IA. It has its full complement of buttons by JENNENS & CO, LONDON and all retain full gilt. The tunic has the appearance of having been little worn and carefully kept. The biographical details will explain why that should be the case. Although retired officers at that time occasionally wore uniform [indicated by the R on his epaulettes] it is unlikely that the tunic would have seen much wear. The loops on the left would be for the badge of the Commander of the Order of St Michael & St George which was only worn as a badge with any other medals until 1917 when it was worn, as now, round the neck.

John Macclesfield Heath was the son of Major General J C Heath and entered the Indian Army on Oct 12th 1860 on the Bombay establishment in the Infantry, being transferred to the Bombay Staff Corps in 1864, Adjutant in the 26th N.I. in 1875, becoming  DAQMG Bombay in 1880. He was apponmted Brigade Major in Aden in 1886 and sent by the Egyptian Government to withdraw their forces from Harrar in East Aftrican Equatorial Africa, for which service was awarded a CMG . He retired in1886 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel,  dying in London in July 1911.