Private Walker by Thomas Wood

Here is an image which may be familiar to some of you - it is a painting in the collection of the Royal College of Surgeons in London. Painted by Thomas Wood and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1855, it shows Private Thomas Walker sewing a quilt. In 1855, while convalescing after a successful trepanning operation, he was seen by Queen Victoria during her visit to Fort Pitt Military Hospital. Walker sustained a head injury at the battle of Inkerman in the Crimean War, when a shell burst above his head. A silver plate was inserted in his skull. Here, he is shown sewing a military quilt as part of his recovery.

The painting is of interest because it shows the method of making military quilts very clearly. Lest the viewer be in any doubt, his details are written over the bed, and his regiment - the 95th Derbyshire Regiment - is shown by the uniform at the foot of the bed. Walker is sewing triangles of uniform wool together, the colours, red, black, gold and white, neatly reflecting the colours present in the uniform at the foot of the bed. A cloth cap perhaps suggests his head injury.

This painting has been called a "rare propaganda portrait" and was apparently designed to allay public concerns over hosptial conditions for soldiers during the Crimean War. Victoria's visit was probably another attempt to do the same. As you may be aware, Florence Nightengale and others were able to publicise the poor state of many field hospitals, and the need for cleanliness and more careful nursing of the wounded.

Military quilts were prevalent from about 1850 to 1900; at the later date khaki uniforms replaced the colourful wool uniforms and the materials used for the military quilts disappeared. Crimean quilts supposedly have darker, more sombre colurs, whilst the Indian military quilts are more colourful.

Military Throw - Yorkshire

Here is a military throw that I bought some time ago - it is one of my "Study projects" and is in rather poor condition. It came from a seller in London - he had it from a textile dealer some years ago. The throw origianally came from a sale at a large house in Yorkshire - unfortunately he had forgotten which house it was.


The quilt is rather elaborate and has a central piece surrounded by chequer board areas - some in red and black and others in a trip around the world pattern. The quilt is made from worsted and felted wools. These are not seamed together but over sewn at the back.

These quits are generally known as "Crimean War" quits but most are likely to be of Indian origin. In this case we know it is India as the central star is the "Star of India"(see below).

Another popular myth is that these quilts were made by soldiers recuperating from injuries or illness. This is certainly the case for some. But the V & A seems to think that many were made by Indian servants and not by the soldiers themselves. Certainly the style fits in with Indian textiles.

Some of the pieces are very small, especially the diamonds surrounding the central area.

The "Star of India". The throw is worn, faded and also stained. Some areas seem in better condition than ohters - I think that the fading is due to sun damage, and this has made some areas very brittle, especially the central areas. The stains have a dark cast, as if it were ink.

The words surrounding the centre star are "Heaven's light our guide". This is the motto of the order of chivalry known as the Star of India, founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. It has not been awarded since 1947 (partitioning of India and Pakistan) and has been a dormant order since 2009 (when the last member died). This order is associated with India, which fits in with the idea that many of these military quilts came from India. Whether the owner was part of this order is a question that begs further research. What a pity the name of the house or owner is not known.

It was originally decorated with felt circles and beads, many of which have now disappeared. You can see here the over sewing that holds the pieces together.

More decorations.....

Surrounding the central star is a monument....

An anchor....

On the right side the patches look rather gray and there are repairs where the patches have come apart...

..but on the reverse you can see that the colours were originally much brighter and included white, lavender and purples, greens, blues and beige plus a yellow. Some pf these pieces have been pieced from even smaller pieces. Evidently some colours were in limited supply. Red and Black are the predominant colours - these would reflect the use of these colours in the "Redcoat" military uniforms of the day.

To contrast the front and the back again - back is much more colourful...

The edging is a tape and a fringe - this has been sewn on by machine. Probably intended as a cover for a table or other piece of furniture.

I think that there is much more research to do with this item - one for my retirement?