Photograph of Sergeant Major James Beardsley standing with his left hand resting on his sword. He is wearing dress uniform with a medal and a fur hat. This photograph, printed by Jabez Hughes in 1883, is a carbon print pasted over the original photograph.

Sergeant Major James Beardsley served with the Royal Horse Artillery during the Crimean War. Throughout the war Queen Victoria had taken an active interest in the welfare of the troops and on their return from the Crimea she met a number of the veterans at Buckingham Palace, Chatham Military Hospital and Aldershot Garrison. Following these meetings she commissioned a series of photographs of the veterans from the photographers Joseph Cundall and Robert Howlett.