I've recently been speaking with an elderly relative (96 and still going strong!) who can recall an uncle who served in the british army and wore the Bearskin so I'm presuming he was in the Guards

Unfortunately she cannot remember when this was.

He was a Harry PICKERING b. 1874 in Malta the son of a soldier

My questions are this:

Did all the Guards regiments wear the Bearskin and if so from what period?

If he joined during a period of conflict i.e. Boer War, WW1 would the bearskin have been issued as part of his kit or was it only issued to career soldiers?

Any help in narrowing down my search for this man would be appreciated.

Stickymone