In 1832, King William IV commissioned the French artist Alexandre Dubois-Drahonet to paint his niece, the future Queen Victoria. This portrait formed part of a much larger commission, which saw Dubois-Drahonet produce a series of one hundred paintings depicting British sailors, marines and soldiers. These works documented recent changes in the uniforms and weaponry of the British armed forces. Dubois-Drahonet was primarily known as a portraitist, having worked for the French courts of Charles X and Louis-Philippe. However, his British military paintings have formed a useful archive of the look of British servicemen and others in the 1830s.

The sitters for Dubois-Drahonet's British military portrait series varied in rank, service and regiment. Some are identified by name, while others are classified more generally by their rank and regiment or service. Of the original one hundred paintings, ninety-one remain in the Royal Collection. Among these portraits are three depicting boys from the Royal Military Asylum (RMA) in Chelsea. All three are named and their ages are also noted on the original paintings. Interestingly one of the missing paintings is of an unnamed officer of the RMA - no further detail is available as to whether the painting still exists.

The left-hand image features Drum-Major John McDermott. He is depicted wearing a scarlet parade uniform accented with blue facings and gold lace, and a black cocked hat adorned with red and green plumes. He stands facing the viewer and salutes with his left hand to his forehead. McDermott was nine years old at the time of the portrait. Other sources record that McDermott and his elder brother Michael had been admitted to the RMA on 18 June 1828. His father Michael had served as a drummer in the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot, but was recorded as deceased when the McDermott boys joined the RMA, both Michael and John McDermott went on to join the father's old regiment. Sadly both McDermott brothers died with their comrades, as their regiment was all but destroyed in the ill-fated retreat from Kabul in 1842.

The centre image presents Colour Corporal Joseph Smith. He is dressed in a red coatee with a visible white shirt collar, high-waisted blue trousers, and a black shako. Smith carries the Asylum's blue colour, which features the White Rose of York at its centre, surrounded by the Union wreath (i.e. composed of the rose, thistle, and shamrock) and surmounted by the Crown. This Regimental colour, along with a King's colour, was presented by The Duke of York in 1825, and both were retired in 1897 when new colours were presented by The Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary). These colours are laid up in the school chapel in Dover. Smith was eight and a half years old when painted and his father served in the Grenadier Guards. Smith did not join the army once he reached 14, rather he took up as an apprentice tailor with a Mr Elias Cragg on his departure from the RMA.

The right-hand image depicts Triangle Boy John Sheay, wearing a red coatee, high-waisted blue trousers, and a large cap with a scarlet band and welts. He holds a triangle in his left hand and the beater in his right. Sheay was seven and a half years old when the portrait was painted, and his father served in the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot. John Sheay had joined the RMA on 18 March 1828 as an infant aged 3. It seems that young Sheay's parents departed for service overseas in Ceylon in 1828. Sadly the parents never saw their son again, as he died at the RMA on 31 March 1833.

The Dubois-Drahonet military uniform portraits, including the three RMA boys, were displayed in a 1990 exhibition at the National Army Museum - their last public outing. Better quality images of the three RMA-associated paintings are available on-line by searching the Royal Collection Trust website, using the search term 'Royal Military Asylum'.