BattleDress Question

[stillwell]

Hey Guys,

Quick question about WWII Battle dress. I had heard somewhere that the Brits sometimes wore Canadian battledress, but there wasn't too much information on the subject. Would you guys be able to shed some light on the subject?

 

[DNO]

As far as I know British troops were never issued Canadian battledress but if they could scrounge them, they did. Canadian battledress was somewhat greener in shade and was made of finer quality material. In addition, while the Brits adopted an economy model with exposed buttons, Canadian battledress retained the original design (the fly front and pockets) throughout the war. Basically, it looked neater than the British version and, like soldiers everywhere when confronted with a better item, if the Brits could scrounge a set of Canadian battledress, they would.

 

[Two Types]

I've never heard of it being officially issued but it was certainly coveted by British soldiers. That was just one of the many fashions among British soldiers in WW2 (such as the fashion for wearing German belts, converting leather jerkins into jackets and getting tailors to alter battledress trousers whilst on leave in Brussels etc).

I know this is a shameless plug, but I wrote an entire chapter on fashion (and the love of changing uniforms) in my book To the Victor the Spoils

 

[Fastuni]

I wrote an entire chapter on fashion (and the love of changing uniforms) in my book "To the Victor the Spoils"

Which is an excellent and fascinating read that I can only recommend.

 

[stillwell]

Thank you guys! I appreciate the help.

Two-Types, that book looks incredibly interesting, I'll check it out sometime!

 

[Stanley Doble]

I don't know the details but I do know that Canada declared war on Germany 1 week after the British, in September 1939. Canada's economy was put on a war footing immediately and Canada became a leading supplier to Britain, of trucks, weapons, food etc.

Whether Canada supplied uniforms or cloth I don't know but it would not surprise me.

 

[Smithy]

Perhaps slightly off topic but maybe of interest nevertheless, one of the most interesting uses of British BD was actually by the Kreigsmarine. The fall of France in 1940 saw stockpiles of BD (mostly the 1937 Pattern) captured and they were put into service particularly within the U-boat service of the KM.

 

[Edward]

As far as I know British troops were never issued Canadian battledress but if they could scrounge them, they did. Canadian battledress was somewhat greener in shade and was made of finer quality material. In addition, while the Brits adopted an economy model with exposed buttons, Canadian battledress retained the original design (the fly front and pockets) throughout the war. Basically, it looked neater than the British version and, like soldiers everywhere when confronted with a better item, if the Brits could scrounge a set of Canadian battledress, they would.

Didn't Captain Mainwaring wear Canadian BD?

 

[DNO]

Didn't Captain Mainwaring wear Canadian BD?

I don't really know. Didn't watch the show...but from the stills I've looked at his BD certainly seems to have that greener look of Canadian battledress.

I've been checking. Apparently Canadian BD was made in quite a few more sizes than the British version. A soldier could get a better fit...well worth the scrounge, I would think.

 

[Edward]

I'm sure I read that whatever the differences were, it sat much more neatly open at the neck, so officers often went looking for the Canadian stuff. Mainwaring's vanity and pretension would logically push him that direction...