Peacoats from the world...

[Peacoat]

I would be interested to see what a British peacoat looks like and how the wool compares to the USN peacoat.

Here is a photo of Churchill in a Royal Navy Reefer, I'm not sure how this would differ from a regular peacoat:

In some areas a reefer is a term used for an officer's peacoat. Officers and Chiefs don't much wear them anymore, as they have gone to the bridge coat. US Navy regs still refer to them as reefers, however.

 

[Tony B]

I had an old peacoat from my grandad but he was mercant navy and I have never heard of the Royal navy issuing the things, it seems to be either oilskins or duffle coat when the weather was bad with jumpers underneath.

old sailors I have spoken to, I used to work with a fella on aircraft carriers in the pacific and one who was on subs pretty much everywhere from first week of WW2 to the end, when they mentioned reefer coats they were reffering to officers double breasted tunics.

This was the same in the german navy as well where on subs the sign of a veteran was a very beaten up old woolen reefer/tunic, the rougher the better as they were workwear and is showed that you have been there ,seen it, done it.

Not really my period but I swear I have seen pics of RN ratings in peacoats in the dreadnought period upto and including WW1 but not later, so there probably is such a thing as a RN peacoat but it would be a very old rare beast.

 

[Trotsky]

As far as I know, no such thing existed. The pictures and uniform references have the RN Rating wear a long blue overcoat, or a duffle while on board ship. Canada may be different, I don't know.

 

[Italian-wiseguy]

Well I was looking for images and somehow ended up with this:
http://inel.wordpress.com/2008/03/2...-during-sarkozy-state-visit-to-windsor-draft/

It looks like sailors are issued with the same long DB overcoats as officers...

still I'm pretty sure to have seen somewhere pcitures of UK sailors in peacoat (maybe I'm mistaken);

and what about the two brands I was referring in the other thread?
Gloverall used to call it "peacoat" last year, but nowadays it's a "Churchill reefer":
http://www.gloverall.com/shop-item?id=3

Camplin (that looks like an italian-purchased british brand, or so it claims) used to have a site that has mysteriously disappeared...
looking for it I found a link in another site with a short story of a mr Camplin (whose photograph is provided) supplying peacoats to the Royal Navy and even having the idea himself of adapting the officers' reefer to common sailors' needs...
http://reposicalzature.posterous.com/52377398

maybe that's a marketing thing, though...

(Maybe we could merge the threads..)

 

[guygardner]

(Maybe we could merge the threads..)

I agree.

 

[guygardner]

Here's another UK company making peacoats and reefers. On their website they claim they first made them in the 1800s:

http://www.peacoatsuk.co.uk/

 

[Doctor Damage]

Nothing I have read or seen on the topic has indicated the RN or RCN issued pea coats to sailors in WW2, although since uniforms are always changing it's possibly the RN did issue them at one time or another (they issued extra-short duffle coats in WW1, but longer ones in WW2).

 

[Doctor Damage]

Russian pea coats ("bushlat") in a recent photo. Note the two types: (1) twelve button front with a cuff seam, and (2) ten button front with plain cuffs (not shown). The twelve button version is the older type but still seems to be issued with the newer ten button version. I really want one of these but aside from eBay I'm not sure how to get one.



Here's a young Russian sailor with the newer ten button bushlat (note plain cuffs), slightly oversize.




- - - - -

For reference, here's a guide to sizing Russian military clothing:
http://spetsnaz.su/sizes/en/

 

[Dinerman]

I gave this one to a friend of mine up here in Nova Scotia, but got some shots of it before I handed it off.

 

[Peacoat]

I have never seen hard evidence the RN ever issued pea coats (as we know them today), but by deductive reasoning, I am convinced they existed at some point in the past. We (the US) issued our sailors pea coats as far back as the late 1800s, and we adopted most of our ideas, military and otherwise, from the Mother Country. We surely got the idea for pea coats from another country, and it was probably the UK as our connection there was far closer than that of any other nation.

Perhaps one of our fellow members from that history rich country could do some research on Navy clothing and give us a definitive answer? This question has been bouncing around for many years with no resolution. I am of the opinion that RN no peacoat pictures have appeared because none has been issued since the advent of the modern camera. I mean if we can get a picture of a mummified fairy, we would have a picture of a RN peacoat, if it existed.

Mummified Fairy (less scarce than a RN peacoat).

 

[Peacoat]

Ever notice how the Dinerman seems to have everything, and if he doesn't have it, he can find definitive pictures of it?

Now, if he can just find a picture of the elusive RN peacoat (see the parallel thread--British or Canadian Peacoats).

 

[Dinerman]

I'll try to dig up some better pictures of it, but I have a 1968 issue Canadian navy peacoat. Flapped breast pocket, red blanket lining.

 

[Italian-wiseguy]

Dinerman's collection is impressive!! Thank you!!

 

[Italian-wiseguy]

Dinerman, is there anything you DON'T have??

PS
How the "merging threads" thing works? I think that would be easier if we merge this thread with the one I opened (or possibily, with mr Peacoat's permission, with his super-extensive thread on US peacoats)

 

[guygardner]

Aha! So they do exist. I guess you must see a lot more navy surplus in Halifax. What is the wool like? Is it kersey-like or lighter? Great-looking coat by the way.

 

[guygardner]

I really like the cut and design of the Russian coat. I love the long row of buttons combined with the short and streamlined cut.

 

[Dinerman]

Very heavy, with a heavy blanket lining and satin lined sleeves. I'd say significantly heavier than its US counterpart. It has molded plastic buttons which look like braided leather ones. These same buttons were used on the big green Canadian (Army? Navy?) overcoats you see around with the quilted linings.
For both those overcoats and peacoats like this, I've also seen nearly identical civilian versions in different fabrics- but same cut, detailing and hardware.

As far as naval surplus goes, yeah, we get a lot of it. You can't go into a thrift shop without tripping over half a dozen pairs of older Navy captoe service shoes, and an equal amount of mint green navy uniform shirts.

 

[Doctor Damage]

The guys on StyleForum would really love the cut of that Russian coat - they seem to prefer skinny stuff. Dinerman: can you comment on the labeled size of that coat versus the real-world fit?

 

[Doctor Damage]

Now we need to find photos of Canadian naval personnel wearing them!

 

[Dinerman]

Go by measurements. I don't think mine was marked as to size.