WWII British Uniforms Guide: British Army

[Mike1939]

Great to see Jeep! My father was a DR, serving right through to the Malaya Emergency, where he was knocked off his bike by an ambush wire. The Communist Terrorists then tried to shoot him with his own weapon as he lay smashed on the road. Somehow it jammed so they battered him with it before leaving him for dead in a monsoon ditch. He never knew why they didn't shoot him with theirs. Perhaps they thought him fatally wounded by the wire and battering.

My father was with 42 Commando in Malaya at that time.

 

[rpoppers]

Can you ID my buttons?

I've got a few brass buttons which my stepmother left me. She was scottish, and in London during WWII. She told us that the buttons were given to her off a young man's uniform, who had a shine for her and could have gotten in trouble for losing his buttons. They have an elaborate design: what I think of as scottish lion and unicorn rearing on both sides of a shield. There is a small crown above the shield, and a tiny beast--another lion?--on top of the crown. Across the bottom are scrolls of ribbons/wreaths. They say Birmingham Button Co., Ltd. on the back. They have shanks. I'd like to know what branch of the service they were used by; had thought they were RAF but have recently seen some of those and these are very different. It looks like you've done extensive research on WWII uniforms. If you don't recognize these, is there someone you can refer me to? [huh] Thanks for your help.
rpoppers

 

[dr greg]

the Don R's

Nice little article here about WW2 DR's
http://www.diggerhistory2.info/army/1941/chapter10.htm

 

[Smithy]

I've got a few brass buttons which my stepmother left me. She was scottish, and in London during WWII. She told us that the buttons were given to her off a young man's uniform, who had a shine for her and could have gotten in trouble for losing his buttons. They have an elaborate design: what I think of as scottish lion and unicorn rearing on both sides of a shield. There is a small crown above the shield, and a tiny beast--another lion?--on top of the crown. Across the bottom are scrolls of ribbons/wreaths. They say Birmingham Button Co., Ltd. on the back. They have shanks. I'd like to know what branch of the service they were used by; had thought they were RAF but have recently seen some of those and these are very different. It looks like you've done extensive research on WWII uniforms. If you don't recognize these, is there someone you can refer me to? [huh] Thanks for your help.
rpoppers

If they look like these...

...then they are standard British General Service buttons.

 

[the hairy bloke]

HELP!

Did Indian Army troops, deployed in Italy, wear berets?

 

[madmart2908]

did WW2 british officers ever wear commando combined operations patches on their service dress No2 uniforms ? I know some did on battle dress uniforms but did they ever do so on service dress ? I ask because I have come across a supposed 1940's Fad officers service dress No2 uniform ( with royal artillery buttons on jacket ) that has commando combined operations patches sewn on it which is for sale which im interested in buying for 1940's re-actments, would these patches have been worn by officers on this uniform ?

 

[Doctor Jones]

Sorry to revive this old thread, but I'm a new member and I thought I'd chime in with some photos from my area of interest, the Highland regiments.

This photo of some Gordon Highlanders in the Phoney War period shows the transition from the WWI-like Service Dress to the familiar WWII Battle Dress. What I find most interesting is the pairing of the Glengarry with BD and the TOS with the old SD.

Pipe Major John MacLellan, Seaforth Highlanders, at Edinburgh Castle in 1940

Royal Scots Fusiliers and Gordon Highlanders in Italy

The Black Watch in France 1944

Seaforth Highlanders Of Canada, North Africa

Cameron Highlanders of Canada, North Africa

Officer, France 1944

Gordon Highlanders officer and American officer, one of my favourites

 

[Doctor Jones]

Battledress was quite an inovative uniform when it was designed in the 1930s, and quite forward thinking (I belive the German and American had copies of it later on in the war, but that I may be wrong).

Yes the German copy was the M44 field blouse. Well not a "copy" so much as obviously inspired by Battle Dress

The American copy, of course, was the famous "Ike Jacket".

Here's the man himself with the original Ike Jacket, obviously copied from the British BD jacket

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisen...lied_Commanders_after_Germany_Surrendered.jpg

 

[Doctor Jones]

This is my kit

Playing my Starck pipes made in 1945

At Fort MacArthur

 

[Cooper A-2]

Nice thread.
Maybe someone can help out with Pattern 37 Battledress trousers made out of denim.
Looking for those pants to complete my Dunkirk soldier...Have a perfect Pattern 37denim battle dress blouse , now I need the matching trousers.
Please help.

 

[GHT]

Nice thread.
Maybe someone can help out with Pattern 37 Battledress trousers made out of denim.
Looking for those pants to complete my Dunkirk soldier...Have a perfect Pattern 37denim battle dress blouse , now I need the matching trousers.
Please help.

Try Kevin at Seal Military. He attends many re-enactments and 40's inspired festivals. Check his website, see if he has that which you seek, if he doesn't have it in your size ask him to keep you in mind. More often than not he can source it.

 

[Cooper A-2]

Try Kevin at Seal Military. He attends many re-enactments and 40's inspired festivals. Check his website, see if he has that which you seek, if he doesn't have it in your size ask him to keep you in mind. More often than not he can source it.

Thx a lot!
Happy New Year!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Yes the German copy was the M44 field blouse. Well not a "copy" so much as obviously inspired by Battle Dress

The American copy, of course, was the famous "Ike Jacket".

Here's the man himself with the original Ike Jacket, obviously copied from the British BD jacket

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisen...lied_Commanders_after_Germany_Surrendered.jpg

Captured battledress was very popular with U-boat crews.