Customer Reviews

British Battledress 1937-61 (Men at Arms Series, 112)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The only volume this far covering British Battle Dress in its many forms from 1937 to the 1970s. Carter Rila doesn't mention that it also inspired the German Felduniform 1944. Not sure why he goes on at length about the history of BD; many of his details are wrong. Pick up the book and you'll like it - a fast guide to BD and its various variants, and so far, the only game in town for that. For wartime BD see also Brian L. Davis' BRITISH ARMY UNIFORMS AND INSIGNIA OF WORLD WAR TWO, THE BRITISH SOLDIER and THE CANADIAN SOLDIER by Jean Bouchery, TOMMY by Gordon, the other TOMMY with color photos, and DRESSED TO KILL.

If you don't know who he is, stop here!
This is a quick overview of the development, purpose, and service life of the famous British Battle Dress. Its design was copied by members of the commonwealth forces and was an influence on the Wool Field Jacket (nicknamed Ike Jacket) of 1943 and the M1950 Wool OD Jacket worn by the US Army and the blue jacket worn for a time by the US Air Force personnel in the fifties.(There is a fascinating subject the USAF from 1950 to 1980. How about it, Osprey?)

The Battle Dress was designed to fit like a sack of potatoes, in other words, loose and capacious, and non constricting. No longer would soldiers go to war wearing severely tailored coats with immaculate brass buttons. That would be reserved for walking out order or what is now known as service dress. It was made of rough wooly material and the waist length jacket buttoned to the high waisted trousers which had a first aid packet pocket and a map pocket on the front of the thighs. The enlisted men's version jacket was worn with a collarless shirt. The jacket was only partially lined, omitting padding and trimmings so it did not require dry cleaning and could be washed in a field laundry.
The officer's version was lined at the collar so it could be worn open with a collared shirt and tie. (still that useless thing!) The BD was worn in temperate climates such as NW Europe and in Italy in the winter. Other orders such as Khaki Drill and Jungle Green (see that book title) were worn in hot climate areas.
During the war the wearing of any sort of ceremonial uniform was suspended but the dress side caps of the Corps and Regiments were worn as a sort of walking out dress when on home station and also with the Khaki Drill.
Because of the universal desire by soldiers to smarten up in peacetime, by the end of the fifties, the baggy, dumpy looking BD was being replaced for everyday wear by the tailored service dress (see British Army 1965-1980 in this series.) and the combat clothing was now composed of various wind and rain resistant cotton garments.