Fascinating video, I served in the British army from the early seventies until 2013, I always wondered about the evolution of our uniforms, I also wore some quite hopeless bits of uniform, however by the mid 2000's the uniforms had a pragamatic sense of purpose......thankfully!
when Scotland leaves Britain the rUK army uniform will have to change again as the union flag will be obsolete .... Scotland's place is in the EU and not the vile and corrupt UK
One correction: The Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC) was formed in 1949, ie after WW2. Prior to that it was the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). My mother Christine Leslie served in the ATS (attached Intelligence Corps) as a sergeant, working on 'traffic analysis' in signals intelligence. She served at a number of secret locations, including Bletchley Park (Hut 6) in 1944/45, only talking about her service in later life. As a family we are very proud of her contribution to the war effort. She passed away only last year (2020) at the age of 96. Her older sister Sylvia also served in the ATS (attached Signals) during the same years of the war.
My Grandmother Betty Dransfield Yendell was an ATS Corporal on a gunsight in London until after D day then as an operator in Belgium till the war ended . She meet my Grandad who was a SFC with US Army while stationed near London and was married in Belgium 2 years later . Her CO actually had his wife's wedding dress flown across the channel for the ceremony .
I don't doubt the validity of your statement at all, but when you say something like this and don't provide a source, it doesn't mean anything. This is especially true if you're trying to say someone is wrong and you're correcting them. Sincerely, a historian.
Sidenote, it wasnt an immediate change from musket to bolt action rifles, the martini-henry rifle was a breech loader, single shot trapdoor mechanism rifle that replaced the british army's muskets which intern was replaced by the bolt action rifle we see here (I believe its a Lee metford rifle)
Totally missed the most important aspect of the change from tunic to battle dress. The latter was designed for use in a mechanised army - troops that would spend a lot of time in vehicles. The battle dress allows you to bend at the waist, it was considered more comfortable to sit in.
The Buffs - indeed, known by their facing colour. Specifically, there were two Regiments at the time who hasd a Colonel called Howard; this caused confusion, so they were differentiated by their facing colours. One was the Buff Howards, known as the Buffs, and the other was the Green Howards.
My regiment was almalgamated from the Buffs and a few other Reg. P.W.R.R, 2BTN. We inherited very distinguished regimental colours and battle honours from their heroism.
The Epaulettes were designed to hold bandoliers and cartridge boxes in place and stop them from falling off the shoulder, fringes on them were put officers outfits and came from the fringes on the scarves or sashes.
Battledress was a product of the move toward "utility" clothing beginning with Jaeger's onesies in early 19th C, the great thing about woollen BD is that even when wet, you stay warm (hence movement toward merino first layer by SF/ infanteers)!
Indeed! Once, in 1988, when I was living as a volunteer on a kibbutz on the red-line between Israel and occupied Palestine, an elderly woman emerged from a dwelling facing the alley where my boss and and I were walking. She was gesticulating and speaking in Yiddish or Polish. My boss was a Yemenite Jew so he went over and they managed to work out what she was trying to say. I was apparently the tallest and skinniest man she had seen since her husband had died, and she wanted to give me the military coat that he'd worn in the War of Independence in 1948. It was green, pure wool, quite scratchy and reached past my knees. I was told that it had probably been "liberated" from a British army barracks raid sometime between the 20's and 40's. That coat saw me through some rough nights, not only during my time in Israel but later that year in Brussels, on my way home to Canada. As late as 1998, it protected me for two nights outside in Halifax, NS when my landlord locked me out of my boarding-room. It kept the wind and rain and snow right out!
17:14 What you call an austrian knot is actually Hungarian hussar knot and it had an original function of stopping saber cuts before it became ornamental.
Another knit-pick is standing with that flintlock musket in front of a post-Crimean War uniform. Plus the "expert's" examples of the evolution of firearms, as if we went from flintlock, smoothbore muskets to Lee-Enfields just like that.
@@SStupendous it tends to get really messy trying to break down the progression in more detail because an awful lot of "new" British weapons were just very gradual modifications-upon-retrofits-upon-reworks of earlier designs to save on costs. The breech-loading paper-cartridge Snider-Enfield rifle, for example, was made by converting the existing 1853 Enfield muzzle-loading musket. The Number 4 service rifle, which carried on through WWII until 1957, was a highly refined version of the same 10-round magazine Lee-Enfield rifle designed in 1895 and used in the second Boer war. There were relatively few brand new designs.
@@tommcewan7936 Regardless you get the point, surely. It jumps over way too much. It's the history of the British uniform, so it might as well be halfway accurate. Why should an 'improvement' not count? Snider-Enfield is an infamous and important British rifle.
My ex was in the US Marines. They switched from heavy cotton olive drab fatigues to jungle camouflage in a lighter material. Much nicer as I didn't have to iron them. He did have the dress blues, tailored to him, the neck collar nearly chocked him every time. I had to help him put the wool coat on, it was that tight.
It's funny because when I wasin during '09s, ironing our cmmies was the order of the day. It wasn't until the adoption of the MCCCU (aka MARPATs) did the Corps (apparently) go back to not pressing one's cammies.
Worth noting, to a certain degree, that surviving clothing in general is smallish, but some of that has to do with limited use. Especially in the 18th and 19th century, reusing, retailoring, and repurposing clothing was common, but small clothing was less easy to reuse.
But, when you look at the cloth used to make uniforms, say during the American Revolution, the yardage of cloth seems to be more reflective of similar average size to today.
@@jimmyboynottknown7713 Aw sweetie, bless your heart wide open. You know the British Army used uniforms during the American War of Independence too, don't ya?
@@McGintyNHD there was no war of independence just a treaty signed then a small town made 3 day fight when after that time the Whitehouse got burnt to ashes, if you lot are actually taught anything at all
My personal favorite would be after the Napoleonic Wars but before Crimea. 1820s to 1840s. Belltop Shakos while not practical are aesthetic perfection.
21:30 No mention that the steel Brodie helmet was introduced after it was found that a very large number of the casualties were from head injuries caused by artillery shrapnel. The brodie helmet shape was chosen because it was the most simplest and economical to produce.
Are you just basing that on the muzzle? - because the first Lee-Enfield had that style muzzle, as it is just a different rifling one would have to be very gifted indeed to spot that. The magazine looks long enough for a ten rounder, the Metford (and maybe the very first Enfield) was eight round. Where is Ferguson when you need him!
My brother is serving, Christmas this year he asked me to sew velcro strips on his sleeves. I am now taking that as me being a part of military uniform history...
Very interesting, depite its limitations. Cramming 400 odd years of historical developments into 30 minutes inevitably results in omissions and will therefore disappoint some people. If you consider this as an overview of a small selection of uniforms I hope you will be inspired to learn more detail.
@@SxeirthanuI can give you some examples. The DPM (camouflage) shirt as displayed is of a type introduced after 1995 and likely dates from the early 2000s - not 1980. DPM was introduced into service in 1970 - not 1960 as suggested (i.e. not "twenty years before" 1980). The introduction of the first ever 'universal issue' camouflage uniform of the British Army (also likely the first of any major armed forces) being a particularly important milestone.
@@badgertheskinnycow most people will forgive and forget as a basic overview with a broad timeline. I dont think anyone is expecting depth here but point taken that some inaccuracies could have been avoided with some further research
There are a lot of comments about steps being missed, particularly in later eras. Fact is the uniforms evolve a little bit every few years, so you can't have every iteration or the vid would be hours long. In 29 years (1990-2019) I had the old cotton DPM stuff, CS95, 2 versions of desert DMP, CS95 in MTP and then finally the MTP PCS with all the annoying velcro. I understand there's been a new one issued since then with less velcro. This isn't including all the versions of barrack dress, service dress etc.
The "1980's" combat kit is Combat 95 (introduced in 1995) - which replaced the previous versions of temperate DPM worn since the 1970's (I wore three different patterns between 1983 and getting my Cbt 95 in 1996). My last unit started getting MTP in 2008 (along with Mk6A) helmets for those deploying only at the time (handed back on return).
You have missed out a very early important stage i. e. the Newly Modelled Army or the New Model Army, at the start of the English Civil War soldiers wore coats of a colour chosen by their Regimental Colonel. When the New Model Army was formed they were given a standard colour, Red, but a lining the same colour of their original coat. This become the colour of their facings on the English Redcoat Uniforms.
Yes, I had always thought that the New Model Army was the first to use a standardized uniform (of course, the word "uniform" indicates standardization), and that red had been chosen simply because red dye was either the cheapest or most readily available (probably both) among dye colours at that time.
When the New Model Army was being formed officers did not wear any uniform clothing, they wore outfits befitting their station and showed their position in life.
I do not think there were any "rifle" Regiments in the New Model Army, there were suggestion that some were used by sharpshooters but that was never confirmed. First Rifles were brought into the "British" Army about the time of King George, outside the remit of the above period.
Combat Dress was copied from the Americans in the post war period. Initially this was in a green cotton satin material in three layers. DPM camouflage pattern material was only introduced in 1971 for combat clothing, although airborne and specialist troops had the camouflage Denison smock and the hooded Ventile smock from around 1944.
The DPM Shirt is part of the Combat Soldier 95 System (CS95) a new clothing system field in 1995. The Combat Soldier 95 System (CS95) was a major jump forward in both: design and fabrics and when shown side by side with a DPM shirt from the 1980s the two may look similar, but on closer inspection they will look different.
A major jump forward??? It was substandard and the material was almost threadbare from the get go.The buttons drooped from their fastings and snagged on cam nets. The crutch area wore out in 6 months max. The trial kit from the CS95 was good, more or less like a version of the jungle kit, which should have gone on general issue. It looked good, was durable and the troops loved it. It made me laugh when CS95 won The Defence Clothing Design Awards. Like there was more than one entry! The army seems to be bent on making troops look like a buncha cunts. Look at all the iterations of various combat jackets and trousers, one I dubbed Pakistani Special Forces Cam.
@@stephentaylor2119 Thanks for replying Stephen. Your right in saying the CS95 was shit and didn't last very long, because it didn't, I have heard that is was never made or designed to last long in the first place. The 'Canadian style' buttons were never sewn in the correct way hence the sagging, not that would stop them catching on camo nets. The Troop Trial versions were best, the worst was of course was the earlier version often called '94-Pattern'. However my main point was to say the system made use of more modern fabrics like MVP (can't call it goretex), polar fleece and ripstop cotton. Field gloves that didn't turn to crap when they were wet like the NI gloves. As for the design part made be I got carried away on that one. but when you look at other countries at the time, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the US most parts of CS95 are better designed than what they had.
hey im sorry but @13:00 she is calling a magazine fed bolt action a breach loading firearm, how does she know so little and yet be employed in a literal military museum
During the Civil War regiments wore uniforms according to their colonel's favourite colour: hence Prince Rupert's Bluecoats, both infantry and cavalry. The colonel would have raised,, equipped and paid for his regiment which normally would have been named after him, eg Saye and Seals, Hammonds, Capels, etc. Red became the uniform colour when Cromwell formed the New Model Army because he disliked the private nature of the regiments, and wanted an independent army. Which would fight for parliament. His new army took the uniforms of the Parliamentary Eastern Association, which was red. Simple as that.
An outstanding video. I especially appreciated the showing of the picture of Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth (II) in the uniform of a mechanic/driver. BUT, fingers off the triggers, please. Thank you.
Because it is a museum. This is the storehouse for all the things that can't be on display right now because they're too delicate or they don't have room. They get rotated onto display or you can see them on request if you're a student / researcher.
The clothes in the first DPM is combat 95 style and not from the 1980’s, it was designed as a multi layered system and issued from 1995 hence combat 95….
@@EDProductionsYT the Germans were really the first to issue DPM clothing in WW2 but the British army only started wearing DPM in the late 60’s, the uniform used in the Falklands was heavy when it got wet and took to long to dry out, my dad was in the Falklands as a combat medical officer and he told me how bad some of the clothing was, I joined in 1987 as a combat medic and issued the same type only had too wait 8 years for the new Combat 95 and it was soooooo much better to wear….🇬🇧🇬🇧
@@Kris155mm I hated the crisp packet with a passion (Gortex to Endex) never worn the Chinese fighting suit because you couldn’t move in the bleeding thing and I always purchased my own boots, brittan boots were the best for me until they fell apart after a few repairs and years of faithful service our SSM didn’t mind..
The museum employee "I think it's an Enfiled" Me as soon as she brings the guns "well, well, well. How Intersting. A Brown Bess and Enfield. So, where is she hiding the Martini-Henry?"
If I remember correctly, the USA armed forces reduced their use of Velcro-type fasteners after getting complaints from the troops. Not only are buttons quieter, but they allow for more storage in each pocket.
@@bogtrottername7001 it's Americans like yourself that get it, all the rest are just bigheaded loudmouthed bragging think they own and create the entire universe, so full of assumptions rumour refusal dismissal of acknowledgement speculation indoctrinated delusion, unless its a certain part of America that shares that mentality. You're okay though you have understanding perspective the ability to see the entire picture in the frame not just 1 singular section of it.
as a gun owner I automatically brace myself when I see "amateur" people wielding guns around, pointing at each other, finger on the trigger all the time etc... 😯
Same here. I cringed and was somewhat surprised that a curator in a military museum didn't observe safe practises. Apart from that it was a good brief history.
I find it hilarious that modern ceremonial uniforms would probably be more functional than those worn to battle in history. Of course everything serves a purpose, back in the day when battles were mostly fought in open fields, it was important to portray the strength of your army as oppose to hiding in the bushes.
A very interesting video. I spent all my working life with the military, mostly with one corps. I could go into a mess with perhaps 30 or 40 officers and it would be hard to find two dressed exactly alike. There were some very individual takes on the word ‘uniform’.
Adore her knowledge of history, passion, and the way her moves with such grace and confidence. Amazing young lady that at 90 years old will still be worthy of hanging on every word.
Very interesting. My mother was a WAC in the US Army in WWII. When I was in high school she gave me her 'Eisenhower Jacket, which looked very much like you WWII British WAC Jacket. I wore it for a couple of years as a jacket when we went camping. It was very comfortable until I out grew it. My parents met on duty in 47 in Germany when they both were serving in the Army of Occupation. Dad served from 1941 until 1962. Then he was recalled from retirement from 66 to 68.
It had already been planned to replace the coatee with the tunic (the short-lived double-breasted version) when the Crimean War broke out. Similar tunics were already in service with many European armies including other Crimean combatants such as France, Sardinia and Russia. Therefore conditions in the Crimea did not prompt the coatee's replacement in the British Army but they certainly confirmed it was time for a change.
You didn't say that the WW2 battledress blouse was an officer's version, hence the open collar. Other ranks BD blouses had a closed collar fastened with two brass hooks.
Great video !! -Just one thing that I noticed was the example used for DPM. Going on the buttons, I'd have placed this combat "jacket" / shirt to be post-2000. Earlier examples like the '95 had shiny green plastic buttons that were swapped out for the current style of matte plastic buttons. I thought the 1980 and "Falklands" era shirts were more basic than the example used here. Happy to stand corrected, though.
Unfortunately not. Because you can count the facings and the whole person is defeated etc etc. Brandon F make a good video on the topic if you care to learn more
@@mickmorrissey16 I've attached the link to the video of 'Why did the British wear red?' if you weren't able to find it but wanted to learn more. ua-cam.com/video/2-sFPXJY_uA/v-deo.html
S2000 , S95 has colour bleed on the underside of the cloth (like tropical DPM) , S2000 is printed on a yellow/khaki backed cloth which makes the colours more darker to the point they go black when wet.
I am from the States. I found this video very interesting. Especially, how the tradition effected the uniforms for such a long time. I wonder if there are videos like this for the French and Spanish in English. Thank you for sharing.
As an American, and a Marine, I always find the similarities between our Marine Corps Uniforms and the British interesting. Extra Special for me because my grandfather was a Royal Marine. An additional one is the Marine Corps Band Dress Uniform (President's Own). They wear the Red Coat and could easily be mistaken for a British Military Unit.
The curator is wrong. That DPM shirt is CS95 ..introduced in 1995 funnily enough ( Trials from 92ish) The difference amongst many other things,is that it has the slotted buttons instead if the 70s/80s style four hole button. I realise no one probably cares ,but as a veteran I feel i must correct the mistake made. I wore both types of uniform and usually went and bought better kit elsewhere😁
Anyone know why she starts talking about breachloaders and then completely skips over the Martini Henry and the Snider and just goes straight to the Lee Metford?
Umm....very few, if any, British troops in the first Boer War wore khaki! It was, in part, their experience in that war - of being shot by Boers from hundreds of metres away, Boers that they couldn't even see - that convinced the British army to adopt khaki as a standard colour for their uniforms.
It also led to significant change in tactics, as well. My People taught them quite a few valuable lessons. It's just a shame that they never learnt ethics, though.
When trying on the dress uniform jacket Alice exclaims "It feels quite small for me" and is clearly surprised at the relatively small size of it. It's only small by today's standard as a century ago people on average were shorter/smaller. From a quick Googling it appears that the average height of a British soldier was 165cm/5'5" and average weight was about 60 to 64kg/9-10stone/132-141lb. For comparison the average British man in the current day has a height of 178cm and weight of 86.2kg which is 8% taller and 35% heavier than those of a century before. The current day average British woman has a height of 161cm and a weight of 69kg thus they are only slightly shorter though a bit heavier than the average British man of a century ago so no wonder it was a little bit tight for her lol.
my mother was in the ATS 42 till 47, but in the pay corps she was only issued with skirts. one of them first word war pattern which she had to alter herself to make it fit, and match up to everyone else in the platoon. depended what you were doing I think. she did say the uniforms were all awful and fitted where they touched. she had to do a lot of dress making to get comfortable. RIP mum Miss you.
@@robinmacfarlane4769 My point was that there was a mix of uniforms depending on your duties. My mother was in the artillery on radar installations. All the photos I have of her are in battle dress.
Battledress, as introduced in 1939 (some of the BEF went to France in the old service dress), was very highly regarded for it's functionality, even if it often didn't flatter the wearer. Designed based on ski-wear of the time, the wool was actually very good for both warm and cold - and wool still holds heat even when sodden with water. It was also very flame resistant. (Stocks captured by the Germans were re-used for their U Boat crews.) Cotton, even tightly woven gaberdine (as introduced in the 1960 Combat Dress), once wet can be very chilling; it also burns if the wearer is caught in fire/explosions.
Battle Dress was tested with certain units in 1937 and started being issued in 1938. It's interesting to see photos of Gordon Highlanders in France 1940 showing Enlisted Men dressed in two different kits: the old Service Dress tunic with Tam O Shanter, and the Battle Dress blouse with Glengarry. I have no idea why the Glengarry was stipulated for wear with Battle Dress at that time. Of course soon the TOS + Battle Dress would become the image of the Scottish solider in WWII.
Truly wonderful video but I would mention that the curator skipped quite a lot of firearms technology by going from a Flintlock muzzle loading rifle to the bolt action Long Lee Enfield repeating rifle; at minimum the Enfield Pattern Percussion muzzle loading rifle, followed by the Martini-Henry single shot breech loading cartridge rifle should have been shown prior to the LLE which didn't come to fruition until approximately 1895'sh.
I don’t like that soldiers are nowadays always in combat style clothing, unless ceremonial. What’s wrong with a nice uniform for everyday wear and the combat stuff for when in combat? They always look scruffy nowadays.
You are right, Andrew. The camo does not look sharp (especially when you see deros attired in the same outfits stumbling/sitting along the streets) and that affects recruiting. Public appearances should require "middle" dress (khaki - ie Army) including kilts for Scottish regiments.
The uncomfortable 'high neck' on a tunic afforded some protection to the vulnerable jugular vein from sword and bayonet slashes. The early "peelers" police uniforms also had high leather armoured collars to protect them from "Garrotting" strangulation with a piano wire. The favoured method of Victorian "Bobby" dark ally dispatchment by east end gangs.
Great content! I do hope the museum worker changed gloves after touching her face and hair so much. If that kind of contamination doesn’t matter then why wear gloves? Keep up the good work. Very interesting.
I think you could also make the point when it came to extravagant uniforms that the army was meant to represent the wealth and majesty of the British monarchy and most of the time they weren't fighting.
British Army smart, regimented uniforms that obviously through time had to change , but for me the WW2 period and the introduction of the Battle dress (bd) uniform with Blanco belt ,gaiter's serious we looked like a bag of potatoes tied in the middle during that period , compared to example the USA who had a decent set of combats (fatigues)
Very true that the British uniform did not look as smart as the US or German uniforms. It was made from what was available in quantity, wool. The advantage of wool as it had an element of fire proofing, when they got muddy, the mud would shake off when dry, were warm and were shower proof, but not rain proof. They were also easy to dry once wet. Being loose was also an advantage as it was easier to crawl around in them on the battlefield, they would have give and allowed movement.
In the end, even the Germans adopted "battle dress" in the Second World War. Ankle boots and gaiters were adopted by the bulk of the Wehrmacht & SS as well.
America sat back and stocked up. The UK chucked it all at the war from day 1. Done pretty well. But the nazis were just top tier. Again they took time and stocked up
@@iMertin90 they also sat back stocked up cowering away for 4 years while the real men and proper women of the world was fighting non stop daily for 4 years
During the thirties, a new battledress was submitted and trialled. It was based on the WW1 type with a full tunic, but better cut and garters instead of puttees. But the austerity of war came along and it was scrapped. Check Brian L. Davis's book on British army uniforms for a fuller account.
Fascinating video, I served in the British army from the early seventies until 2013, I always wondered about the evolution of our uniforms, I also wore some quite hopeless bits of uniform, however by the mid 2000's the uniforms had a pragamatic sense of purpose......thankfully!
Quite the career. Well done Sir
Decent stretch! Thanks
when Scotland leaves Britain the rUK army uniform will have to change again as the union flag will be obsolete .... Scotland's place is in the EU and not the vile and corrupt UK
@@SaorAlba1970 Doubt Scotland will be in the EU for some time to come but otherwise thank you for your needlessly antagonistic response.
@@callumwilliams1449 EU leaders said we would be fast tracked and Spain will not block our membership
One correction: The Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC) was formed in 1949, ie after WW2. Prior to that it was the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). My mother Christine Leslie served in the ATS (attached Intelligence Corps) as a sergeant, working on 'traffic analysis' in signals intelligence. She served at a number of secret locations, including Bletchley Park (Hut 6) in 1944/45, only talking about her service in later life. As a family we are very proud of her contribution to the war effort. She passed away only last year (2020) at the age of 96. Her older sister Sylvia also served in the ATS (attached Signals) during the same years of the war.
My Grandmother Betty Dransfield Yendell was an ATS Corporal on a gunsight in London until after D day then as an operator in Belgium till the war ended . She meet my Grandad who was a SFC with US Army while stationed near London and was married in Belgium 2 years later . Her CO actually had his wife's wedding dress flown across the channel for the ceremony .
The very least she could do is go to a barracks and let the men gangbang her, it's the least she can do to show some respect to them.
The Wrens were and Were a WW auxiliary service for the British navy I think you can find out more.
I dont see why one more BRIT who didn't keep secrets 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I don't doubt the validity of your statement at all, but when you say something like this and don't provide a source, it doesn't mean anything. This is especially true if you're trying to say someone is wrong and you're correcting them.
Sincerely, a historian.
Sidenote, it wasnt an immediate change from musket to bolt action rifles, the martini-henry rifle was a breech loader, single shot trapdoor mechanism rifle that replaced the british army's muskets which intern was replaced by the bolt action rifle we see here (I believe its a Lee metford rifle)
There was also the P1866 breechloader that preceded the Martini.
@@Josh93B93 Snider Mk.II I believe.
Yeah, there’s a lot they either glossed over or didn’t mention at all
yes, it looked like a 20th century SMLE.
@@TheSinkingTitanic2 that's right it is, glad I left it at P1866 because I was thinking of the Peabody
Totally missed the most important aspect of the change from tunic to battle dress. The latter was designed for use in a mechanised army - troops that would spend a lot of time in vehicles. The battle dress allows you to bend at the waist, it was considered more comfortable to sit in.
The Buffs - indeed, known by their facing colour. Specifically, there were two Regiments at the time who hasd a Colonel called Howard; this caused confusion, so they were differentiated by their facing colours. One was the Buff Howards, known as the Buffs, and the other was the Green Howards.
My regiment was almalgamated from the Buffs and a few other Reg. P.W.R.R, 2BTN. We inherited very distinguished regimental colours and battle honours from their heroism.
The Epaulettes were designed to hold bandoliers and cartridge boxes in place and stop them from falling off the shoulder, fringes on them were put officers outfits
and came from the fringes on the scarves or sashes.
the fringes were also there to buffer sword blows to the shoulders
@@chrisgurney2467 As we're the high collars.
I just learned that fringe was designed to draw water away from the outfit and I went 🤯
Battledress was a product of the move toward "utility" clothing beginning with Jaeger's onesies in early 19th C, the great thing about woollen BD is that even when wet, you stay warm (hence movement toward merino first layer by SF/ infanteers)!
Indeed! Once, in 1988, when I was living as a volunteer on a kibbutz on the red-line between Israel and occupied Palestine, an elderly woman emerged from a dwelling facing the alley where my boss and and I were walking. She was gesticulating and speaking in Yiddish or Polish. My boss was a Yemenite Jew so he went over and they managed to work out what she was trying to say. I was apparently the tallest and skinniest man she had seen since her husband had died, and she wanted to give me the military coat that he'd worn in the War of Independence in 1948. It was green, pure wool, quite scratchy and reached past my knees. I was told that it had probably been "liberated" from a British army barracks raid sometime between the 20's and 40's.
That coat saw me through some rough nights, not only during my time in Israel but later that year in Brussels, on my way home to Canada. As late as 1998, it protected me for two nights outside in Halifax, NS when my landlord locked me out of my boarding-room. It kept the wind and rain and snow right out!
17:14 What you call an austrian knot is actually Hungarian hussar knot and it had an original function of stopping saber cuts before it became ornamental.
Another knit-pick is standing with that flintlock musket in front of a post-Crimean War uniform. Plus the "expert's" examples of the evolution of firearms, as if we went from flintlock, smoothbore muskets to Lee-Enfields just like that.
@@SStupendous it tends to get really messy trying to break down the progression in more detail because an awful lot of "new" British weapons were just very gradual modifications-upon-retrofits-upon-reworks of earlier designs to save on costs. The breech-loading paper-cartridge Snider-Enfield rifle, for example, was made by converting the existing 1853 Enfield muzzle-loading musket. The Number 4 service rifle, which carried on through WWII until 1957, was a highly refined version of the same 10-round magazine Lee-Enfield rifle designed in 1895 and used in the second Boer war. There were relatively few brand new designs.
@@tommcewan7936 Regardless you get the point, surely. It jumps over way too much. It's the history of the British uniform, so it might as well be halfway accurate. Why should an 'improvement' not count? Snider-Enfield is an infamous and important British rifle.
They are called Austrian knots in military fashion, they are from hungarian hussars yes. But they are still called austrian knots
24:20 that's a combat 95 shirt. Came into service around 95-98.
Yep, the taped buttons alone were a giveaway.
@@tomwebb3081 and the rank slide on the front
I was waiting for Richard Sharpe's uniform!
On a serious note, i would live to see a vid on Royal Navy uniforms; i always thought they looked awesome.
My ex was in the US Marines. They switched from heavy cotton olive drab fatigues to jungle camouflage in a lighter material. Much nicer as I didn't have to iron them. He did have the dress blues, tailored to him, the neck collar nearly chocked him every time. I had to help him put the wool coat on, it was that tight.
It's funny because when I wasin during '09s, ironing our cmmies was the order of the day. It wasn't until the adoption of the MCCCU (aka MARPATs) did the Corps (apparently) go back to not pressing one's cammies.
who cares about the us marines anyway .. yet alone your ex
Both you ladies really made this display come alive! Thank you!
Amazing how small by modern standards all the torsos (chest and abdomen) of those older uniforms are….and it’s not really that long ago!
Worth noting, to a certain degree, that surviving clothing in general is smallish, but some of that has to do with limited use. Especially in the 18th and 19th century, reusing, retailoring, and repurposing clothing was common, but small clothing was less easy to reuse.
But, when you look at the cloth used to make uniforms, say during the American Revolution, the yardage of cloth seems to be more reflective of similar average size to today.
@@McGintyNHD nobody cares about the Americans
@@jimmyboynottknown7713 Aw sweetie, bless your heart wide open. You know the British Army used uniforms during the American War of Independence too, don't ya?
@@McGintyNHD there was no war of independence just a treaty signed then a small town made 3 day fight when after that time the Whitehouse got burnt to ashes, if you lot are actually taught anything at all
Red dye was the cheapest. The Treasury wins again.
My personal favorite would be after the Napoleonic Wars but before Crimea. 1820s to 1840s. Belltop Shakos while not practical are aesthetic perfection.
Got British Army trousers - the best cargo pants I've ever had! Like half-century old design and still good to use.
I inherited my grandad's 1940 army boots. Still in good nick, and perfect for heavy work in my garden.
21:30 No mention that the steel Brodie helmet was introduced after it was found that a very large number of the casualties were from head injuries caused by artillery shrapnel. The brodie helmet shape was chosen because it was the most simplest and economical to produce.
Yes cheap as the queen's subjects.
It would have been good to have mentioned that the Civil War was English, not British AND produced the New Model Army, with the first uniforms.
Pretty sure that bolt action is a Lee-Metford which came before the Lee-Enfield
tis a Lee Metford
Are you just basing that on the muzzle? - because the first Lee-Enfield had that style muzzle, as it is just a different rifling one would have to be very gifted indeed to spot that. The magazine looks long enough for a ten rounder, the Metford (and maybe the very first Enfield) was eight round. Where is Ferguson when you need him!
Sophie Anderton is incredibly articulate and well spoken, the BBC should keep her in mind for corespondents.
Thanks, I enjoyed this.I am a Victorian re-enactor, so was interested in your Boer War uniforms.
In the first Boer war the British wore red uniforms with white X-shaped webbing to indicate to the enemy where to shoot.
The change from DPM to MTP was fantastic. Such an improvement in kit.
My brother is serving, Christmas this year he asked me to sew velcro strips on his sleeves. I am now taking that as me being a part of military uniform history...
Very interesting, depite its limitations. Cramming 400 odd years of historical developments into 30 minutes inevitably results in omissions and will therefore disappoint some people. If you consider this as an overview of a small selection of uniforms I hope you will be inspired to learn more detail.
Most of us could cope with the omissions - but there is no excuse for the repeated factual inaccuracies.
@@badgertheskinnycow would you mind elaborating?
@@SxeirthanuI can give you some examples. The DPM (camouflage) shirt as displayed is of a type introduced after 1995 and likely dates from the early 2000s - not 1980. DPM was introduced into service in 1970 - not 1960 as suggested (i.e. not "twenty years before" 1980). The introduction of the first ever 'universal issue' camouflage uniform of the British Army (also likely the first of any major armed forces) being a particularly important milestone.
@@badgertheskinnycow most people will forgive and forget as a basic overview with a broad timeline. I dont think anyone is expecting depth here but point taken that some inaccuracies could have been avoided with some further research
@@zaphodbeeblebrox9109 we may not demand depth, but we should demand accuracy from specialists in paid positions like this “curator”
Re the Intro, I think it's fair to say it is one of the best armies in the world, not just the most experienced.
Who doesn't love a historian in uniforms.
The ignorance of museum curators is unbelievable. This was so amateurish.
Yeah totally agreed.
The lack of functionality in the older uniforms is astounding.
There are a lot of comments about steps being missed, particularly in later eras. Fact is the uniforms evolve a little bit every few years, so you can't have every iteration or the vid would be hours long. In 29 years (1990-2019) I had the old cotton DPM stuff, CS95, 2 versions of desert DMP, CS95 in MTP and then finally the MTP PCS with all the annoying velcro. I understand there's been a new one issued since then with less velcro. This isn't including all the versions of barrack dress, service dress etc.
amazing to see a 300 plus year old jacket in such good condition fact it even hold up that long is amazing
The "1980's" combat kit is Combat 95 (introduced in 1995) - which replaced the previous versions of temperate DPM worn since the 1970's (I wore three different patterns between 1983 and getting my Cbt 95 in 1996).
My last unit started getting MTP in 2008 (along with Mk6A) helmets for those deploying only at the time (handed back on return).
You have missed out a very early important stage i. e. the Newly Modelled Army or the New Model Army, at the start of the English Civil War soldiers wore coats of a colour chosen by their Regimental Colonel. When the New Model Army was formed they were given a standard colour, Red, but a lining the same colour of their original coat. This become the colour of their facings on the English Redcoat Uniforms.
Yes, I had always thought that the New Model Army was the first to use a standardized uniform (of course, the word "uniform" indicates standardization), and that red had been chosen simply because red dye was either the cheapest or most readily available (probably both) among dye colours at that time.
When the New Model Army was being formed officers did not wear any uniform clothing, they wore outfits befitting their station and showed their position in life.
Also the green coats worn by the King's rifles, my patent regiment.
The establishment prefers to ignore the protectorate and its great deeds.
I do not think there were any "rifle" Regiments in the New Model Army, there were suggestion that some were used by sharpshooters but that was never confirmed. First Rifles were brought into the "British" Army about the time of King George, outside the remit of the above period.
Excellent, full of information and enthusiasm, well done. 👏🏻
They skipped one important thing-the olive green combat uniform that was introduced after battle dress and before DPM.
And No2 khaki uniform.
Was just reading through posts with the intention of bringing up the 1960's Green Uniform!
They also skipped a big part at why the Uniform was red and how it was decided
@@Woodcutter1964 I was just glad she pointed out the blood thing
Combat Dress was copied from the Americans in the post war period. Initially this was in a green cotton satin material in three layers. DPM camouflage pattern material was only introduced in 1971 for combat clothing, although airborne and specialist troops had the camouflage Denison smock and the hooded Ventile smock from around 1944.
The DPM Shirt is part of the Combat Soldier 95 System (CS95) a new clothing system field in 1995. The Combat Soldier 95 System (CS95) was a major jump forward in both: design and fabrics and when shown side by side with a DPM shirt from the 1980s the two may look similar, but on closer inspection they will look different.
A major jump forward??? It was substandard and the material was almost threadbare from the get go.The buttons drooped from their fastings and snagged on cam nets. The crutch area wore out in 6 months max. The trial kit from the CS95 was good, more or less like a version of the jungle kit, which should have gone on general issue. It looked good, was durable and the troops loved it. It made me laugh when CS95 won The Defence Clothing Design Awards. Like there was more than one entry! The army seems to be bent on making troops look like a buncha cunts. Look at all the iterations of various combat jackets and trousers, one I dubbed Pakistani Special Forces Cam.
@@stephentaylor2119 Thanks for replying Stephen. Your right in saying the CS95 was shit and didn't last very long, because it didn't, I have heard that is was never made or designed to last long in the first place. The 'Canadian style' buttons were never sewn in the correct way hence the sagging, not that would stop them catching on camo nets. The Troop Trial versions were best, the worst was of course was the earlier version often called '94-Pattern'. However my main point was to say the system made use of more modern fabrics like MVP (can't call it goretex), polar fleece and ripstop cotton. Field gloves that didn't turn to crap when they were wet like the NI gloves. As for the design part made be I got carried away on that one. but when you look at other countries at the time, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the US most parts of CS95 are better designed than what they had.
I found the jackets rather useful in the field, but still wore my old combat trousers, and only used the Combat 95 when in camp.
such as the rank slide insert is on the front instead of epaulettes and a slightly different variation of DPM
hey im sorry but @13:00 she is calling a magazine fed bolt action a breach loading firearm, how does she know so little and yet be employed in a literal military museum
*breech
i noticed that too. This video seems to be full of mistakes...
Also at 14:32 she says that the british arrived at boer, boer isn't a place
During the Civil War regiments wore uniforms according to their colonel's favourite colour: hence Prince Rupert's Bluecoats, both infantry and cavalry. The colonel would have raised,, equipped and paid for his regiment which normally would have been named after him, eg Saye and Seals, Hammonds, Capels, etc.
Red became the uniform colour when Cromwell formed the New Model Army because he disliked the private nature of the regiments, and wanted an independent army. Which would fight for parliament. His new army took the uniforms of the Parliamentary Eastern Association, which was red. Simple as that.
Loved the photo of the Gordon Highlander
24:10 a soldier 95 pattern shirt from 1980? Think you got mixed up with that
History Hit is terrific! Thanks for high caliber, entertaining history. 😊
An outstanding video. I especially appreciated the showing of the picture of Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth (II) in the uniform of a mechanic/driver.
BUT, fingers off the triggers, please. Thank you.
Why is this place secret? It should be a museum.
Because it is a museum.
This is the storehouse for all the things that can't be on display right now because they're too delicate or they don't have room. They get rotated onto display or you can see them on request if you're a student / researcher.
The clothes in the first DPM is combat 95 style and not from the 1980’s, it was designed as a multi layered system and issued from 1995 hence combat 95….
Wasn’t it worn in the Falklands which is way before 95
@@EDProductionsYT the Germans were really the first to issue DPM clothing in WW2 but the British army only started wearing DPM in the late 60’s, the uniform used in the Falklands was heavy when it got wet and took to long to dry out, my dad was in the Falklands as a combat medical officer and he told me how bad some of the clothing was, I joined in 1987 as a combat medic and issued the same type only had too wait 8 years for the new Combat 95 and it was soooooo much better to wear….🇬🇧🇬🇧
@@TheFordmustangv8 yes the Germans really were ahead of their time it’s only because of the unstable leadership that they lost.🇬🇧🇬🇧
@@Kris155mm got to love the KF shirts, loved the Norge..
@@Kris155mm I hated the crisp packet with a passion (Gortex to Endex) never worn the Chinese fighting suit because you couldn’t move in the bleeding thing and I always purchased my own boots, brittan boots were the best for me until they fell apart after a few repairs and years of faithful service our SSM didn’t mind..
The museum employee "I think it's an Enfiled"
Me as soon as she brings the guns "well, well, well. How Intersting. A Brown Bess and Enfield. So, where is she hiding the Martini-Henry?"
If I remember correctly, the USA armed forces reduced their use of Velcro-type fasteners after getting complaints from the troops. Not only are buttons quieter, but they allow for more storage in each pocket.
You're only 245 years old, still pups
@@jimmyboynottknown7713 nobody cares dude
@@Bkings7 about Americans yep we know
@@jimmyboynottknown7713 Come on guys, we're allies !!!
@@bogtrottername7001 it's Americans like yourself that get it, all the rest are just bigheaded loudmouthed bragging think they own and create the entire universe, so full of assumptions rumour refusal dismissal of acknowledgement speculation indoctrinated delusion, unless its a certain part of America that shares that mentality. You're okay though you have understanding perspective the ability to see the entire picture in the frame not just 1 singular section of it.
Don't know about today's US Army Class A uniforms, but when I was doing it many years ago, the uniforms had pockets but the pockets were sewn shut.
as a gun owner I automatically brace myself when I see "amateur" people wielding guns around, pointing at each other, finger on the trigger all the time etc... 😯
Same here. I cringed and was somewhat surprised that a curator in a military museum didn't observe safe practises. Apart from that it was a good brief history.
Baldrick, I mean Baldwin, agrees.
@@mutualbeard That's because she herself obviously doesn't shoot. therefor she hasn't been educated the same way we have been.
That girl in the museum has no idea about gun safety, and would be amonested if doing the same in a gun club.
@@Provo647 They're almost certainly deactivated
Here after the new King's proclamation. I'd love a video explaining the different uniforms and ceremonial dress seen there.
A better example of the arms used, would have been the musket, then the Martini Henry rifle, then the Enfield...
Fascinating, thank you.
Sophie Anderton is a delight!
She lost me when she said the soldier 95 DPM shirt dated to 1980.
I find it hilarious that modern ceremonial uniforms would probably be more functional than those worn to battle in history. Of course everything serves a purpose, back in the day when battles were mostly fought in open fields, it was important to portray the strength of your army as oppose to hiding in the bushes.
Hilarious?
A very interesting video. I spent all my working life with the military, mostly with one corps. I could go into a mess with perhaps 30 or 40 officers and it would be hard to find two dressed exactly alike. There were some very individual takes on the word ‘uniform’.
Seeing the words Royal Artillery on that ww2 tunic made me smile, great grandad was RA and its still a lot of pride for me to say that
Adore her knowledge of history, passion, and the way her moves with such grace and confidence. Amazing young lady that at 90 years old will still be worthy of hanging on every word.
Accent bias.
Sophie Anderton is disarmingly and charmingly smiley.
Very interesting. My mother was a WAC in the US Army in WWII. When I was in high school she gave me her 'Eisenhower Jacket, which looked very much like you WWII British WAC Jacket. I wore it for a couple of years as a jacket when we went camping. It was very comfortable until I out grew it. My parents met on duty in 47 in Germany when they both were serving in the Army of Occupation. Dad served from 1941 until 1962. Then he was recalled from retirement from 66 to 68.
12:25 I think all Americans were really nervous for a second there
Not just Americans. Anyone who has any understand of good gun safety, this bit was making me cringe.
@@TheIppoippo OK Americans and gun nuts then.
It had already been planned to replace the coatee with the tunic (the short-lived double-breasted version) when the Crimean War broke out. Similar tunics were already in service with many European armies including other Crimean combatants such as France, Sardinia and Russia. Therefore conditions in the Crimea did not prompt the coatee's replacement in the British Army but they certainly confirmed it was time for a change.
Good that there's a long lee Enfield but keep ya finger off the trigger unless you intend to fire it.
You didn't say that the WW2 battledress blouse was an officer's version, hence the open collar. Other ranks BD blouses had a closed collar fastened with two brass hooks.
I learned something today. Thank you
Nice , well presented and informative .
Blood Invisible on the Jackets.
That's one interesting thing about the British Army.
Not a fan of the vague descriptions, the occasional lack of military vocabulary and the presenter not listening at points.
She seems more interested in the buttons than any of the history.
Certainly an awful lot of giggling going on.
War of Independence in the US.
“ You could see the British a mile off. It was a turkey shoot”.
Great video !! -Just one thing that I noticed was the example used for DPM. Going on the buttons, I'd have placed this combat "jacket" / shirt to be post-2000. Earlier examples like the '95 had shiny green plastic buttons that were swapped out for the current style of matte plastic buttons.
I thought the 1980 and "Falklands" era shirts were more basic than the example used here.
Happy to stand corrected, though.
No - you are correct buddy.
I was under the impression red coats were also used because from a distance red made it more difficult to count the number of troops in a rank.
Unfortunately not. Because you can count the facings and the whole person is defeated etc etc. Brandon F make a good video on the topic if you care to learn more
@@dolphintrainer4238 , thanks DT , a segment dedicated to the topic would be great.
Thank you for the reply.
Cheers
@@mickmorrissey16 I've attached the link to the video of 'Why did the British wear red?' if you weren't able to find it but wanted to learn more. ua-cam.com/video/2-sFPXJY_uA/v-deo.html
@@dolphintrainer4238 , thank you , much appreciated. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.
Take care,
Mick
The woodland DPM is actually part of soldier 95 kit
S2000 , S95 has colour bleed on the underside of the cloth (like tropical DPM) , S2000 is printed on a yellow/khaki backed cloth which makes the colours more darker to the point they go black when wet.
Thought so the buttons are C95
18th and 19th century uniforms were red because it was the cheapest colour to buy in bulk, sounds like military budgeting hasn't changed in 300 years.
I am from the States. I found this video very interesting. Especially, how the tradition effected the uniforms for such a long time. I wonder if there are videos like this for the French and Spanish in English. Thank you for sharing.
As an American, and a Marine, I always find the similarities between our Marine Corps Uniforms and the British interesting. Extra Special for me because my grandfather was a Royal Marine. An additional one is the Marine Corps Band Dress Uniform (President's Own). They wear the Red Coat and could easily be mistaken for a British Military Unit.
The curator is wrong.
That DPM shirt is CS95 ..introduced in 1995 funnily enough ( Trials from 92ish)
The difference amongst many other things,is that it has the slotted buttons instead if the 70s/80s style four hole button.
I realise no one probably cares ,but as a veteran I feel i must correct the mistake made. I wore both types of uniform and usually went and bought better kit elsewhere😁
Anyone know why she starts talking about breachloaders and then completely skips over the Martini Henry and the Snider and just goes straight to the Lee Metford?
I don't think firearms is her area of expertise. Not even sure why they got her to talk about it when she clearly doesn't know very much.
Not to mention , passing a “loaded” weapon around ☹️
Thank you for posting.
Fantastic some I know lots I didn't. Great walk around 👌
Umm....very few, if any, British troops in the first Boer War wore khaki! It was, in part, their experience in that war - of being shot by Boers from hundreds of metres away, Boers that they couldn't even see - that convinced the British army to adopt khaki as a standard colour for their uniforms.
Also at 14:32 she says the british arrived at boer, boer isn't a place
This woman needs to be taught a bit more about the boer war
It also led to significant change in tactics, as well. My People taught them quite a few valuable lessons. It's just a shame that they never learnt ethics, though.
Excellent Video !
So many more questions I'd have liked to have been asked. Epaulettes, why, when. Hand sewing vs machine production, when. Great production though
When trying on the dress uniform jacket Alice exclaims "It feels quite small for me" and is clearly surprised at the relatively small size of it. It's only small by today's standard as a century ago people on average were shorter/smaller.
From a quick Googling it appears that the average height of a British soldier was 165cm/5'5" and average weight was about 60 to 64kg/9-10stone/132-141lb. For comparison the average British man in the current day has a height of 178cm and weight of 86.2kg which is 8% taller and 35% heavier than those of a century before. The current day average British woman has a height of 161cm and a weight of 69kg thus they are only slightly shorter though a bit heavier than the average British man of a century ago so no wonder it was a little bit tight for her lol.
My mother was in the ATS from 1940 until 1945 and she wore battledress for everything other than parades. Skirts only for ceremonial occasions.
my mother was in the ATS 42 till 47, but in the pay corps she was only issued with skirts. one of them first word war pattern which she had to alter herself to make it fit, and match up to everyone else in the platoon. depended what you were doing I think. she did say the uniforms were all awful and fitted where they touched. she had to do a lot of dress making to get comfortable. RIP mum Miss you.
@@robinmacfarlane4769 My point was that there was a mix of uniforms depending on your duties. My mother was in the artillery on radar installations. All the photos I have of her are in battle dress.
You left out Rifle green and the pattern of DPM you showed was not from the 80’s but early 90’s
you need style when you’re colonizing
Yup, and ruling the civilised world🇬🇧!
Battledress, as introduced in 1939 (some of the BEF went to France in the old service dress), was very highly regarded for it's functionality, even if it often didn't flatter the wearer. Designed based on ski-wear of the time, the wool was actually very good for both warm and cold - and wool still holds heat even when sodden with water. It was also very flame resistant. (Stocks captured by the Germans were re-used for their U Boat crews.)
Cotton, even tightly woven gaberdine (as introduced in the 1960 Combat Dress), once wet can be very chilling; it also burns if the wearer is caught in fire/explosions.
Id say a well fitting battle dress ensemble flatters the wearer quite well
@@MrDukeSilverr The key word there is well-fitting. They were almost guaranteed never to, IME.
Battle Dress was tested with certain units in 1937 and started being issued in 1938. It's interesting to see photos of Gordon Highlanders in France 1940 showing Enlisted Men dressed in two different kits: the old Service Dress tunic with Tam O Shanter, and the Battle Dress blouse with Glengarry. I have no idea why the Glengarry was stipulated for wear with Battle Dress at that time. Of course soon the TOS + Battle Dress would become the image of the Scottish solider in WWII.
What a treat
Truly wonderful video but I would mention that the curator skipped quite a lot of firearms technology by going from a Flintlock muzzle loading rifle to the bolt action Long Lee Enfield repeating rifle; at minimum the Enfield Pattern Percussion muzzle loading rifle, followed by the Martini-Henry single shot breech loading cartridge rifle should have been shown prior to the LLE which didn't come to fruition until approximately 1895'sh.
i noticed that as well
I think the clue is in the title. 'Uniforms'. Weapons could be (perhaps should be) a whole series on their own :-)
Not to mention the fact that she constantly has her finger on the trigger..
i agree, the martini henry was a major change in firearms technology.
@@jerryvr Chill, it’s not going to go off!
Bit of a jump from ww2 too Soldier 95 then too Mtp...
12:35 Wow ladies trigger discipline!
And muzzle as well!!!
"Get that weapon out of my face!!!
Very interesting and delightfully presented.
I don’t like that soldiers are nowadays always in combat style clothing, unless ceremonial. What’s wrong with a nice uniform for everyday wear and the combat stuff for when in combat? They always look scruffy nowadays.
"They always look scruffy nowadays"
Not all of them do, not at all
ua-cam.com/video/yVy4CPEJTUY/v-deo.html
@@marioguidotomasone1265 yeah I still think that's scruffy. I'm looking for shirts, tie, jackets like ww2 or similar. Combats only needed in conflict.
You are right, Andrew. The camo does not look sharp (especially when you see deros attired in the same outfits stumbling/sitting along the streets) and that affects recruiting. Public appearances should require "middle" dress (khaki - ie Army) including kilts for Scottish regiments.
This was very informative and interesting. Thank you for downloading this?
The uncomfortable 'high neck' on a tunic afforded some protection to the vulnerable jugular vein from sword and bayonet slashes.
The early "peelers" police uniforms also had high leather armoured collars to protect them from "Garrotting" strangulation with a piano wire.
The favoured method of Victorian "Bobby" dark ally dispatchment by east end gangs.
But you still had the attitude to Other Ranks' uniforms, "There's no such thing as a bad fit, you're the wrong shape."
I get its not loaded but, best not to point a musket at peoples faces...
Great content! I do hope the museum worker changed gloves after touching her face and hair so much. If that kind of contamination doesn’t matter then why wear gloves? Keep up the good work. Very interesting.
There ARE (not IS) trucks, cannons, etc.
Much more soft/softer (not more softer) sleeves.
I joined the army in 1989 (RAMC) and the women I was a recruit with wore DPM like the blokes and army lightweights and jumpers. Some were QARANC
I think you could also make the point when it came to extravagant uniforms that the army was meant to represent the wealth and majesty of the British monarchy and most of the time they weren't fighting.
Baghdad bloomers?
British Army smart, regimented uniforms that obviously through time had to change , but for me the WW2 period and the introduction of the Battle dress (bd) uniform with Blanco belt ,gaiter's serious we looked like a bag of potatoes tied in the middle during that period , compared to example the USA who had a decent set of combats (fatigues)
Very true that the British uniform did not look as smart as the US or German uniforms. It was made from what was available in quantity, wool. The advantage of wool as it had an element of fire proofing, when they got muddy, the mud would shake off when dry, were warm and were shower proof, but not rain proof. They were also easy to dry once wet. Being loose was also an advantage as it was easier to crawl around in them on the battlefield, they would have give and allowed movement.
In the end, even the Germans adopted "battle dress" in the Second World War. Ankle boots and gaiters were adopted by the bulk of the Wehrmacht & SS as well.
America sat back and stocked up. The UK chucked it all at the war from day 1. Done pretty well. But the nazis were just top tier. Again they took time and stocked up
@@iMertin90 they also sat back stocked up cowering away for 4 years while the real men and proper women of the world was fighting non stop daily for 4 years
During the thirties, a new battledress was submitted and trialled. It was based on the WW1 type with a full tunic, but better cut and garters instead of puttees. But the austerity of war came along and it was scrapped. Check Brian L. Davis's book on British army uniforms for a fuller account.