UNIFORMS of WW2

[Walt's Daughter]

Lee is going to take a photo of me in my Ike jacket. I wore it to our local pub last night and everyone went nuts for it. I always get tons of questions and enjoy telling them the history behind my 48th Combat Engineers jacket. I hope I am making the guy proud when he's lookin' down from heaven.

 

I wore the jacket a few weeks ago and noticed an older gentlemen looking my way. I went up to he and his wife and said, excuse me sir, I noticed you were looking at my jacket, would you happen to be a WWII vet? Oh yes he was. They were great folks and I loved talking to them. The conversation only last about 6 minutes, but I guess I made a real impression because when Lee went back to Hank's about a week later, he would up talking to the same gentlemen. Lee didn't realize who he was at the time. He got into conversation and said, you should talk to my wife, she's writing a book about her dad's unit, etc. The gentleman smiled and asked, "Oh Marion? Yes, we've already had the pleasure of meeting." Lee was tickled to tell me that he not only remembered me, but knew my name. How sweet!

[Custermen]

Yeah. My "teen" daughter said my IKE jacket would look in style with the short jackets they wear today. She said I should wear it and then thought maybe she should.

She will have to get her own.

Steve

[Dogdaddy]

This is a model 1934 Italian Bustina with an Engineer's badge I wanted to get the uniform too, but the sleeves were ripped at the seems from the arms being raised so quickly.. (only joking!)

Jim

[Walt's Daughter]

That's a very handsome hat. Of course it's even cooler that it has an ENGINEER'S badge. Go to the head of the class!

[Custermen]

I'll have to display my British visor cap for Royal Engineers(WW2).

Dogdaddy---with those lighting bolts radiating from around the center, that would indicate either Signal Corps or Signals (Radio), according to my book.

Steve

[Dogdaddy]

Steve-

It's all "Greek" to me! The guy I bought it from refers to it as Engineers cap, but you are probably correct. This guy seems to have robbed Rommel's Quaretermaster, 'cause he sure has some nice Tropical WWII items!

Jim

[Custermen]

No---it's Italian not Greek.

The Italians had so much a variety of badges and rank insignia, especially when you consider the Fascists and then the organizations on both sides of the conflict that were formed after Italy surrendered.

Nice hat. The bustina is one hat that I don't have and would certainly like to get. I have the Italian overseas cap that was imported into Spain as part of their support of Civil War. It is difficult to determine if it is Spanish or Italian. This is similiar to the bustina in that it has the flap over the top. This one is khaki green and has red trim and a dangling red tassle.

 

Steve

[Custermen]

Now, here is an Engineer's hat.

 

Royal Engineer visor cap of British Army

 

Badge: Royal Engineers as noted on the bottom banner.

Leather strap & brass RE buttons.

Visor is cloth over a stiff bill.

This is the soft visor cap that was worn while off-duty and when not wearing the steel helmet. These visor caps were worn by officers and NCO's. It was common to see enlisted wear these in WW1 but I'm not sure about WW2. Usually, the enlisted men wore the folding cap they refer to as "side cap".

The only damage to this is that the plastic liner has melted into the fabric of the top, which helps it keep its shape but discolored the top.

 

I began collecting British regimental cap badges a long time ago. Then I picked up the pace over the last few years. Now my collection of British, Indian, & Canadian cap badges has topped 100 count.

 

This is a photo of one of 2 cases that I displayed at my city's library.

British Cap Badges & Hats at local library.

Top: Coldstream Guards- Modern(Black/White), Royal Engineers- WW2 (Khaki)

Bottom: Honourable Artillery Company- 1950's(Black/Red) and WW2 Side Cap

Edited: The khaki hat was referred to as "Dress Hat No. 2". Dress Hat No 1 was the colored hat worn for formal dress or parade occasions. The Coldstream Guards hat and the H.A.C. hat are both Dress hat No. 1. Just as each British regiment had its unique regimental cap badge, also each regiment had its unique dress uniform. They varied in style, colors and buttons. One regiment may wear royal blue and yellow and another black and red. That is why collecting British hats is a fun hobby.

Also, the Coldstream Guards hat may look like it is pulled down over his eyes. It was. The front of the hat was flat--you can lay a ruler vertically from the peak to the brass-trimmed bill and the hat would be flat against the ruler. The bill rested on the nose of the wearer. The Coldstream Guards was one of the 5 foot guards of the Royal Palaces.

 

Steve

[Walt's Daughter]

Steve I think it's just fantastic that you have some of your collection on display at your local library. Wow, I am finding out more cool things about ya all the time. It's great that you are making a real difference in your community. Outstanding!

[Custermen]

Well, Marion, I got tired of the boring displays that they usually had out: for example a rock display. I thought they might like to learn a little HISTORY. Most of the times, I've displayed about 20 British regimental cap badges. That sounds like a boring subject, but I tried to display the badges to look appealing. It is almost like a coin collection: you can study the symbols and phrases and origin of each one.

One April a few years ago, I made a display about Italy in April 1945---the last days of the war. I displayed a variety of items, maps and patches, including a photo and bio of Lt. Bob Dole.

 

Sorry for the size of the Royal Engineer cap photo. I was going to reduce it but I thought you would like to see the details of the badge and the hat.

 

Steve