wdbikemad

Will try to take some more pics when I get a chance.

 

I find it the other way around in that the Smocks are rarer than the trs and go for STUPID money while the trs can still be picked up for not so stupid money.

Back in the early 80s "Lawrence Corner" near King's Cross in London had stacks of these strides, mint, all WW2 dated at £3 a pair......all sizes too.......but NO smocks !!!!! Lol

It's fair to say that whilst the trousers may be cheaper than the smocks today (mainly the WW2 cammo pattern) it should be remembered that trousers were made for ALL the various colours and types on windproof smocks, and some (eg - green and DPM 1963 pattern) are almost impossible to find today....they seemed never as popular nor commonly worn as the top-half therefore were little used or issued...........the later patterns of trouser as opposed to the earlier wartime issues are incredibly difficult to source today........trust me !!!

What a fantastic haul of kit.Rare and as you say especially so in large sizes.That windproof smock is excellent,i still dream of finding items like these,but it goes to show its still out there.Could I just ask is it the original zipper on the smock do you know?

The smock is near-mint (though it didn't smell very "minty" when acquired :-X).....Size 8, made by "BMC", contract numbered but no NSN and dated 1966 plus WD-arrow (all correct for the era).........only missing (for some reason) the hood draw-tape......

NZ zips (Newey) began to feature around the mid-1960s......my SCRDE 1966 dated trial DPM smock is fitted with one, although I have other smocks from this era (and earlier) fitted with "Swift", "AZF", "Clix", Flash" and "ACE" zippers........but this is how this one came so I assume it's all original.......:-D Shot of my 66 dated trial DPM smock showing the same NZ zipper fitted, same year as this example......

I recently acquired this job lot of olive drab/green British-made 1960s-era gear, mostly jungle/tropical stuff.........all large sizes that for once actually fit me ! :-D All must have belonged to the same bod, shirt is big, trousers 36-38 waist and long leg..........the shorts are 1953 dated but the rest of the gear 1960s manufacture........all in great condition 'though stank to high heaven of damp when acquired.......I've lightly washed it and it's come out rather well, no real fading at all.......what is rather interesting however, is the large variation in the shades of green....! And we assume that DPM is the only range with such variations..........:-\

I think the date might just be 1956...? An article around this time (in Soldier Magazine) mentions a new lightweight "nylon" poncho but the actual period interpretation of "nylon" may be different to what we associate with that fabric today.......most earlier ponchos were a rubber-coated/impregnated cloth, and the style a hood-less "cape"..........this could possibly be an early trial garment.......? I will need to dig out the article and see if it resembles this item........:-D

Nice ! I've recently found the matching sleeved jacket in the older sizing too

RN issue, often adopted by RM.......this one is very early 70s............usually found in blue, the green version is rather hard to find.........the MK3 version in both colours is far more common, but again the green version less so..........MK3 version saw the FOD-hazard buttons replaced with Velcro............."BIL" is "Belstaff International Limited"........:-D

Interested in this Harry.......!

Seems to be lots of MTP on the surplus market this summer season, new and used and of all types.............

Several months ago now, I was surprised to find various issue MTP garments in local charity shops !!

Policy for the MoD back as far as the 1990s at least was once kit was demanded from central stores, it was written-off against stock as "supplied" (with the demanding unit's budget debited) - it was a one-way transaction with anything incorrectly ordered or supplied generally unable to be back-loaded once supplied. Many units order gear but only ever issue a portion of it, and some gear that's issued to troops never gets used at all........gear returned to unit stores is generally accumulated, new and used, and sent en-mass to the current authorised disposals contractor, whether parceled up or collected...........

My unit once ordered around 60 much-needed shirts in the middle of summer......but they had misquoted the NSN on the order paperwork and a few weeks later 60 heavy duty jerseys arrived ! Central stores weren't interested in taking them back so we were advised to see if other units wanted 'em or just to dish 'em out as extras (handy item in the middle of August).........:-D

Looks like a great day Steve! Not been to Goodwood but really do need to make the effort at some point soon...

Thanks Jason...we were there from the Thursday to the Sunday as part of the "Normandy Old Bikers Society" display (opposite the Dad's Army re-enactors)......weather apart that was "interesting" at times, it was a great weekend !

I noted that one.......pre-82 and most probably dating between 75-76 (when these were first introduced) and 1980-81.........they are all made from fine, lightweight 100% cotton windproof gabardine as were the similar arctic smocks of the era........seems that the size range did include the "zero" range, "01" to "04" in addition to the standard sizes of "1" to "9".......

Here's a few more from Goodwood this year....Hannah in a wartime Jeep used in "Memphis Belle" and "Saving Private Ryan".....Hannah with a "Russian Export" Flake (one wrapper inside another like the dolls - no Chocolate !), and Moi getting ready at 7am to thrash the 194o0 ex-WD Norton around the racetrack........(and I had the mother of all hangovers too.....)

"WW2" ATS girl..........my 16 year old Granddaughter Hannah........Finalist in "Best Dressed" at the Goodwood Revival this year...........

Contract amendment may refer to anything Harry, not necessarily the garment specification ! It might actually refer to the quantity demanded, for example, shown on labels to identify the additional garments.......such as an original demand for 5000 shirts, later increased to, say, 10,000, so the amendment may be featured simply to identify those additional garments above the original order...?

Yep, "DD" is Australian "Department (of) Defence".............

Correct Harry.........oddly, I recently found the banana-shaped cap to go with this jacket (marked internally with the "WAVES" label) at a boot sale for only £1...........

wdbikemad

That was most likey what she was wearing then. Yeah like what was posted earlier, I wouldn't hold my breath for reproduction 1960s combats to be produced anytime soon. Even though that would be nice :cool2:.

 

When I was in high school, I actually had a set of the '54 pattern combats that fit me (of course back then, I was 5'9" & 130lbs). I knew they were British but had no idea what they were. I only remember thinking that I had lucked out because the uniform's cut was so similar (identical?) to the early DPM uniforms of which I could not afford. Back then on this side of the pond, DPMs were rare & very expensive.

 

Matt

You share my sentiments........back in the 70s, DPM's were almost impossible to obtain on the surplus market......the few that were available were generally well battered and/or repaired, and commercial copies were commonplace, often for the "fishing market".........

The green 50s and 60 pattern combats were by then obsolete and not really sought after by anyone other than builders, students, etc.........they were commonly seen in the 70s TV shows such as "The Professionals", etc, generally worn by robbers and thugs !! They were also very cheap.........a large quantity of new size 7 - 9s were released onto the surplus market in the late 70s selling at around £12 each (a fair sum back then).......but around the same time you could buy a late-pattern Denison from Silverman's for £14.99 (I still have a copy of the catalogue !) and a new wartime serge BD blouse for a fiver..............you could buy all this (now) rare and valuable kit anywhere back then easily and for peanuts but not DPM....!!! :-D

And here's the label....UK made but marked for "Kenya"......(again, NOT my image so acknowledgement to the image holder and owner)

Interesting that you should mention that. I can remember a girl back in my highschool days (later 1980s) who wore one of those acid washed denim jackets. Reason why I remember it was because the designer obviously used a WWII Denison smock as the pattern. Even had the snaps & "flap" on the "skirt".

 

Matt

There may well have been some commercial copies of the 60 pattern gear made, but I'm not aware of any....though have seen copies of the old WW2-style "SAS" windproof for the fashion market.....

The Irish Army and some Middle-Eastern armies did seem to adopt a close copy of the 60 pattern smock and trousers, the former more closely following the design in both quality and colour whereas the latter adopted a spotted, almost "duck hunter" cammo and crap construction quality..........

Similar story with the 58 pattern Denison, although the manufacture and quality appears to be UK-based therefore arguably far better.........

The above was a Denison manufactured by James Smith & Co Ltd specifically for (and labelled as such) for Kenya.....(NOT my image, so acknowledgement to the image holder)

I always liked the 1960 pattern DPMs the best. Colors in the pattern & the cut/ design of the uniform was out of all the variants, the most attractive to me. Wonder if anyone is reproducing them? Thanks for posting that image.

Matt

The colour variants in early DPM (pre-mid 70s) were indeed numerous and rather attractive......this was the result of a combination of dyes and the fabric used which was, at the period, satin-backed 100% cotton-drill originally introduced in the early 1960s to replace cotton sateen cloth (the descriptions used by the War Department)........fading and shrinkage were seemingly major issues with the material that prompted changes in the mid-late 70s to mixed-fibre fabric and improved dyes......

No copies of the 60 pattern combat garments made as far as I am aware........they would likely be horrendously expensive to manufacture today to the same high standard and the original fabric is long out of production, coupled with the zips, etc.........saying that, I do have the manufacturing specs for both smock and trousers !! :-D

I must agree that car boot sales are an excellent resource for military bargains.........:-D

Crap,hmmm,thought myself it was well done(granted in green denim material and not DPM!!!)

Lol ! No offence Harry ! I meant the colour choice, not the workmanship !! I guess that if issued early 70s and modified back then, there may not have been spare DPM fabric or scrap garments available to provide a match.......so essentially an interesting period modification possibly reflective of the time......?

Worth noting that many troops did not receive "gongs" until well after WW2 and demob.......especially those stuck outside the UK..........the 39-45 Star and Africa Star were available and worn before the end of hostilities but many of the other gongs didn't achieve issue until well after 45...........

My grandfather was demobbed in late-45 but got his medals via post during 1946-47 (he finished the war in Northern Germany - 51st HD Division).........and he shoved 'em in the boxes straight into his sock-drawer........!

Crap modification, but maybe far less painful than approaching the QM for a "Size Special".....(loads of paperwork and months of delay awaiting delivery......) Lol !!

Possibly 50s/60s Gary.......and many of the other things in the shot may hopefully have my name on 'em....! lol !!! Cheers mate ! Steve

The Devils in the details!! Sometimes you're not paying solely for the item but buying into history.

Bought my early "F Fryer" (same as this one) smock less than a year ago now for a fiver........